OMAHA, Neb. — An eight-run fourth inning provided all the offense needed for Creighton baseball as the BlueJays beat Minnesota 14-7 to seal a series win over the Golden Gophers on Saturday, March 19.
With Saturday's win, Creighton climbed the season 8-6, while Minnesota fell 5-14 on the season.
The Bluejays hit first with a pair of uninvited runs in the third, using three errors from Minnesota to take a 2–0 lead.
Minnesota also pulled in the top of fourth, receiving RBI singles from Boston Meralia and Otto Grimm.
The bottom of the fourth didn't really start until the two men from the Bluejays were out. Inning starter with a grounded out, then a walk to junior Sterling Hayes, followed by a strikeout looking for another out from Creighton. Sophomore Nolan Clifford cracked an RBI double into right field, then freshman Hogan Heligson delivered an RBI single to put Creighton back at 4-2. A single from the left from junior Andrew Meigs put the runners on the corners, while sophomore Alan Roden worked a walk to load the bases. Junior Jared Wegner fired a two-run double blast in the center, which was bobbed, giving Roden the score and giving the BlueJays a 7–2 advantage. After 3.2 innings, Minnesota starter J.P. Another outing ended in the afternoon for Macy's.
Another outfield error allowed golden gopher reliever Jack Leifrig to cross the seventh run of the innings, along with an RBI single from senior Chris Esposito. Hayes continued the bluejay hit parade with another RBI single to do 10-2.
Creighton added three runs on a single home run from Heligso in fifth, an RBI triple from Roden and an RBI ground out by new Brant Voth to extend the lead to 13-3. The Bluejays' final run came on a sack fly by Kyle Hayes in the seventh.
The Meigs led the BlueJ attack with three hits and two runs, ending the day 3-for-6.
BlueJ starter Dominic Cancellieri earned the win (2–1), restricting Minnesota to five for two in seven hits and six innings of work, while Gophers starter JP Massey took the loss (1–2). Messi was responsible for nine runs (seven earned), which allowed the batsman four hits, four walks and one hit in 3.2 frames.
Creighton goes in for a series sweep on Sunday, looking to clinch their ninth win in 11 matches. The first pitch has been scheduled for 12:00 noon.