The red-hot Creighton baseball team had its series with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits cut short on Sunday, as poor weather conditions caused the series finale to be postponed.
Before the winter weather rolled in, the Jays improved to 9-5-1 on the season as they beat the Jackrabbits 5-4 in extra innings in their home opener on Friday, then went on to win 3-1 on Saturday. The Jays have now reeled off nine wins in their last 11 games.
“I think there’s a lot of room for growth in this team,” head coach Ed Servais said. “I think we haven’t even got close to what we are capable of … There’s a lot of reason to be excited because we’ve found ways to win games and I don’t think we’re playing our best.”
The Jackrabbits struck first on Saturday, plating a run in the first inning. The Jays struck back in the bottom of the third when freshman infielder Nicky Lopez scored off of junior designated hitter David Wiedeman’s sacrifice bunt.
Strong pitching and defense for both teams kept the game knotted at 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh. Junior infielder Jake Peter delivered a two-run single to left that scored senior outfielder Brad McKewon and sophomore infielder Ryan Fitzgerald. The Jays stranded two runners in the inning, but the 3-1 lead was enough to earn the victory.
The Jays had 11 hits in the game compared to the five produced by the Jackrabbits. McKewon, senior outfielder Mike Gerber and sophomore infielder Reagan Fowler each had two hits in the game.
Sophomore pitcher Austin Groth started the game for the Jays, allowing one run off of two hits and three walks while striking out two in four innings. Sophomores Nick Highberger, John Oltman and Will Bamesberger allowed a total of one hit and one walk while striking out three in a combined 2 2/3 innings pitched. Juniors Max Ising and Mark Lukowski each allowed one hit in an inning of relief, with Ising recording a strikeout and eventually earning the win. Senior Bryan Sova earned his second save of the season as he pitched the final 1/3 inning of the game allowing zero hits.
“The bullpen has been very key in all of our wins,” Servais added. “We have six or seven guys that we liked before the season started, and they’ve all done their part and a couple of them have been in 10 of our first 15 games.”
On Friday, the Jays won in dramatic fashion as Fowler hit a single up the middle to score Peter, giving the Jays the walk-off win in the tenth inning. Peter grounded into a fielder’s choice to reach base and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring.
The Jackrabbits gained an early lead in the game, going up 3-0 in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, the Jays chipped away at the lead, as Fitzgerald knocked an RBI triple to right to score senior designated hitter Cody Kottich before being brought in on a groundout by McKewon. In the bottom of the sixth, the Jays took the 4-3 lead when both Fowler and sophomore outfielder Brett Murray scored on a wild pitch.
The Jackrabbits tied the game in the top of the eighth off of a double to right field. Then a scoreless ninth inning sent the game to extra innings before Fowler won the game with the walk-off single.
Each team had nine hits in the game. Fowler finished the game 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run, while junior catcher Kevin Lamb was the other Jay with two hits.
Sophomore starting pitcher Matt Warren turned in yet another strong outing for the Jays, going 6 1/3 innings while allowing three runs off of eight hits and two walks while striking out five. Highberger and Bamesberger each worked 1/3 of an inning before Sova came in in the seventh. Sova allowed just one hit and struck out one before handing the job off to Peter. Peter turned in a strong outing on his way to earning the win, not allowing a hit while striking out two. The win was Peter’s first of the season.
The Jays traveled down to Lincoln for the first of three meetings with in-state rival Nebraska on Wednesday.
Creighton returns home for a series with Fresno State starting on Friday night at 6:30.