A pair of dominant starting pitching performances from Ryan Windham and Dominic Cancellieri led Creighton to a 2-1 series win over Villanova.
Windham, a senior, thew seven scoreless innings and gave up only a single walk as Creighton won the series opener, 6-0. He also held the Wildcats to only four hits.
Through the first six innings, Villanova was never able to threaten Windham, only getting a single runner past second base and failing to ever get two runners on simultaneously.
“I’m just trying to get on top of guys, just trying to miss their barrels with my sinker,” Windham said. “When I can control the leadoff batter, it hurts the offense.”
The Creighton offense, however, was able to jump on Villanova early, scoring three runs in the first, powered by a double off the bat of sophomore Nolan Sailors and a triple from senior Tyler Lozano. Sailors and Lozano provided the offense throughout the night for the Jays, either scoring or driving in all six Creighton runs.
Windham’s seven innings allowed Creighton to use their bullpen sparingly, requiring only one inning each from junior Tommy Lamb and senior Marc Lidd, who threw only 11 and 12 pitches, respectively. This allowed both to be available for the rest of the series, while Villanova was forced to burn six bullpen innings in the series opener.
Friday’s matchup saw more of the same, albeit with a slower start from Creighton, as junior Dominic Cancellieri took the mound and threw eight innings of one-hit baseball. After allowing a walk in the top of the first and a single to lead off the second, Cancellieri threw six perfect innings of baseball, setting down 21 batters in a row.
“I knew I just had to attack,” Cancellieri said. “It was a pitchers’ duel from the get-go and I knew I would have to carry the team a little bit. The defense made tremendous plays behind me, and when they’re making plays it’s hard to give up hits so a lot of credit to them.”
Senior closer Tommy Steier set down all three batters he faced in the ninth to make it 24 straight Villanova hitters who failed to reach first.
While Creighton formed an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Sailors RBI triple in the first, the Jays were never able to rally multiple hits together, scoring only one more run throughout the rest of the contest.
“We’re inconsistent,” head coach Ed Servais said. “Every game this year we play three, four, five really good innings. We’ve yet to play a full nine-inning game. I don’t know if it has to do with endurance, I don’t know if it has to do with stamina, I don’t know if it has to do with focus but we’re lacking in it.”
Creighton won the game, 2-0.
Saturday’s series finale saw Villanova win in extra innings, 8-6.
Freshman pitcher Anthony Watts started strong, allowing only three hits through the first three innings, but was forced out after Villanova Jake Bollin ripped a solo home run off the left field foul pole, the first hit of his collegiate career. Villanova proceeded to tear through the Bluejay bullpen, who was never able to find the zone. The Jays gave up 12 walks and hit two batters in the game.
“You feel good when you have Paul Bergstrom and Tommy Steier ready to go, and they just had troubles throwing strikes today,” Servais said. “We just gave them way too many opportunities compared to the last two days.”
The middle of the lineup still produced for the Jays, as Sailors, Lozano and sophomore Hogan Helligso, who pinch ran for Lozano in the seventh, combined for four runs and an RBI. Senior Sterling Hayes added a two-run double for the Jays, allowing them to enter the ninth inning with a 6-6 tie.
The momentum appeared to swing in the Jays favor in the top of the ninth as a diving catch by Sailors in center saved what appeared to be a sure RBI single and kept the game knotted up. The Jays failed to score in the bottom half, though, and lost in the tenth as Villanova knocked in a pair of runs off of junior pitcher Daniel Hammond.
The Bluejays also lost to Kansas State on April 10. They return to action in a three-game series at Georgetown on April 14-16.