Creighton Baseball’s postseason run came to an end Sunday night in Fayetteville, as the Bluejays rallied for a walk-off win over North Dakota State in an elimination game before falling 8-3 to Arkansas in the Regional Final.
“We saw some good arms the last two days when we played Arkansas, so I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game where we struck out 20 times, so congratulations to them,” Head Coach Ed Servais said. “It’s going to take a heck of a team to beat them next week, so I think they’re in good shape. But… I just want to congratulate our players too because they had a heck of a year. You know, sometimes baseball doesn’t end the way you wanted to, and they certainly would have liked to have played another game, but what they accomplished this year with 43 wins says a lot about them. So, I just hope that they don’t forget that as they move forward. So it’s pretty special. Special to be around them.”
In the midday heat and high sun, Creighton jumped out fast against NDSU behind one of its strongest opening stretches of the year. Sophomore starter Jack Pineau set the tone early, striking out the side in the opening frame and finishing with seven punchouts over five innings. He exited with a 10-3 lead, a quietly dominant performance that accounted for more than half of Creighton’s 13 total strikeouts in the game.
The offense backed him with fireworks. Junior Tate Gillen opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff homer—Creighton’s first in NCAA Tournament history—before senior Nolan Sailors, junior Teddy Deters, and graduate student Kyle Hess joined the home run parade. Hess’s three-run blast capped a five-run third inning. After four innings of play, Creighton plated 10 runs to North Dakota State’s three.
But what looked like a rout turned dramatic. The Bison clawed back with seven unanswered runs in the sixth and eighth innings, tying the game at 10-apiece. That forced Creighton to turn to All-BIG EAST closer Garrett Langrell, who delivered three straight strikeouts in the ninth to hold the line. In the bottom half, a misplayed grounder and sacrifice bunt moved the go-ahead run to third, and Hess lifted a chopper over the first baseman’s head to score pinch-runner graduate student Jack Torosian.
“He’s done it multiple times for you in late game situations,” Servais said. “He’s a good worker. You know, he’s got great work ethic. And using guys that have great work ethic, the moment’s not too big for him. So, I knew he’d put the ball in play. I visioned he’d hit a fly ball to the outfield and we’d tag up, but I’m happy for him because he works hard. This is his last go round. He didn’t want that to be his last game. So it’s nice that a senior got the hit to drive in the winning run to keep the season going.”
The Bluejays improved to 43-15 with the win and advanced to the Regional Final for the third-straight NCAA appearance (2012, 2019, 2025).
Only three hours later, they were back on the field against a rested Arkansas squad. Langrell was handed his first start of the season just hours after closing out NDSU, but the short turnaround and a lively Razorback crowd took their toll.
Arkansas jumped out early with a two-run homer from Logan Maxwell in the first inning. A three-run shot by Justin Thomas Jr. in the second and a solo blast from Ryder Helfrick in the third made it 6-0 Razorbacks—and by then, it was starting to feel like déjà vu from the night before.
“We were going to start Garrett in the second game if we got there. You know, it looked like we weren’t going to have to use him when it was 10 to 3, right? And then all of a sudden, you know, here comes North Dakota State,” Servais said. “And of course, in this ballpark, you know, runs can come a little easier than what we’re accustomed to back in Omaha. So, we had to get Garrett involved in that game. It doesn’t do us any good to have him sit out in the bullpen and lose that game and not have your closer involved with any of the three games. We were kind of running low on options, you know, and I thought he gave us our best shot. He didn’t quite have his stuff that he had in the first game when he struck out the side, but we all thought he gave us our best shot.”
Just when it looked like a repeat of the Bluejays’ 12-1 loss the night before, they showed life. Junior Ben North, who had struggled throughout the weekend, gave Creighton a spark with a three-run homer in the fourth to cut the deficit in half. For a moment, momentum seemed to swing.
But Arkansas’ pitching was relentless. Razorback starter Gage Wood struck out 13 over six innings, and the Jays were held to just five hits on the night. Creighton had two on with two outs in the top of the ninth as North stepped up to the plate but couldn’t complete another comeback.
“I think that he [North] definitely gave us a jolt there,” Hess said. “We continued to have some competitive at bats, but it just it just wasn’t enough tonight, unfortunately.”
Still, the Jays’ journey to the Regional Final—capped by a dramatic walk-off and powered by a 22–3 run down the stretch—was a fitting close to one of the program’s most memorable seasons in recent years. With a Big East title, a 43-win campaign, and a resilient NCAA run, Creighton gave longtime head coach Ed Servais one last ride on the national stage—and one more team to be proud of.
