Creighton University
5-0
UIC
3-4
Baseball Sweeps Weekend With Late Rally, Bests UIC 12-7
2/25/2024 1:12:00 PM | Baseball
The victory moved the Bluejays to 5-0 on the season, while UIC fell to 3-4.
Down 4-0 entering the bottom of the first, the Bluejays went to work immediately. Sophomore Tate Gillen was hit by a pitch, then junior Teddy Deters blasted an RBI double down the left field line and senior Nolan Clifford delivered an RBI single up the middle as Creighton made it a 4-2 contest.
Creighton drew within a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from junior Will MacLean, but UIC tacked on three runs in the top of the sixth to seemingly regain control.
A defensive replacement in the fifth, sophomore Ben North gave the Bluejays a lift with a solo home run to left field in the bottom half of the sixth to make it a 7-4 contest.
Battling a 12:30 end time as UIC had a flight to catch, the Bluejays plated eight runs on four hits, two hit batters and two walks in the seventh. The inning began as Deters was hit by a pitch. Nolan Sailors worked a 10-pitch walk, fouling off five pitches to stay alive. MacLean followed with an RBI double to center, then a walk to Canales loaded the bags for sophomore Hogan Helligso. The Omaha native laced a two-run single through the left side to knot the game at 7-7. After Creighton loaded the bags once more as Ben North was hit in the foot, pinch hitter Cuyler Zukowski laced an 0-2 pitch into left for a pair of RBI. Before the frame was finished, Clifford delivered a three-run double down the right field line to give the Bluejays a 12-7 edge.Â
Sophomore Mason Koch retired the Flames in order in the top of the eighth and the game was ended due to time. Bluejay reliever Daniel Hammond picked up the win (1-0) with 1.1 innings of scoreless ball, while UIC reliever Colin Hawkins took the loss. Hawkins faced five batters in the seventh, allowing three hits, a walk and a hit batter as he surrendered five runs.
Creighton returns home for the week, but will be back in Sugar Land next weekend to face Air Force, Louisiana Tech and Army in the Battle at the Ballpark.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hammond, Daniel (1-0)
L: HAWKINS, Colin (0-1)
Batting:
2B: HENKLE, AJ 1
RBI: HENKLE, AJ 1 ; BESSETTE, Jackson 1 ; PETERSEN, Rayth 3 ; TAYLOR, AJ 1 ; HARRIS, James 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HENKLE, AJ 2 ; BESSETTE, Jackson 2 ; EWELL, Kendall 1 ; PETERSEN, Rayth 1 ; COLON, Vidal 1
SB: ZIELINSKI, Zane 1 ; HARRIS, James 1
HBP: EWELL, Kendall 1
Batting:
2B: Deters, Teddy 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 1 ; MacLean, Will 1
HR: North, Ben 1
RBI: Deters, Teddy 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 4 ; MacLean, Will 2 ; Helligso, Hogan 2 ; North, Ben 1 ; Zukowski, Cuyler 2
SH: Gillen, Tate 1 ; Helligso, Hogan 1
SF: MacLean, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gillen, Tate 2 ; Deters, Teddy 2 ; Clifford, Nolan 1 ; Sailors, Nolan 1 ; MacLean, Will 1 ; Torosian, Jack 1 ; Helligso, Hogan 1 ; North, Ben 2 ; Zukowski, Cuyler 1
CS: Gillen, Tate 1
HBP: Gillen, Tate 1 ; Clifford, Nolan 2 ; MacLean, Will 1 ; North, Ben 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
PO: Hess, Kyle 1
