Creighton bats had just enough in the win over Nebraska (Spomer / WBR) CLICK TO BUY
The ball catapulted off of Jack Strunc’s bat like a dragonglass spear released from Arya Stark’s hand aimed at the Night King’s dome. The exit velocity likely somewhere near 110mph, the white orb careened off the top of the padded wall in the left field bullpen, bounding off the top of the roof of the bullpen bench, and came to its conclusive end rolling gently in the left field turf.
It was a mighty swing that Strunc put on a hanging changeup that bit at the letters and settled belt high. It was Strunc’s first dongshot of the season and it was the deciding run in a closely fought midweek ballgame against the hated rival of UofN.
John Sakowski, a local Omaha kid that went to Prep, is currently at Creighton as a pre-dent student, and shuttered any hope that the Huskers had. When the Huskers were rallying, putting together back-to-back singles against Jonah Smith, eventually knotting the score at 1-1 on a sac fly, Sakowski entered the ballgame when the Big Bread seemed to be finding their groove offensively. With one out and a runner on first, Sakowski escaped the inning and used the gigantic fire extinguisher he yields every opportunity he gets.
The next two innings were pure bliss as Sakowski retired all six batters he faced in the 7th and 8th. In a tough battle with two outs in the seventh, Sakowski managed to get Alex Henwood in a full count and got him swinging on a fastball upstairs. Sakowski noted that he switched from a 3/4 delivery to an over-the-top motion to achieve more velo on a fastball to get Henwood off balance and swinging early.
It worked.
Ed Servais started Denson Hull, the senior from San Antonio, so Hull could toss twenty pitches and get some live game action instead of another bullpen session. Hull dazzled, pushing past the first seven Big Bread batters, until he was replaced by Ben Dotzler. Hull struck out two, walked no one, and fifteen of his twenty one pitches were for strikes. His re-emergence from flailing project with magnificent stuff to a solid option in the rotation is something of legend, yet it’s been a relatively small sample of his successes compared to the larger body of work. If he can continue on this streak he’ll be tossing baseballs at PRASCO Park at May’s end.
Dotzler shoved for the next 1 1/3 innings, allowing a double and a single, but struck out two of the six batters he faced.
The Bluejay offense wasn’t at their peak on Tuesday night, yet broke open the scoring with a two-out rally in the fourth. After Jordan Hovey drew a walk on five pitches, Parker Upton acquired a meat unit to give the Jays runners on first and second. Freshman outfielder Jared Wegner proceeded to smash a full count fastball into left field, scoring Hovey, and getting the Jays their first run of the ballgame.
After Strunc’s dongshot and Sakowski’s brilliance, Bobby Kametas toed the rubber after he sprinted out from the left field bullpen to start the ninth inning. It was the ultimate “fuck yes” moment for Bluejay fans, their lockdown closer coming in to seal a series win against their bitter intrastate rival.
Creighton raced to victory over Nebraska (Spomer / WBR) CLICK TO BUY
Instead, Bobby K came out with some jitters and a dash of – as Ed Servais put it – anxiety. He proceeded to build a full count against the first batter he faced, then issued a walk. He got the next batter into another full count, yet got a stroke of luck as he popped foul right in front of homeplate to Jake Holton.
Bobby K got Altavilla to strike out swinging, but Cam Chick watched four consecutive offerings go out of the strike zone, giving the Big Bread runners on first and second with two gone.
Mojo Hagge, who didn’t start in this ballgame, walked his five-foot-something frame to the batter’s box with the Big Bread faithful giving him a full-throated welcome into the ballgame.
If anyone was going to break Creighton’s heart, this was the prime candidate. With his tiny strike zone, his blazing speed, and his clutchiness of seasons past, this seemed like a doomed mission from the depths of hell.
Hagge came out swinging, poking the first pitch he saw back behind the Bluejay dugout. He watched the next pitch sail east of the strikezone, took a wicked offspeed strike from Bobby K, then watched the next one get buried in the dirt.
2-2 count.
*PING*
A well-struck ball by Hagge, billowing higher and higher into the Omaha night, began to descend well short of the wall, well short of the warning track, and right into Jared Wegner’s glove.
Ballgame.
See photos from the game here
Other Game Notes
— Creighton beating Nebraska is always thrilling. Creighton beating Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park is simply a thing of beauty. As I’m self-aware enough to understand my biases towards the boys in blue and the stadium in which they play, the Big Bread media/fans always deride the ballpark for its ability to keep baseballs within the playing surface. “It’s too big,” they say. “Pitchers must like enjoying pitching in the Grand Canyon,” they yelp into the void. “That would’ve been a dinger at Haymarket,” they bellow to their following of glazed-over eyeballs and frothy mouthed scourge, knowing full well that this Big Bread team isn’t one of boppers but instead of mediocre ballplayers that simply put the ball in play.
There’s never enough credit given to this Creighton team from Darin Erstad. He simply puts the onus on his team for failing to show up and play, that the Jays never beat them but they simply beat themselves, even after getting absolutely shelled in Lincoln 10-2 and after the Jays left the bases loaded twice and failed to score in this 2-1 dub.
— There’s nothing greater than Creighton beating Nebraska, yet somehow this Creighton ballclub did something historic Tuesday night.
They won back-to-back series against the Cornhuskers, dating back to last year, for the first time since the 1992-93 seasons. In that 1992 season, the Jays played the Cornhuskers twice, beating them 19-1 and 8-6. The following year the two schools played four consecutive times, the Jays winning three of four with the scores of 10-4, 10-2, 9-4, losing the last matchup 3-2.
— Creighton had a +6 run differential against Nebraska this season. Add in last year, and the Jays have a +12 run differential against the Big Bread over six ballgames.
— Ed Servais noted that freshman Dylan Tebrake and Ryan Windham will pitch tonight against Kansas. With Mitch Boyer nearing full strength after a shoulder injury, the Jays will have a few options in Lawrence, but with Xavier looming this weekend in Omaha, they can’t afford to burn too many arms.
— Xavier currently sits at 7-1 in conference, with the Jays just a game behind at 6-1. As we all know, Xavier has always been prime enemy number one in the BIG EAST, which gives this weekend series so much drama.