Bluejay Baseball Rallies to Take Series Opener at Samford, 6-5

Birmingham, Ala. -- Down 3-0 early in the game and again 5-3, Creighton Baseball scored three runs in the final two frames, highlighted by a game-winning home run from Ben North to give the Bluejays a 6-5 win in the series opening game at Samford on Friday, March 28.

The win pushed Creighton to 15-6 on the season, while Samford fell to 13-13 overall.

Creighton fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first as a two-out error opened the door and Bulldog Parker MacDonald blasted a three-run home run with all three runs being unearned tallies.

The Bluejays pushed across a single run in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames via a sacrifice fly by Nick Venteicher (fourth), an RBI single by Ben North (fifth) and wild pitch that tied the contest in the sixth.

Knotted at 3-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, Samford reclaimed the advantage on a one-out triple by Jake Souders, a wild pitch and a solo home run from MacDonald (his second of the night).

Sophomore Connor Capece pulled Creighton closer with a solo blast to open the eighth, then a one-out walk by Venteicher and a single from Tate Gillen gave the Bluejays runners at the corners. Dakota Duffalo cashed in the opportunity with a sacrifice fly to center to pull Creighton even once more.

North put Creighton ahead for the first time in the top of the ninth, launching a blast out to left-center.

Bluejay closer Garrett Langrell earns the win (3-0) limiting Samford to two hits and faced the minimum six batters in two innings. Bulldog reliever Evan Steckmesser took the loss (1-1), allowing three runs on four hits over the final three frames.

The Bluejays and Bulldogs will continue their three-game series on Saturday, March 29 at 2:00 p.m. (CT).