OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton scored four times in the bottom
of the eighth inning, overcoming snowy conditions and fifth-ranked
Wichita State to earn a 7-3 come-from-behind win on a blustery Saturday
night at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Creighton improved to 23-8 overall (7-3 MVC), while the Shockers
dropped to 25-5 (5-2 MVC). It was Creighton's second straight win in
their last at-bat over WSU dating to last year, as Creighton's Andrew
Small delivered a walk-off double in the 2007 MVC Tournament finale.
Ironically, CU's Brandon Knox scored the go-ahead run as a pinch-runner
both times.
In the decisive eighth frame, Vicente Cafaro was hit with one out and
moved to second on Brett Mieras' bunt single. After Knox replaced
Cafaro on the bases, Joe Servais ripped a 2-2 pitch to left-center to
score Knox and end Rob Musgrave's night. Tony Womack relieved Musgrave
and struck out Nick Nordgren for the second out. Elliot Soto then
singled up the middle to plate Mieras, and both Servais and Soto came
all the way around on Knight's sharp single to right that gave the
hosts a 7-3 cushion.
Creighton opened the scoring in the fifth inning. Nick Nordgren walked
to lead off the inning, and the Jays would load the bases following
back-to-back errors on sacrifice bunts by catcher Tyler Weber and third
baseman Conor Gillaspie. CU scored the game's first run on a grounder
to short that was hit by Michael Lam, plating Nordgren. Elliot Soto
would score a second unearned run after Darin Ruf's sacrifice fly to
center was the second out.
The Shockers answered in the top of the sixth frame against Jeremy Hauer and Pat Venditte to take a 3-2 lead. Ryan Jones doubled off the
wall and moved to third on a blooper by Gillaspie. Venditte entered and
walked Tyler Weber to load the bases. Everyone moved up 90 feet on a
wild pitch to break the CU shutout streak at 19 innings (dating to
Wednesday). One out later, Kenny Williams Jr. doubled to right-center,
scoring Weber and Gillaspie as WSU took their first lead.
Creighton tied the game in the bottom seventh on a one-out double by
Robbie Knight that scored Nordgren. Nordgren was beaned to lead off the
inning and moved to second on Soto's bunt before coming around to score
on Knight's safety.
Pinch-hitter Kyle Sisney singled for his first career hit to open the
ninth. Venditte struck out Andy Dirks for the first out, but then Ryan
Jones reached on an infield single. Venditte then got Gillaspie and
Weber to pop out to second base to end the contest.
Venditte improved to 3-2 with four innings of relief, striking out
seven but walking a career-high four. He pitched in relief of Hauer,
who allowed just two runs and four hits in five innings. Creighton,
which managed four hits in a doubleheader sweep of North Dakota State on
Wednesday, had six hits on the night. Knight had two of them, and tied
a season-high with three RBI.
Musgrave dropped to 4-1 with his first loss of the year. He gave up
just four hits in 7.1 innings, but was charged with six runs (four
earned) in his 114-pitch effort. Womack faced the final four hitters,
allowing two hits and a run. WSU had seven hits, but the only player
with multiple base knocks was Ryan Jones with two.
Creighton and Wichita State are scheduled to complete their series with
two games on Sunday. Sunday's first game will begin at 1 pm, and be
televised by NET and video-streamed on www.netnebraska.org. The series
finale will begin no earlier than 4:30 pm and be televised locally on
WOWT 6.20 (Cox channel 120). Tickets from Friday's cancelled game will
be honored for the 4:30 pm game.
NOTES: Robbie Knight's hit-by-pitch in the third inning was the 50th of
his career ...Wichita State's Conor Gillaspie and Ryan Jones both
extended hitting streaks to 14 games, while Andy Dirks reached base for
a 41st consecutive game ...The temperature for the first pitch was 37
degrees, and the wind chill stood at 29 degrees ..Attendance was 731
...Creighton was hit by three pitches on the night, the 18th straight
game it has had a batter drilled ...Creighton improved to 13-0 at home
this year ...Ed Servais is now 11-5 in his career in games at
Rosenblatt Stadium, including a 3-0 mark against Wichita State
...Elliot Soto had two sacrifice bunts, giving CU a nation-best 47 on
the season as a team ...Creighton owns 19 different innings with four
or more runs this season ...Pat Venditte struck out Wichita State
players with both arms, the 10th time this year he's done that in the
same game ...Creighton has not allowed a run in the second, seventh or
ninth inning in 10 MVC games this season ...Opponents are hitting
2-for-41 against Pat Venditte in the seventh inning this season.
