The first weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play was a tough one for the Creighton Bluejays baseball team. Preseason favorite Missouri State posted consecutive shutouts against CU Friday (3-0) and Saturday (7-0) and then came from three runs down on Sunday to sweep the Jays (5-3).
The Bluejays are 0-3 in MVC play for the first time since 1998. Here’s how it happened (photos here).
Friday: Missouri State 3, Creighton 0
Mike Gerber and his CU teammates had trouble connecting Friday night against Missouri State (Mike Spomer/WBR)
The Bluejays ran into a buzz saw Friday evening at Hammons Field in Springfield. Starting pitcher Pierce Johnson decimated Ed Servais’ lineup, throwing a complete game five-hitter and striking out a career-high 16 while issuing just one walk. Ty Blach was good (6.2 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 4 Ks) but suffered his second loss of the season due to the lack of run support.
Led by #2 hitter Brad McKewon, the top three batters in the Bluejays lineup combined for Creighton’s 5 hits (Chance Ross and Nick Judkins went 1-4). But no one else in white and blue could muster a base knock, and the potent Missouri State lineup scored just enough runs to give Johnson some breathing room as his night progressed.
Johnson retired the first batter in the game’s first seven innings. Conor Smith staked him to a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a two-out RBI double, and then Kevin Medrano scored on a groundout by Brent Seifert in the third inning to put MSU up 2-0. Spiker Helms added an RBI single in the seventh inning to wrap the game’s scoring.
Blach was uncharacteristically wild, throwing two wild pitches and walking three batters. He needed 114 pitches to get through 6.2 innings; conversely, Johnson threw a total of 118 in the complete game shutout.
Saturday: Missouri State 7, Creighton 0
Servais turned to Erik Mattingly, not Andrew Urban, to start Saturday afternoon’s game. Mattingly responded, leaving after a career-high four innings having surrendered just one run. He got saddled with the loss, though, as the Bluejays bats couldn’t put a run on the board for the second straight game.
Erik Mattingly pitched well in the loss Saturday against Missouri State (Mike Spomer/WBR)
MSU starter Nick Petree followed Pierce Johnson’s complete game shutout with one of his own, striking out 10 CU batters and offering just one walk and surrendering 4 hits.
The Bears scored the game’s first run after chasing Mattingly with a lead-off single and a walk to start the fifth inning. Mark Winkelman relieved Mattingly, coaxed a sacrifice bunt and then intentionally walked Luke Voit to load the bases with one out. Three pitches later, though, Winkelman hit Brock Chaffin with a pitch to give MSU a 1-0 lead.
Winkelman got out of that jam but gave up another single run in the sixth inning. After drawing a lead-off walk, Tony Massenberg took second base on a sac bunt and then stole third. Eric Cheray brought him home with an RBI groundout, give Missouri State a 2-0 lead.
Shane Liska relieved Winkelman with one out in the seventh inning, and immediately walked Voit. Chaffin reached on catcher’s interference, chasing Liska. Kurt Spomer entered the game and gave up a three-run home run to Seifert, as the Bears extended the lead to 5-0.
Another lead-off walk led to a run in the eighth inning, as the Bears brought Koby Peebles home with a Helms double. Helms scored on a Medrano double, wrapping the run production for the afternoon.
Sunday: Missouri State 5, Creighton 3
Things started a bit better for the Bluejays Sunday. Ross started the game on first base after being hit by a pitch, and McKewon reached on an error. With two runners in scoring position, Anthony Bemboom picked up Judkins (strikeout) with a two-run single as Creighton jumped to an early lead. Mattingly singled immediately thereafter, putting Bemboom on third base with one out. He scored on a Mike Gerber groundout, and the Jays took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the first.
Andrew Urban gave one run back in the bottom half, but it could have been worse. Doubles by Helms and Voit sandwiched a Medrano fielder’s choice; he scored on a sac fly by Chaffin.
The Bears got a lead-off triple by Cheray to start the third inning, and he scored immediately on a Helms single. Urban would load the bases and leave with two out in the inning, but Nick Musec got the final out to strand the runners and keep Creighton in the lead 3-2.
Massenberg tripled to lead off the fourth inning, Cheray scored him on a sac fly, and Medrano brought Peebles home from third base on a sac bunt to take a 4-3 lead after four frames.
The Bears completed their comeback in the fifth inning, as Chaffin led off with a hit by pitch and scored a few batters later on a wild pitch by Chase Webb.
Meanwhile, Creighton recorded just four hits after the first inning and failed to score a run. The Bears used only four pitchers all weekend, thanks to outstanding outings by Johnson and Petree and a solid seven innings by Clay Murphy on Sunday (7 IP, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 7 Ks).