Thursday, May 18
Omaha, Neb.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
25-22, 10-9
7
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6
Connecticut
38-13, 13-5
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Connecticut
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Creighton
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13
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Photo by: Justin Kreutzian
Bluejay Baseball Hangs On To Defeat #9 Connecticut, 7-6, In Series Opener
5/18/2023 9:23:00 PM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. – After racing out to an 6-0 lead, the Creighton Baseball team had to fend off a ninth inning rally to claim a 7-6 win over ninth ranked Connecticut in the series opener on Thursday, May 18. The win was Creighton's first over a top-10 ranked team since the Bluejays took down fifth ranked Wichita State, 7-3, on April 12, 2008.
The victory moved the Bluejays a game and a half in front of Georgetown for fourth in the BIG EAST standing at 10-9 and also lifted Creighton to 25-22 on the season. Ninth ranked Connecticut, meanwhile, fell to 38-13 on the season and 13-5 in conference play.
The victory was the Bluejays first victory over a ranked team since 2019, when the Creighton upended 16thranked Oregon State in an elimination game in the NCAA Tournament, while also being the Bluejays first win over a ranked opponent at home since CU took two of three from No. 15 St. John's in 2017.
With two outs in the first inning the Bluejays soared out to a 3-0 advantage as Andrew Meggs hit a leadoff single before coming around to score on an errant throw by the Huskies third baseman for the first run of the game. Senior Sterling Hayes then blasted a two-run home run, his second of the season, into the left field bullpen to give the Bluejays a 3-0 lead.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Bluejay bats went back to work in the bottom of the fourth with two runs on four hits and a sacrifice bunt. Junior Jack Grace lined a single through the left side, while Hayes followed with a bloop single into left center. Grace and Hays advanced to second and third on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Nolan Clifford, before coming in to score on a two-run broken bat single up the middle by junior Colby Canales to make the score 5-0.
Creighton extend its lead in the bottom half of the fifth as Grace and Clifford recorded singles to place runners on the corners for Canales. The California native then drove in his third run of the game on an RBI single to right center pushing the Bluejays advantage out to 6-0.
Bluejay starter Ryan Windham tossed five and two-thirds scoreless innings before the Huskies placed their first dent on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Ben Huber launched a solo home run just over the 408' sign in center field becoming just the fourth person in park history to hit a home run into the centerfield gap. Jake Studley followed with a single to left before Luke Broadhust hit a two-run home run to right center to cut the deficit to 6-3.
The Bluejays, however, answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the sixth to push the lead back out to 7-3. Meggs got things started with a single to center, his second hit of the night, before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Sailors. Tyler Lozano followed with a walk before Grace delivered his third hit of the game, driving in Meggs from second with an RBI single to center.
Sophomore reliever Malakai Vetock came on in the seventh and keep the Huskies at bay until a walk and a double placed runner on second and third with one out in the ninth. Paul Tammaro then delivered a pinch-hit RBI double to left center to make the score 7-4. Connecticut went on to cut the deficit to one at 7-6 with a two-run single to left by David Smith before a lineout and a flyout ended the game.
Grace and Hays guided the Creighton offense with three hits apiece, while Canales drove in three on a pair of hits. The Bluejays closed the game with 13 hits, including 11 singles.
Windham picked up the win (6-3) allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work, while Bluejay closer Tommy Steier picked up his sixth save of the season by getting the final two outs.
Connecticut starter Andrew Sears (2-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Creighton and Connecticut continue their three-game set on Friday, May 19 with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The victory moved the Bluejays a game and a half in front of Georgetown for fourth in the BIG EAST standing at 10-9 and also lifted Creighton to 25-22 on the season. Ninth ranked Connecticut, meanwhile, fell to 38-13 on the season and 13-5 in conference play.
The victory was the Bluejays first victory over a ranked team since 2019, when the Creighton upended 16thranked Oregon State in an elimination game in the NCAA Tournament, while also being the Bluejays first win over a ranked opponent at home since CU took two of three from No. 15 St. John's in 2017.
With two outs in the first inning the Bluejays soared out to a 3-0 advantage as Andrew Meggs hit a leadoff single before coming around to score on an errant throw by the Huskies third baseman for the first run of the game. Senior Sterling Hayes then blasted a two-run home run, his second of the season, into the left field bullpen to give the Bluejays a 3-0 lead.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Bluejay bats went back to work in the bottom of the fourth with two runs on four hits and a sacrifice bunt. Junior Jack Grace lined a single through the left side, while Hayes followed with a bloop single into left center. Grace and Hays advanced to second and third on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Nolan Clifford, before coming in to score on a two-run broken bat single up the middle by junior Colby Canales to make the score 5-0.
Creighton extend its lead in the bottom half of the fifth as Grace and Clifford recorded singles to place runners on the corners for Canales. The California native then drove in his third run of the game on an RBI single to right center pushing the Bluejays advantage out to 6-0.
Bluejay starter Ryan Windham tossed five and two-thirds scoreless innings before the Huskies placed their first dent on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Ben Huber launched a solo home run just over the 408' sign in center field becoming just the fourth person in park history to hit a home run into the centerfield gap. Jake Studley followed with a single to left before Luke Broadhust hit a two-run home run to right center to cut the deficit to 6-3.
The Bluejays, however, answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the sixth to push the lead back out to 7-3. Meggs got things started with a single to center, his second hit of the night, before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Sailors. Tyler Lozano followed with a walk before Grace delivered his third hit of the game, driving in Meggs from second with an RBI single to center.
Sophomore reliever Malakai Vetock came on in the seventh and keep the Huskies at bay until a walk and a double placed runner on second and third with one out in the ninth. Paul Tammaro then delivered a pinch-hit RBI double to left center to make the score 7-4. Connecticut went on to cut the deficit to one at 7-6 with a two-run single to left by David Smith before a lineout and a flyout ended the game.
Grace and Hays guided the Creighton offense with three hits apiece, while Canales drove in three on a pair of hits. The Bluejays closed the game with 13 hits, including 11 singles.
Windham picked up the win (6-3) allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work, while Bluejay closer Tommy Steier picked up his sixth save of the season by getting the final two outs.
Connecticut starter Andrew Sears (2-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Creighton and Connecticut continue their three-game set on Friday, May 19 with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Windham, Ryan (6-3)
L: Sears, Andrew (2-1)
S: Steier, Tommy (6)
Batting:
2B: Garbowski, Matt 1 ; Tammaro, Paul 1
HR: Huber, Ben 1 ; Broadhurst, Luke 1
RBI: Smith, David 2 ; Huber, Ben 1 ; Broadhurst, Luke 2 ; Tammaro, Paul 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huber, Ben 1 ; Studley, Jake 1 ; Broadhurst, Luke 1 ; Morton, Korey 1 ; Garbowski, Matt 1 ; Tammaro, Paul 1
SB: Smith, David 1
HBP: Studley, Jake 1
PO: Padilla, Bryan 1
Batting:
2B: North, Ben 1
HR: Hayes, Sterling 1
RBI: Grace, Jack 1 ; Hayes, Sterling 2 ; Canales, Colby 3
SH: Sailors, Nolan 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Meggs, Andrew 2 ; Lozano, Tyler 1 ; Grace, Jack 2 ; Hayes, Sterling 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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