Nebraska baseball came into Tuesday’s matchup against Creighton 2-11 in the last 13 meetings between the two teams. The Bluejays won a back-and-forth affair by a score of 9-5 on a cloudy afternoon at Haymarket Park.
The outcome came down to each team’s closer. For Creighton, they needed senior right-hander Garrett Langrell to stop the Huskers from tying or taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Even though he gave up a double to the first batter he faced, he managed to do so. For Nebraska, the critical half-inning came in the top of the ninth. The Huskers needed junior closer Luke Broderick to keep the deficit at 6-5. Creighton scored three runs and extended their lead beyond reach.
Head coach Will Bolt said he thought they played fine, but the start put them in a tough spot.
“It was a pretty well-played game,” Bolt said. “When you’ve got momentum going into a week, it was about as bad a start as you could possibly get on the mound.”
Sophomore right-hander TJ Coats got the nod for his third start of the season against the Bluejays. After giving up a leadoff double, Coats loaded the bases with one out and Creighton cashed in on the opportunity. The sophomore walked in two. Then, sophomore catcher Connor Capece’s base hit to center with the bases still loaded forced pitching coach Rob Childress to bring in junior left-hander Jalen Worthley with just one out in the first. He limited the damage, but the Bluejays pushed across three in the inning.
“Jalen [Worthley] and Christo gave us a shot right, but we’re going to the [bullpen] in the first inning,” Bolt said. “That’s completely unacceptable, especially on a day like today, where the wind’s howling in and it’s going to be a tough day to hit.”
Junior shortstop Dylan Carey got hit by a pitch to lead off the second inning. Then, sophomore right fielder Max Buettenback and senior catcher Hogan Helligso hit back-to-back singles to drive him in. With two outs and the bases loaded, senior center fielder Riley Silva tied the game with a two-strike single to center.
Silva said they put good swings on the ball but it just was not the day to hit it in the air.
“We had a lot of balls hit hard, [Overbeek], [Stone], [Nunez],” Silva said. “It’s just the wrong day for that, honestly. Low and hard would have played better.”
Creighton threatened in the third. A leadoff walk and a base hit up the middle gave the Bluejays two on with one out. However, Worthley struck out the next batter and forced a groundout to keep them off the board.
The Bluejays regained the advantage in the fourth. A one-out walk and back-to-back singles drove in one. The latter also knocked Worthley out of the game. Senior right-hander Drew Christo came in and held the Creighton lead at 4-3.
Bolt said he would have liked to have brought in Worthley and Christo later in the game. He said he felt like the game could have been totally different if they were able to do so.
“I was all in on using who we needed to use,” Bolt said.
In the fifth, Bolt gave senior outfielder Gabe Swansen a pinch-hit opportunity with two on and two out. The senior smashed a double to left past the Bluejays’ third baseman. Only one run crossed the plate, but the extra-base hit tied it at four.
Bolt said their ability to come through in pinch-hit opportunities has improved as the season has gone on.
“Since we kind of got rolling a little bit more offensively, guys have been more ready,” Bolt said.
Creighton looked like they would take the lead right back in the sixth. However, a diving Silva, at full stretch in right center, snatched a two-out fly ball millimeters before it hit the turf. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, the Bluejays pounced on freshman left-hander Colin Nowaczyk in the seventh.
Silva said that that catch was one of the most acrobatic plays he has made in his career.
“Yeah, definitely up there,” Silva said. “I tried to get the team a spark right there, and unfortunately, it just didn’t happen.”
The freshman failed to record an out after taking over for Christo. Capece’s second hit of the game put two runners in scoring position for graduate second baseman Kyle Hess, who drove them both in with a base hit to left center. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Harrahill got the Huskers out of the inning, but not before Creighton gained a 6-4 advantage.
Nebraska had their chance in the bottom of the eighth but failed to come through with one out and runners on second and third. Carey got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to begin the inning. Then, a single by Buettenback put two on for Helligso. Bolt decided to pinch-hit senior outfielder Cael Frost for the former Bluejay and he delivered. The senior hit a double to right, but only one run scored. However, earlier in the at-bat, Frost just missed a home run down the right field line.
“We’re three feet away from a three-run homer to take the lead,” Bolt said. “Cael Frost comes off the bench and ends up hitting a double, but that ball that’s down the line, I mean it’s three feet away from being in that bullpen area over there for a home run.”
Creighton’s closer shut the door after Frost’s double. Broderick tried to keep the lead at one in the top of the ninth but could not manage to do so. A two-run triple by graduate pinch-hitter Jack Torosian all but sealed the Bluejays’ 12th win in their last 14 games against the Huskers.
“Baseball is hard,” Bolt said. “It’s a tough game. I’ve got no qualms with how we swung the bat until we just didn’t move the ball there at the end.”
Nebraska fell to 12-16 with the loss. Their next game is against Omaha at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Omaha.