Baseball swept in doubleheader against Creighton

Saturday, March 28

Omaha, NE

4:00 P.M.

Southern Illinois University

11-15, 3-2

Creighton

10-14, 4-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Illinois	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	1
Creighton	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	X	4	10	0

03/28/2009 | 12:00:00 | Baseball

Box Score

March 28, 2009

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton University (10-14, 4-1) swept Southern Illinois (11-15, 3-2) in a doubleheader earlier today at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays won both games by a score of 4-3.

The Bluejays came from behind to win both games in the bottom of the eighth inning. SIU has suffered six, one-run losses this season and is 5-6 in those games. The Salukis lost their third-straight series against the Jays in Omaha.

SIU and CU conclude their series at 1 p.m., CT, Sunday. Righthander Andrew Dunn (4-2) will start on the mound.

Creighton 4, Southern Illinois 3

Creighton scored two unearned runs on Scott Elmendorf's two-out bases loaded error to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning of game two.

The crushing blow came after Michael Stalter hit a two-run homer to give the Salukis a 3-2 edge in the top of the eighth.

SIU threatened in the ninth when Jordan Sivertsen drew a four-pitch walk and went to second on Tony Lepore's two-out single. The game, however, ended quickly on the next play when Bluejay second baseman Vicente Cafaro tagged out Sivertsen on the hidden ball trick. Cafaro never threw the ball back to pitcher Matt Patterson and managed to catch Sivertsen wandering off second base.

Patterson (2-0) was credited with the win after giving up two hits and one run in 1.1 innings of relief.

He replaced soft-tossing lefthander Jeremy Hauer in the eighth inning. Hauer allowed only two runs on five hits, while striking out a career-high nine in 7.2 sparkling innings. Hauer also retired 13-straight hitters between the fourth and eighth innings.

Lefthander Ryan Bradley (0-1) suffered the tough-luck loss for SIU. Bradley worked one inning and was charged with the decisive runs in the eighth.

Aaron Roberts and Stalter each had two hits to lead a Saluki offense which struck out 10 times. The 10 strikeouts matched a season-high. Chris Serritella and Tyler Bullock saw their double-digit game hitting streaks end at 12 and 11 games, respectively.

Jimmy Swift, Ian Dike and Nick Becker led the Bluejays with two hits apiece. Those three combined for all but four of CU's 10 hits.

Creighton 4, Southern Illinois 3

In game one, T.J. Roemmich scored the winning run on Nick Becker's one-out bases loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Creighton a 4-3 win.

Chris Serritella's bases clearing triple gave SIU a 3-0 lead in the third, but the Salukis managed only two hits in the last six innings of the game.

The Bluejays, after plating a run with two outs in the fourth, tied the game in the seventh.

Carson Vitale sparked a one-out rally with a double down the left field line and went to third on an error. With runners at the corners, Robbie Knight knocked in both runners on a triple to right center, bringing the game to a 3-3 deadlock.

Roemmich then drew a leadoff walk against Saluki reliever David Kington in the eighth. Ian Dike moved Roemmich into scoring position on a one-out single to left. Vitale reached on an infield single to load the bases, before Becker walked.

Lefthander Jack VanLeur (2-1) was credited with the win, allowing only two hits in three scoreless innings out of the CU bullpen. VanLeur also struck out three and did not give up a walk, retiring nine of the 11 hitters he faced.

Kington (0-4) suffered the loss for SIU. He gave up two hits, allowed one run, walked two and struck out one in 1.1 innings. Kington relieved starting righthander Nathan Forer with two outs in the seventh. Forer allowed six hits and three runs, while striking out four and walking three in 6.2 innings.

CU, which entered the day as the Missouri Valley Conference's top fielding team, committed a season-high four errors.

Offensively, the Bluejays outhit the Salukis, 8-5, with all but three of hits coming from the bottom of their lineup. Dike went 3-for-4 with one RBI out of the seven-hole, while Vitale went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the eighth spot.

Aaron Roberts went 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead SIU.

The Salukis also loaded the bases three times and stranded six runners in scoring position.