Evansville 8, Creighton 4 / photos
The Purple Aces scored in each of the first three innings Friday night, tagging CU ace Ty Blach for four runs in six innings of work. Eric Stamets led the game off with a double and scored on a one-out RBI groundout. The leadoff man reached in the Evansville second inning, too, via a walk; Kevin Kaczmarski would come around to score on a Blach wild pitch after a single moved him to second base and a sacrifice bunt pushed him to third. A second run would score in the second inning thanks to a sacrifice fly.
The Aces were beating the Bluejays at their own game. Meanwhile, Scott Thornburg led off the CU second with a double and Alex Staehely followed with a single to short. But with two on and no one out, Mike Gerber struck out, Gabriel Thibodeaux fouled out, and Jake Peter grounded out.
Evansville turned that defensive momentum into a run in the third inning, too, putting the leadoff man on base for the third consecutive frame; the first two batters reached for the second straight inning. A two-out single by Trentt Copeland plated Tim Bodine to give UE a 4-0 lead heading to the Creighton half of the third inning. The Jays scratched a run across in typical CU style in the third; Chance Ross singled and Brad McKewon walked to start the inning, and Nick Judkins sacrificed them over to second and third. Anthony Bemboom hit a sac fly to foul territory, putting the Jays on the board but trailing 4-1.
The Aces wouldn’t score again until the top of the ninth inning. Meanwhile Creighton plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 4-4. Peter (single) and Ross (hit by pitch) reached to lead off the inning. McKewon struck out, but Judkins picked him up with a single to load the bases with one out. Bemboom coaxed a four-pitch walk to plate the inning’s first tally, and then Ross scored on a balk during Thornburg’s at bat, one that ended with an RBI fielder’s choice scoring Judkins.
CU pitching coach Rob Smith talks with Reese McGraw during the 9th inning (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Mark Winkelman relieved Chase Webb after one scoreless inning and managed to shut the Aces down in the eighth. The Jays would put two guys on in the bottom of the frame with one out, but McKewon and Judkins both popped out to end the threat. That’s when things got frustrating.
Reese McGraw came in to pitch the ninth and hold the game at 4-4. But a single and a walk later, Evansville had two on for Stamets. He used his speed to reach on a fielder’s choice sac bunt, loading the bases with no one out. McGraw uncorked a wild pitch that scored the inning’s first run, but he settled down to strike out the next two Aces. Staehely committed a two-run error four pitches later, though, and then scored on a two-out double by Kaczmarski. McGraw struck out Copeland to end the inning, but the damage was done. The Jays put Thornburg and Gerber on via walk in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t score, as Evansville won the weekend’s first game 8-4.
Creighton 3, Evansville 2 (10 Innings) / photos
Erik Mattingly started Saturday afternoon’s game and pitched five innings of six-hit, two-run baseball. He left with the Bluejays down 2-0, thanks to RBI doubles by Kaczmarski and Jason Hockemeyer. But the Bluejays bullpen kept things close while Creighton battled back, as the Jays scored the game’s final three runs en route to the extra innings victory.
Staehely started the scoring with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, his first of the year. Andrew Urban pitched a scoreless sixth and Kurt Spomer threw a scoreless seventh to keep CU within a run. After the stretch, Judkins led off the bottom of the inning with a single and scored after a Thornburg sacrifice bunt and a Bemboom RBI single. Gerber left the go-ahead run at third base with two outs, but for the second straight game the Jays had forced a tie in the seventh inning.
Winkelman worked a scoreless eighth and left with a runner on and one out in the top of the ninth inning. But Webb entered and got the Jays out of the inning. CU loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half but Gerber grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice to strand the winning run at third.
Webb worked a perfect tenth, turning things over to the Creighton offense to 2,900 fans home happy. Brennan Murphy singled with one out and McKewon followed with a hit of his own. Two on and one out, and UE’s Zach Taylor let loose a wild pitch that moved both men over a base. He intentionally walked Ross to load the bases for Judkins, who delivered Murphy home from third with a single to left. The Jays finally had their first Valley win, and squared their overall record to 12-12.
The Bluejays celebrate a comeback win in extra innings against the Aces (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Evansville 1, Creighton 0 / photos
Brad McKewon watches a solo home run clear the TD Ameritrade Park fence (Mike Spomer/WBR)
The positive vibes wouldn’t last long. Looking for the series win Sunday afternoon, Creighton instead managed just three hits in a shutout loss to the Aces. Kyle Freeland threw a complete game for UE, walking just one Bluejay while striking out six.
Shane Liska got the start for CU and pitched well, going 4.1 innings and allowing just a solo home run to left field by Copeland in the fifth. Nick Musec and McGraw kept Creighton close, but the Jays could only manage singles by Gerber, Murphy, and Thornburg — none of which came before the fifth inning.
The loss marked the third time in six MVC games that the Jays failed to score a run. Through the weekend the Bluejays are hitting a league-low .238 as a team, scoring the fewest runs (114) and collecting the fewest hits (195) among Valley teams. Creighton’s collective 3.69 ERA is fifth best.
The Jays play a midweek non-conference game against the Kansas Jayhawks Tuesday night, at 6:00 p.m., at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.