The Creighton University men’s baseball team overcame a slow start to overpower the University of Iowa 9-2 Saturday morning at the CU Sports Complex. In the final weekend of baseball for the year before winter training sessions, the Bluejays took advantage of timely hitting and solid pitching to secure the win over the Hawkeyes.
Mark Winkelman, a senior from Harvard, Ill., got the call on the hill in game one of the double header. The Bluejays came out flat in the first inning, with Winkelman hitting the first batter and a fielding error that allowed the next hitter to reach base on an infield hit. The Bluejays escaped the top portion of the inning only surrendering one run, and momentum shifted to the Bluejays. Winkelman pitched an efficient 27 pitches over two innings of work, including 16 strikes. Although he wasn’t sharp out of the gate, he locked things down and gave his offense control of the game.
Other Bluejay pitchers receiving action on Saturday include senior Nick Musec (2 innings pitched), freshman Matt Warren (1 IP), freshman Will Bamesberger (1 IP), sophomore Mark Lukowski (1 IP), freshman Nick Highberger (1 IP) and junior Max Ising (1 IP.) The Bluejay pitching staff allowed only 2 runs, with a combined 127 pitches thrown and 81 called strikes.
The Bluejays scored one run in the first inning, two runs in the second, one run in the third, three in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth. The second game of the doubleheader against Iowa was held Sunday morning at the CU Sports Complex, but it would not go as well for the Jays as they fell to the Hawkeyes 6-3.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Iowa Hawkeyes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Creighton University Bluejays | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 12 | 1 |
Winning Pitcher: Winkelman (Creighton)
Losing Pitcher: Kaufman (Iowa)