Mitch Ragan had a solid night on the mound, but didn’t get any offensive help (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
With the weather at its absolute finest since the dog days of October, it’s no wonder 14,169 people utilized the free admission to TD Ameritrade Park tonight to witness this ballgame between the Jays and the Hoyas. Unfortunately for them, they witnessed a night where the Bluejay bats became inept at striking the baseball with a firm swing while Georgetown southpaw Brent Killiam enjoyed a masterful Maddox on the mound.
Just 24 hours prior, the Bluejays were able to swat their way to an 8-0 shutout win. Tonight, they scored just two runs in all nine innings of action, scoring both runs in the first, while watching an airtight 2-1 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit.
Georgetown tacked on their first run in the top half of the first, where lead off batter Austin Shirley worked a walk. A sac bunt was initiated, and as Tommy Luevano went to field it, the Jays managed to leave third base uncovered. Shirley took the bag and was brought home on a 2-out double by Hoya short stop Eddie McCabe.
The first Bluejay run was a doozy. On a 2-2 count, Clark Brinkman swung and missed on a pitch that was well inside, to the point where the ball skittered away from the Georgetown catcher and began a magnificent journey that I’ll never forget. The ball took a strange hop, turned right, and trickled into the Creighton dugout. This is what we in the business call a live ball. This is also what we call #BIGEASTBASEBALLFEVER.
Brinkman’s acquisition of first base soon became of utmost importance as, just after Isaac Collins lifted a flyout to center, Will Robertson launched a ball down the left field line, going opposite field for the first time in recent memory. Brinkman managed to get all the way around to home and Robertson ended up on third after the left fielder’s throw went wide.
Robertson was brought home after a 2-out single from Jack Strunc through the left side.
2-1 Bluejays.
Creighton looked like they would get on track after the bottom of the first inning (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
For the next four frames of the ballgame, the crowd bore witness to a pitcher’s duel as the two starters tossed goose eggs up on the scoreboard.
Creighton’s Mitch ‘Raygun’ Ragan was hyper-efficient in his outing, forcing a great deal of swings and misses to the Georgetown batters, while inducing flyouts when he wasn’t accruing strikeouts. In total, Ragan struck out 9, walked three, and had a fantastic outing… until the top of the sixth.
In the tumultuous sixth inning, Ragan proceeded to walk the first batter, then allowed a triple to Alex Bernauer which drove in the tying run. Georgetown’s Sammy Stevens then knocked in Bernauer with a base hit, giving the Hoyas the lead.
The anemic offense for the Jays was unable to respond in the bottom half of the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth, despite some stellar relief efforts from lefty slinger Grant Spranger, who worked 1 1/3 innings while recording three strikeouts.
It wasn’t until the top of the ninth when the bullpen hit a hiccup, with Jonah Smith coming in to toss the pearl. Smith proceeded to give up a hit, a sac bunt, and another hit to give the Hoyas runners on the corners and one out. With a lefty up for Georgetown, Coach Servais pegged sophomore lefty Justin Wick to try to induce the double play.
Mike Emodi and the Creighton bats were quiet on Saturday night against the Hoyas (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
Wick threw a ball in the dirt, and Mike Emodi met him on the mound and had a lengthy conversation about the gameplan. Wick responded with another ball, that allowed the runner from first to take second, then threw a strike, then dropped one in the dirt. He then left a breaking ball over the middle to finally induce contact.
The ball was lined up the middle by Jake Bernstein, and with the infield in to keep the run from scoring, the ball fell just beneath a ranging Collins’ diving attempt. Both runners would score, and Wick’s outing was complete. Mitch Boyer came on to pitch, Bernstein stole second, and then proceeded to third after a Boyer wild pitch.
Georgetown would then single home Bernstein to give them a 6-2 lead.
Creighton attempted a rally in the ninth, with Tommy Luevano getting a base hit, then proceeding all the way to third on a wild pitch that the Georgetown catcher couldn’t find. With one out, Luevano scored on an infield hit by Ryan Mantle.
Unfortunately, the rally stopped there, with Allbery grounding out and Upton striking out.
The Jays move to 25-12 on the year and 4-6 in the BIG EAST.
Notes
- Ed Servais went with Justin Wick because he’s, “Looking for another left handed reliever.” He chose Wick over Boyer since there were three lefties coming up for the Hoyas.
- St. John’s scored 34 runs on Xavier today, so that’s something that definitely happened.
- The Jays will go for a series win against Georgetown tomorrow, and a win will help substantially in the BIG EAST standings. Seton Hall, who comes to Omaha next weekend, is currently 7-1 in conference and sits in second place. Meanwhile, there are three teams with four wins in Butler, Xavier, and Creighton, Georgetown has 3, and Villanova is still winless. There’s going to be a separation weekend looming, and the Jays need all the wins they can get.
Photos
See photos from WBR photographer Mike Spomer with the slideshow here and the opportunity to purchase your favorites here.
