Creighton University
20-8, 0
St. John's
12-23, 0
Bullpen Locks Up Red Storm in 5-4 Win for Bluejay Baseball
4/16/2022 2:17:00 PM | Baseball
Bergstrom and Steier retire final 13 St. John's hitters to secure win
The Creighton win secured a series victory for the Bluejays, lifting Creighton to 20-8 on the season and 5-0 in BIG EAST action. St. John's, meanwhile, fell to 12-23 overall and 0-5 in conference play.
Trailing 2-0 after one inning, the Bluejay offense went to work in the sophomore Kyle Hess roped a leadoff double down the right field line, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Andrew Meggs. Creighton's next hitter, sophomore Alan Roden, blasted his second home run of the game to right to tie the game at 2-2.
St. John's answered with a run in the third, but Creighton plated two more in the fourth to grab its first lead at 4-3. Junior Jack Grace got the Bluejays even with one down in the fourth via a solo home run to left. Sophomore Nolan Clifford was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single from Hess and Clifford scampered home on a wild pitch.
Creighton starter Dominic Cancellieri held the Red Storm in the fourth, but left the game with two down in the fifth and a runner at second. Bergstrom allowed an RBI single to the first batter (Jayson Kramer) he faced but escaped the fifth without further damage to keep the contest tied at 4-4.
The Bluejays manufactured a run in the sixth to take the lead for good as freshman Nolan Sailors walked, then stole second. A sacrifice from Grace moved Sailors to third. After another walk put Bluejays on the corners, Hess plated the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to center.
That was all the Bluejay bullpen needed as Bergstrom retired the next nine hitters he faced to take the game to the ninth. Creighton closer Tommy Steier worked a flawless frame in the final inning to earn his seventh save of the season.
Bergstrom nabbed the win (3-1), allowing one hit and one walk in 3.1 innings of relief. St. John's reliever Vincent Bianchi was a hard luck loser (1-4), allowing one run without a hit in four innings out of the bullpen. Bianchi did surrender three walks and hit a batter.
Freshman Hogan Helligso led Creighton's offense with a pair of hits in the victory.
Creighton and St. John's will complete their series in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader with a first pitch at approximately 3:00 pm.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergstrom, Paul (3-1)
L: BIANCHI, Vincent (1-4)
S: Steier, Tommy (7)
Batting:
2B: Hess, Kyle 1
HR: Roden, Alan 1 ; Grace, Jack 1
RBI: Meggs, Andrew 1 ; Roden, Alan 1 ; Grace, Jack 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
SH: Meggs, Andrew 1 ; Grace, Jack 1
SF: Meggs, Andrew 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roden, Alan 1 ; Sailors, Nolan 1 ; Grace, Jack 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
SB: Roden, Alan 1 ; Sailors, Nolan 1 ; Helligso, Hogan 1
HBP: Wegner, Jared 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 2
Batting:
2B: GLANCY, David 1 ; CIRELLI, Nick 1
RBI: CIRELLI, Nick 2 ; KRAMER, Jayson 2
SF: KRAMER, Jayson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BALLESTERO, Tate 1 ; MICHAELS, Kevin 2 ; MACHADO, Austin 1
SB: KRAMER, Jayson 1
