When you took your lunch break today you likely thought to yourself, “Self, this might be a Bill Randby top-10 day. The sun is shining. The breeze is pleasant. The temperatures are in the mid-70’s. It’s a great day for baseball!”
Well, you were right. Sort of.
When the first pitch from Husker pitcher Nate Fisher crossed the dish for a strike, the gametime temperature hung in the mid-50’s and the overcast sky periodically spit precipitation from the clouds above. The grounds crew spread some light colored conditioner – a staple in high moisture situations – around the bases in preparation for more rain.
Coming off a series win against Xavier this past weekend, that saw the Bluejays pour on 39 runs in three games, that prolific offense didn’t let up in this intrastate affair against a reeling, wounded, yet unkillable rival.
On the third pitch from the aforementioned Nate Fisher, Clark Brinkman blasted a double into the left center gap. After an Isaac Collins strikeout, Will Robertson achieved first after Husker third-baseman Luke Roskam bobbled the ball and panicked, and Brinkman sneakily took third as Roskam took his time pondering all his regrets.
Jack Strunc followed with a base hit that scored Brinkman. Robertson, activating his own ultra-aggressive move, tried to take third but was gunned down, with Strunc taking second on the throw. Tommy Luevano then singled in Strunc, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead in just the first inning.
Preston Church has shut down the Huskers this season (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
The Huskers got one back in the bottom of the 2nd after they managed to load the bases against Preston ‘The Holy King Of The Anthills'” Church, who walked a couple and allowed a single, giving Zac Repinski an opportunity of a lifetime. Luckily, he merely grounded out to first, giving the Huskers just the solo run to cut it to 2-1.
Creighton immediately answered back in the top of the fourth by way of a laser-dong shot into deep right field. It took roughly an elf’s blink to leave Hawk’s Field, but it gave the Jays a little momentum going further with the score at 3-1.
With The Holy King settling in on the mound, the Jays managed to score again in the fourth, with Luevano leading things off with a laser double that bounded off the left-center wall. Ryan Mantle followed this with an absolutely mesmerizing bunt, confounding Fisher and Roskam, with Roskam grabbing the ball and throwing a wide offering to first. Mantle arrived safely, Luevano scooted to third, and just two pitches later Jason Allbery lifted a ball to shallow center, just deep enough for Luevano to tag.
4-1, Jays.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the 4th, Creighton put up six runs in the 5th.
Six runs.
Yeah.
It started with a Brinkman single. Isaac Collins followed with a double, Robertson drove in Brinkman with a single of his own, then proceeded to take 2nd after a looping rainbow throw from center to home. Strunc and Luevano both added base hits to the singles train, scoring Collins and Robertson.
Nate Fisher’s day was done at this point, Mike Waldron took over, and Mantle gave the Huskers an out with a sac-bunt, giving the Jays runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Allbery then drew a walk, loading the bases for Blake Whitecotton, whose career line at Creighton involves a single RBI.
He tripled that total on a 2-0 count, uncorking on a fastball that he sent to the right center gap, clearing the bases and pushing the lead to 10-1.
Nebraska answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the 5th, all three scoring after a Jesse Wilkening dongshot into right center field, making it 10-4.
Isaac Collins didn’t appreciate this showing of power to right center, so he too hung dong into the same place, extending the Bluejay lead to 11-4 in the 6th. The Holy King Of The Anthills cruised through the bottom half of the sixth, putting a stamp on this game, and dealing 12.2 innings of phenomenal ball against the Huskers.
As Church got out of session, so to did the Bluejays’ ability to keep runs off the board. Or even put them on.
Creighton bats took advantage of Nebraska’s pitching in the win (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
In the top of the seventh the Jays managed to load the bases with no one out. Blake Whitecotton slapped a grounder right back to the pitcher, who tossed it to the catcher, who then tossed it to first for a 1-2-3 double play. After Brinkman walked on four straight pitches, Collins grounded out to short, ending the threat.
When Mitch Boyer took the mound in the bottom of the seventh, the wheels began to fall off. After a lead off single, Mojo Hagge roped a ball to Luevano, forcing the third-baseman to make the play deep in the infield, hurrying the throw to first, only for it to go wide on Allbery. With runners on 2nd & 3rd and nobody out, Scott Schreiber laced a single to right center, scoring both runs. Wilkening singled on the very next pitch, and with runners on the corners and no outs, Boyer was pulled for Grant ‘Midnight Rider’ Spranger.
Spranger managed to get a ground out to Luevano, the throw coming late to first for a double play, but proceeded to give up yet another single into the right center gap off the bat of Gunner Hellstrom, scoring yet another run and making this an 11-7 ballgame.
Spranger managed to get a strikeout on a lefty-lefty matchup. Coach Servais brought in Jonah Smith for the third out, getting another K on a righty-righty matchup.
Six outs to go.
Nebraska decided to toss out Ben Klenke for the 8th, a sophomore from Seward who’d never thrown a pitch in a D1 baseball game… ever. A sacrificial lamb. A player that touched 83 on his fastball. Someone the Jays could torch.
Instead, Robertson grounded out, Strunc popped one foul to the catcher, and Sweet Tommy Luevano struck out looking, giving the Huskers all the momentum they’d need in the bottom half of the 8th.
Jonah Smith trotted back out to the mound. The first batter he faced he walked, albeit with a little help from the umpire considering strike three was about as close to a strike as you could get in this one, but nonetheless he lost a bit of control, as he walked the next batter on five pitches. Hagge came to the dish and slashed a hot grounder up the middle, but Jack Strunc managed to field the ball, touch second, and make the throw to first with the runner sliding right into his shins, turning the double play.
Four outs to go.
Four pitches later, Scott Schreiber blasted a deep shot into straightaway center field, scoring two runs, and making this an incredibly uncomfortable 11-9 ballgame.
Smith dealt out another walk but managed to get Altavilla to fly out to left, ending the threat and giving the Jays another opportunity to swing the momentum in their favor in the 9th.
Ryan Mantle led things off for the Jays and, as he typically does, gave the pitcher fits as he worked the count full, slapped a few foul balls into the net, and worked a walk. The Huskers changed pitchers, but the bunt sign was on regardless of who was throwing the pearl, as Allbery poked a sac bunt down to third, giving Mantle second.
Mantle proceeded to take third on a wild pitch, and as fate would have it, he’d come in to score on another wild pitch, giving the Jays a little more cushion at 12-9 going into the bottom of the 9th.
Enter: Bobby Kametas.
Kametas, who earned three saves earlier in the season before sitting on the sidelines for 5 weeks due to mononucleosis, got into the ballgame against the Cornhuskers in a three run game. His mere presence gives the Jays a vote of confidence, and after throwing just four pitches you could tell why.
His stuff is devastating, but his approach is killer. He got Hellstrom to fly out to center on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. He got Roskam to ground out to Collins on the very first pitch of the at bat. Then, to solidify the save, he got Hallmark to fly out to center.
Ballgame. Jays.
The Holy King Of The Anthills got the win, Kametas the save, while Fisher got dealt the loss.
Robertson, Strunc, and Luevano combined for 6 RBIs on 8 hits. Whitecotton had 3 RBIs on his single hit.
The Jays improve to 24-11 on the year, locked up their first series win against the Huskers since 2010, and are set to host Georgetown this weekend.
Postgame:
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