After a dominate road sweep over the Villanova Wildcats and a 15-10 midweek victory over the cross-town rival Omaha Mavericks, Creighton baseball was on fire going into a home Big East series against the Butler Bulldogs. 

The Bluejays had an overall record of 22-16 going into the series, with a Big East record of 7-2. The Bulldogs came in with an overall record of 15-25 overall, but had a winning record of 5-4 in conference play. 

The first game of the series was played on Friday. In the bottom of the second, Creighton scored one run on two hits and capitalized on a Butler error. After a leadoff strikeout by redshirt-junior outfielder Isaac Wachsmann, junior catcher Connor Capece reached with a single and moved to third when graduate student outfielder Teddy Deters doubled to center field. Graduate first baseman Chris Baillargeon then grounded out to second, driving in Capece for the run.

In the bottom of the third, Creighton added one run on a single hit. Senior designated hitter Nate McHugh was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and after graduate student infielder Ben North struck out swinging, McHugh advanced to second on a wild pitch. Wachsmann then struck out for the second out before Capece delivered an RBI single through the left side, scoring McHugh and extending Creighton’s lead to 2-0. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Creighton tackd on another run behind two hits. Graduate student outfielder Lew Rice struck out swinging to start the inning. McHugh then doubled down the left field line, but North struck out looking for the second out. Wachsmann followed with a single through the right side, driving in McHugh for the run, and the score was 3-0 in favor of the Bluejays. 

Wachsmann would then double Creighton’s lead to 6-0 when he hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. Neither team would score another run in the game, and the contest ended as a 6-0 shoutout victory for the Bluejays. 

Creighton’s Friday night ace deliver another perfect performance, as junior Jack Pineau recorded his third scoreless outing in his last five starts. The BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week struck out eight and walked one in 92 pitches, averaging 3.68 pitches per at bat.

Game two of the series was played on Saturday, and it was a much more competitive and entertaining battle between the pair of teams. 

In the bottom of the second, Creighton scored two runs on three hits. Wachsmann fouled out to third for the first out before Capece doubled to right field. Deters then singled to left, driving in Capece to open the scoring and make it 1-0. Baillargeon followed with a double to right center, moving Deters to third. Graduate student Rocco Gump grounded out to the pitcher but brought home Deters, extending the lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the third, Creighton added on another. Rice led off with a single to 1st, but McHugh fouled out to 3rd and North struck out swinging, leaving 2 outs. Wachsmann and Capece then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Deters was hit by a pitch, forcing in Rice to make the score 3-0.

Butler tied things up in the top of the sixth due to a 3-run homer from junior infielder Charlie Schebler, evening the score at 3 apiece.

In the bottom of the seventh, Creighton reclaimed the lead. Gump led off with a single to left field, and Venteicher followed with a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, moving Gump to second. Rice then laid down a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher, allowing Gump to score and give Creighton a 4-3 lead.

The game continued to go back and forth as Butler took the lead back in the top of the eighth. Junior outfielder Danny Gavin walked to lead off, and junior utility David Ayers followed with a single through the right side, moving Gavin to 2nd. Senior infielder Logan Baker then laid down a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, advancing Ayers to second and Gavin to third. After a pitching change, Schebler delivered a single to left field, driving in both Ayers and Gavin to put Butler on top with 5-4 lead. 

Rice would then win the game for the Bluejays when he hit a two-run homer off the right foul line post in the bottom of the nineth to give Creighton a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory.

Junior Shea Wendt pitched 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts, while redshirt-sophomore Matt Goldenbaum earned the win with 1.2 innings of shutout relief.

The series finale was played on Sunday, and the Bluejays looked to complete the series sweep. Butler drew first blood in the top of the 1st inning when junior first-basemann Matthew Rhoades hit a two-run homer to put the Bulldogs up 2-0.

North responded for the Bluejays by hitting a solo home-run in the bottom of the 1st to cut Butler’s lead to 2-1. 

Creighton put up a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie things up. North led off with a walk, but Wachsmann lined out to left field and Capece lined out to center for the second out. After multiple failed pickoff attempts, Deters and Baillargeon drew consecutive walks to load the bases, with North stealing third during the sequence. Gump then walked to force in North to level the score at 2-2. 

Creighton would then build a lead in the bottom of the fifth. Rice led off with a single, and after McHugh fouled out, North and Wachsmann drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. A wild pitch then allowed Rice to score, giving Creighton a 3-2 lead, while the runners advanced. Capece followed with a single to center, driving in North to make it 4-2. Deters then lifted a sacrifice fly to shortstop territory, bringing home Wachsmann and extending the lead to 5-2.

Creighton would continue to build their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Wachsmann flied out to right for the 1st out before Capece singled to right field. Deters was then hit by a pitch, and Baillargeon reached on a fielder’s choice to the pitcher, but a throwing error allowed Capece to score and give Creighton a 6-2 lead, with the run unearned. Gump followed with a walk to load the bases, and Venteicher lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Deters to give the Bluejays a solid 7-2 lead.

Momentum continued into the eighth inning for the bluejays, scoring five more runs in the bottom of the eigth inning to secure a run-rule victory. McHugh led off with a single, and North was hit by a pitch. Wachsmann then singled to left, driving in McHugh to make it 8-2, while North moved up. A balk advanced both runners, and after Capece was hit by a pitch, Deters reached on a fielding error by the center fielder on a sacrifice fly, allowing North to score and extend the lead to 9-2. Baillargeon followed with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home Wachsmann to make it 10-2. Gump then grounded out, moving the runners up, before freshman infielder Joe Washburn doubled down the left field line, driving in both Deters and Capece to give Creighton a 12-2 victory via the run-rule, and a series sweep over the Bulldogs. 

The three victories in the series sweep improves Creighton’s overall record to 25-16 and 10-2 in the Big East, which is first place in the league. The Bluejays are currently on a seven game win-streak overall. 

“I just think we have a good combination of talent, work ethic, good environment and were getting better as the season has gone on,” head coach Mark Kingston said.

The Bluejays have a tall order moving forward, after a midweek game against the North Dakota State Bison, they fly up to New York for a road series against the St. John’s Red Storm, who sit in second place in the Big East. 

“We’re gonna focus on NDSU first, get that game, play as hard as we can and treat it like its any other game on our schedule. And then St.J ohn’s is gonna be a big weekend, they’re a good team,” North said. 

The Bluejays next game is today against the North Dakota State Bison. The game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.