Bluejay Baseball Takes Opener 6-3 Over Xavier

Omaha, Neb. -- In the first of an emotional three-game series with Xavier, Creighton Baseball claimed a 6-3 win as the Bluejay faithful celebrated former Creighton great Chris Gradoville on Friday, May 9.

The win pushed the Bluejays to 33-13 on the season as well as 13-3 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 29-22 overall and 13-6 in conference contests.

Creighton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second with executive as the Bluejays turned two hits into a 3-0 edge. Sophomore Connor Capece got the inning started with a single up the middle. The Bluejays went on to load the bases via a hit batter and a walk with one down, but a force out at the plate left the Jays with two down and the bags juiced. Junior Tate Gillen got Creighton on the board with a two-run single through the right side, then with runners at the corners a double steal gave CU a 3-0 edge.

Still 3-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Creighton extended its lead to 6-0 in a similar fashion. This time junior Nate McHugh opened the inning with a single to left, then a sacrifice by freshman Nick Venteicher put a pair on thanks to an errant throw by the Musketeers. After Tate Gillen was hit by a pitch to load the bases, a force out at home brought senior Nolan Sailors to the dish. The Omaha native responded with an RBI single to make it 4-0. Junior Ben North delivered an RBI fielder's choice and Capece made it 6-0 with a double off the foot of Xavier third baseman Luke Hammond.

That was more than enough run support for grad student Dominic Cancellieri as the Bluejay ace held Xavier scoreless for 7.2 innings, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out seven. Cancellieri left game having tossed 107 pitches, giving way to Noah Klein for the final four outs.

Xavier pushed across a trio of runs in the ninth, but the Bluejays clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament with a win on Friday night.

The series continues on Saturday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m., following the contest the Bluejays will honor 11 seniors playing their final set of games in Charles Schwab Field.