Queens, N.Y. -- Creighton ace
Dylan Tebrake was spectacular on Thursday, April 14 as the junior right-hander limited St. John's to one run on four hits in 6.1 innings as the Bluejays bested St. John's 5-3 to take the series opener.
Creighton moved to 19-8 on the season with the win and 4-0 in BIG EAST play, while St. John's fell to 12-22 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
Tebrake retired 15 of the first 17 batters he faced, including the first 10 of the game, going on to earn his fifth win (5-1) of the season in the process. The Bluejay hurler took the game into the seventh inning, needing just 78 pitches to notch 6.1 frames and six strikeouts.
The Creighton offense gave Tebrake the lead in the fourth on a leadoff single by sophomore
Alan Roden, a stolen base and an RBI double from senior
Chris Esposito.
St. John's pulled even in the sixth with a leadoff single from Chris Coniff, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI double from Tate Ballestero.
Creighton responded quickly in the top of the seventh, reclaiming the lead as sophomore
Nolan Clifford was hit by a pitch with two down, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on an RBI double by junior
Andrew Meggs.
The Bluejays tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth, taking advantage of a double, two Red Storm errors and three hit batters. Freshman
Nolan Sailors open the inning with a leadoff double, then freshman
Hogan Helligso was hit by a pitch. A bunt to first that was thrown wide at third load the bases. Creighton's first run crossed as Clifford was hit by a pitch to make it 3-1. A sac fly off the bat of Roden made it 4-1, but the ball was dropped to keep the bags full. The fifth run crossed moments later when junior
Jared Wegner was hit by a pitch.
Following Tebrake the Bluejays went to their top relievers as junior
Paul Bergstrom got three outs on just seven pitches, while junior
Tommy Steier earned his sixth save of the season with 1.2 innings to close the door.
The middle of the diamond led Creighton's attack as Meggs went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Clifford was 1-for-2 with two runs scored. The pair also made stellar plays defensively to keep the game moving.
After taking Good Friday (April 15) off tomorrow, the Bluejays and Red Storm will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 15. The opening game is scheduled for a first pitch at 11:00 am (CT).
