Creighton University
Southern Illinois
Bluejays Use Hidden Ball Trick to Preserve Doubleheader Sweep Over Southern Illinois
3/28/2009 8:30:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Thanks to some clutch team hitting, and some trickeration from second baseman Vicente Cafaro, the Creighton baseball team rallied in both games of its doubleheader to pull out identical 4-3 wins over Southern Illinois, Saturday at the CU Sports Complex.
GAME ONE
In the bottom of the eighth T.J. Roemmich drew a lead off walk. Ian Dike then singled to left putting runners on first and second with one out, before Carson Vitale got an infield single to load the bases. Nick Becker then drew a walk, bringing in Roemmich to give the Bluejays a 4-3 lead.
Creighton starter Greg Hellhake got himself out of a bases loaded jam in the first. Left fielder Dike dropped a fly ball in the left-center gap, to put runners on first and second. After Hellhake would walk a man to load the bases with two outs, he induced a fly ball by Jordan Siverstein to Dike, ending the rally.
Southern Illinois got on the board first in the third inning as Jimmy Swift bobbled a slow roller to third, to put a man on first. Next Michael Stalter hit a line drive over Dike's head that went to the wall for a double, to put men on second and third with one out. After an intentional walk to Mark Kelly, Chris Serritella lined a bases-clearing triple down the right field line, to make it 3-0 SIU.
The Bluejays got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, as Swift hit a double down the right field line. He scored the first run of the day for CU, when Dike hit a single to center, making it 3-1 in favor of the Salukis.
SIU threatened to extend its lead in the fifth, as Hellhake walked the bases full. Fortunately for the Jays he got Tyler Bullock to hit a comebacker to the mound that deflected off Hellhake's glove and right to Elliot Soto who stepped on second to end the inning.
The Jays got a rally together in the seventh when Vitale hit a double down the left field line with one out. Becker then reached on an error, putting runners on first and third. Robbie Knight then hit a triple into the right-center gap, to bring home Becker and Vitale, tying the game at 3-3.
Jack VanLeur (2-1) was clutch in relief of Hellhake, going three shutout innings, allowing just two hits and no walks, as he struck out three.
GAME TWO
Vicente Cafaro duped the Saluki baserunners in the top of the ninth, as he got the last out on a hidden ball trick to preserve the 4-3 win for the Bluejays and the sweep of the doubleheader. Prior to Cafaro's trickery, Southern Illinois had gotten runners on first and second with two outs, when Tony Lepore hit a single to right, advancing Jordan Silverstein. T.J. Roemmich then threw the ball into the infield and Cafaro went to the pitcher's mound, making everyone in the crowd believe he was giving the ball to the pitcher Matt Patterson. However, Cafaro kept the ball instead and after making sure the umpire was aware of the situation, he tagged Silverstein who was taking his lead from second, for the final out of the game.
At the start of the contest, CU continued its scoring that it ended with in the first game, as Knight drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Darin Ruf hit a ground ball to third that Saluki third baseman Lepore decided not to throw home on, allowing Knight to cross home.
SIU tied the game in the ninth as Chris Murphy hit a line drive to center that dropped in front of Knight. Aaron Roberts then doubled down the left field line to bring in Murphy.
Ian Dike had another key hit in the sixth as he brought home Jimmy Swift from second. Swift hit a two-out single and stole second, before coming home on Dike's single to right.
Creighton threatened for insurance in the seventh as the team had three straight men reach base with two outs, loading the bases. Unfortunately for the Jays, Roemmich struck out looking, ending the threat, and leaving the score at just 2-1 in favor of CU after seven.
The Salukis looked to go ahead for good on the Jays in the top of the eighth, hitting a two-run home run off Patterson's first pitch of the game. Michael Stalter took the first pitch he saw from Patterson and lined a two-run shot to left that cut through the wind.
CU would answer in the bottom of the inning, as Robbie Knight hit an infield single to load the bases with two outs, bringing up preseason All-MVC pick, Elliot Soto who then hit a routine ground ball to second base, but Scott Elmendorf booted the ball allowing two runs to score, making it a 4-3 Bluejay lead heading into the ninth.
NOTES: Creighton has now played four doubleheaders this season...Last year the team played nine twin bills...The Bluejays' six game streak of scoring in the first inning was snapped in game one...It had been their longest streak since the team did it six straight as well from April 22-May 5, 2007...Hellhake threw a career-high five walks...Knight's infield single in game two extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tops on the team...CU's four errors in game one was its most errors since the NCAA Regional on June 3, 2007 against Arkansas...It was the first time the Jays have won when committing four errors since April 20, 2007...Dike's three hits in game one were a career-high...Vicente Cafaro had last pulled off the hidden ball trick as a member of Iowa Western CC, in the JUCO World Series in 2007...The two 4-3 victories marked the first time Creighton has won back-to-back games by the same score since April 13-14, 2007, when the team defeated Bradley by a 4-2 margin...Prior to Saturday, Creighton was 0-9 in runs decided by two runs or less.
