Sunday, May 16
South Orange, N.J.
11:00 AM
Creighton University
21-11, 13-4
3
at
1
Seton Hall
23-19, 16-7
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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H
E
Creighton
0
0
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3
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7
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Seton Hall
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Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Vilches' Two-Run Single Provides Split at Seton Hall
5/16/2021 1:46:00 PM | Baseball
South Orange, N.J. -- Junior catch David Vilches laced a two-run single in the eighth inning to lift Creighton Baseball to a 3-1 win at Seton Hall on Sunday, May 16.
The victory evened the four-game series moving the Bluejays to 21-11 on the season and 13-4 in BIG EAST play. Seton Hall, meanwhile, fell to 23-19 overall and 16-7 in conference action.
The Bluejays got a lift from freshman starter Hudson Leach as the Missouri native tossed four innings of scoreless ball to get Creighton into the game.
Locked in a scoreless battle heading into the sixth, the Bluejays loaded the bases on a pair of singles from senior Parker Upton and freshman Alan Roden as well as a well-placed bunt by senior Ryan Mantle. Unfortunately, a home-to-first double play and a fly out left Creighton unsatisfied.
The momentum continued to swing the Pirates' way in the bottom of the sixth behind a leadoff double by Mike Esposito and a two-out RBI single from Casey Dana to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Bluejay eighth inning presented a chance at redemption as Upton and Roden opened the frame with singles. Reliever Zane Probst got Mantle on a sacrifice bunt, then senior Dax Roper was intentionally walked. Probst's first pitch to Vilches bounced away from Pirate catcher Collin Sheehan, allowing Upton to race home with the game-tying run. Ahead in the count 2-0, Vilches connected for the two-run single to center to give the Bluejays their first lead of the game at 3-1.
Sophomore Paul Bergstrom, who came on to retire the final two hitters in the seventh, collected the win (2-0) with two innings of scoreless relief. With a runner at first in the final frame, senior closer John Sakowski induced a pop out and a strikeout to earn his first save of the season.
Seton Hall reliever Aaron Groller took the loss (0-1), allowing two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings.
Roden led the Bluejay offense with three hits, while Upton finished with a pair of singles.
Creighton returns home for the final series of the season next week as the Bluejays face Xavier in a four-game set beginning on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
The victory evened the four-game series moving the Bluejays to 21-11 on the season and 13-4 in BIG EAST play. Seton Hall, meanwhile, fell to 23-19 overall and 16-7 in conference action.
The Bluejays got a lift from freshman starter Hudson Leach as the Missouri native tossed four innings of scoreless ball to get Creighton into the game.
Locked in a scoreless battle heading into the sixth, the Bluejays loaded the bases on a pair of singles from senior Parker Upton and freshman Alan Roden as well as a well-placed bunt by senior Ryan Mantle. Unfortunately, a home-to-first double play and a fly out left Creighton unsatisfied.
The momentum continued to swing the Pirates' way in the bottom of the sixth behind a leadoff double by Mike Esposito and a two-out RBI single from Casey Dana to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Bluejay eighth inning presented a chance at redemption as Upton and Roden opened the frame with singles. Reliever Zane Probst got Mantle on a sacrifice bunt, then senior Dax Roper was intentionally walked. Probst's first pitch to Vilches bounced away from Pirate catcher Collin Sheehan, allowing Upton to race home with the game-tying run. Ahead in the count 2-0, Vilches connected for the two-run single to center to give the Bluejays their first lead of the game at 3-1.
Sophomore Paul Bergstrom, who came on to retire the final two hitters in the seventh, collected the win (2-0) with two innings of scoreless relief. With a runner at first in the final frame, senior closer John Sakowski induced a pop out and a strikeout to earn his first save of the season.
Seton Hall reliever Aaron Groller took the loss (0-1), allowing two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings.
Roden led the Bluejay offense with three hits, while Upton finished with a pair of singles.
Creighton returns home for the final series of the season next week as the Bluejays face Xavier in a four-game set beginning on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergstrom, Paul (2-0)
L: GROLLER, Aaron (0-1)
S: Sakowski, John (5)
Batting:
RBI: Vilches, David 2
SH: Mantle, Ryan 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Upton, Parker 1 ; Roden, Alan 1 ; Roper, Dax 1
Batting:
2B: ESPOSITO, Mike 1
RBI: DANA, Casey 1
SH: LUDERS, Jonathan 2 ; SHEDLER-MCAVOY, Tyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ESPOSITO, Mike 1
SB: DANA, Casey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
cf/rf
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ BaseballC
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