Joe Simokaitis, Andy Gerch and Daniel Bruce each hit solo homers, but Creighton plated two runs in the top of the seventh to break a 3-all tie and earn a 5-3 victory over No. 3 Nebraska in front of a near capacity crowd of 20,011 at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium Tuesday evening.
Tonight’s attendance was the largest single-game crowd in college baseball (2nd largest overall in 2005) and the ninth-largest regular-season crowd in NCAA history. The mark also broke the series mark of 18,578 set in 2002.
With the score tied at three, Creighton (37-12) used RBI doubles by Tony Roth and Zach Daeges and strong bullpen performances by Scott Reese and Brandon Bird to earn their first series win over the Huskers since 1993. Reese improved to 10-0 on the season, allowing one run in 2.2 innings while Bird finished up with 2.1 innings of no-hit relief for his fifth save.
"You have to give Creighton a lot of credit," Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said. "They got clutch hits and good relief pitching tonight. Our relievers weren’t as sharp as they have been."
The Huskers, who scored all three of their runs on solo homers, were held to seven hits, but still had a pair of late-inning opportunities to send the game to extra innings.
In the seventh, the Huskers (39-11) loaded the bases with two outs after three walks by Reese. Bird came in and got the Bluejays out of the jam by striking out pinch-hitter Trey Adams. Nebraska also got the tying run to the plate in the ninth, as Jesse Boyer coaxed a one-out walk from Bird, but NU could not capitalize, as Simokaitis hit into a game-ending 1-6-3 double play
"We had three solo homers, and that is not enough to win," Anderson said. "We are a team that needs to put pressure on, and we didn’t get that done tonight."
Creighton took the lead for good in the seventh, scoring two runs off freshman right-hander Ryan Bohanan.
Colin Shockey was hit by a Bohanan pitch with one out before coming home on Roth’s double into the left field corner, snapping NU’s bullpen streak of 37.2 innings without allowing an earned run. After getting Brad Dutton to line out, Zach Daeges greeted reliever Tony Watson with a double into the left field corner, giving the Bluejays a two-run lead.
Roth went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Zach Daeges also had two hits and an RBI.
Bohanan (1-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 3.1 innings of work. The runs were the first earned runs he’s allowed in 20.1 innings of work dating back to Feb. 18.
Nebraska, seeking its sixth 40-win season in the last seven years, took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a solo homer off the bat of Simokaitis. The round tripper was the first of the year for the senior from St. Louis and only the third of his career, as he went 2-for-4 in the losing effort.
Creighton would come back in the top of the third, as Chase Odenreider doubled to right before eventually scoring on Tony Roth’s RBI single, but NU would regain the lead in the bottom of the inning on Gerch’s third homer of the year to open the frame.
The Bluejays chased Husker starter Phil Shirek in the fourth, scoring two runs on an RBI double by Dan Norquist and an RBI single by Chris Gradoville, as the NU right-hander allowed three runs on six hits in just 3.1 innings of work.
Nebraska tied the game in the sixth on a solo homer by Bruce, his fourth of the season.
The Huskers return to conference play this weekend, as they travel to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Red Raiders. Friday’s first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network.
-- Huskers --
Creighton vs Nebraska (May 10, 2005)
Box score (NCAA)
2005 Nebraska Baseball
Creighton vs #3 Nebraska
May 10, 2005 at Omaha, Neb. (Rosenblatt Stadium)
Creighton 5 (37-12)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Roth 2b.................. 5 1 3 2 0 1 1 4 0
Dutton ss................ 5 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 0
Daeges,Zach dh........... 4 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
Norquist 1b.............. 4 1 1 1 1 3 9 0 4
Daniel c................. 3 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 0
Lapito 3b................ 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
Gradoville lf............ 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
Hinrichs lf/cf.......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Odenreider rf............ 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Shockey cf............... 1 1 0 0 1 0 7 0 2
Daeges,Matt lf.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ogilvie p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Benson p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bilek p................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reese p................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bird p.................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Totals................... 33 5 11 5 4 8 27 11 8
Nebraska 3 (39-11)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Boyer, Jesse lf.......... 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 0
Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 0
Ledbetter, Curtis 1b..... 3 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 4
Fusilier, Brandon dh..... 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3
Bruce, Daniel cf......... 4 1 1 1 0 2 2 0 0
Wehrle, Ryan 2b.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0
Gerch, Andy rf........... 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 0 1
Christy, Jeff c.......... 2 0 0 0 1 1 7 4 0
Nimmo, Bryce ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shirek, Phil p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bohanan, Ryan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Watson, Tony p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harmelink, Mike p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 32 3 7 3 5 6 27 9 8
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Creighton........... 001 200 200 - 5 11 0
Nebraska............ 101 001 000 - 3 7 0
-------------------------------------------
DP - Bluejays 2. LOB - Bluejays 8; Huskers 8. 2B - Roth(14); Daeges,Zach
2(13); Norquist(16); Daniel(13); Odenreider(9); Boyer, J.(7); Gordon,
A.(16). HR - Simokaitis(1); Bruce, D.(4); Gerch, A.(3). HBP - Shockey;
Fusilier, B.. SH - Daniel(6); Shockey(11). SB - Fusilier, B.(12). CS -
Roth(5).
Creighton IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Ogilvie............. 2.2 4 2 2 0 1 11 11 34
Benson.............. 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
Bilek............... 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 5 6 19
Reese............... 2.1 2 1 1 4 1 9 13 46
Bird................ 2.1 0 0 0 1 3 6 7 36
Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Shirek, Phil........ 3.1 6 3 3 1 1 13 15 52
Bohanan, Ryan....... 3.1 2 2 2 1 2 11 14 44
Watson, Tony........ 2.0 3 0 0 2 4 8 10 40
Harmelink, Mike..... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 7
Win - Reese (10-0). Loss - Bohanan, R. (1-1). Save - Bird (5).
HBP - by Bilek (Fusilier, B.); by Bohanan, R. (Shockey). BK - Watson, T.(2).
Inherited runners/scored: Benson 1/0; Bilek 2/0; Bird 3/0; Bohanan, R. 2/1;
Watson, T. 1/1; Harmelink 3/0. Pitches/strikes: Ogilvie 34/23; Benson 2/2; Bilek
19/12; Reese 46/21; Bird 36/21; Shirek, P. 52/36; Bohanan, R. 44/27; Watson, T.
40/23; Harmelink 7/4.
Umpires - HP: Tom Svehla 1B: Patrick Spieler 3B: Randy Bertram
Start: 7:02p.m. Time: 2:46 Attendance: 20011
Benson faced 1 batter in the 3rd.
Game: NU50
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
