Jays Even the Series

In what is arguably the best rivalry in the state of Nebraska, Creighton knocked off the Huskers 2-1 Tuesday night at Haymarket Park, snapping a six-game losing streak to their Division I brethren.

Another Matchup, Another Weird Play (or two)

Whenever these two teams get together, there’s always a weird sequence of events. From Andy Gerch getting hit in the helmet with Chris Gradoville’s throw after a wild pitch, then Craig Corriston getting thrown out at the plate just moments later… then in the 8th inning, with Chad Ogden taking an extra base on a sacrifice, then racing home on a safety squeeze, each time getting beat by the throw but having the ball hit the dirt… well, that’s just Creighton/Nebraska.

On the play at third, Nebraska pitcher Matt Foust raced over to receive the throw from Andrew Brown. His tag on Ogden was in time, but he lost the baseball. Husker fans booed the call, believing that Foust had control of the ball long enough to secure the out. Watching the play with the naked eye it was clear that Foust lost the ball. Watching it on our video replay you could see that Foust never had control of the ball at any point during that play.

Same goes on the ensuing safety squeeze. Andrew Brown’s throw to catcher Mitch Abeita was in time, but Abeita never had the baseball. Chad Ogden didn’t knock the ball out of Abeita’s glove… Abeita just flat-out never had control of it, even before the tag.

Those didn’t show up as Husker errors in the scorebook, but they may have cost Nebraska that game.

Small Ball Beats Big Brother

Creighton knew going in that it would have to keep the score down in order to win. I think 2-1 does the trick. The Jays played their brand of small ball from the opening inning: lead-off man gets on, he’s sacrificed, he scores.

Nebraska tried to play Creighton ball in the later innings, trying their best to manufacture a run. You know a team (read: a coach) is desperate to score when it has Craig Corriston (the second-best Husker hitter) trying to bunt.

When is the last time you saw a game that had 11 hits… and all of them singles?

Advantage: Creighton.

Casey at the Mound

Casey Schmidt pitched as well as any opposing freshman can pitch at Haymarket Park. Five and a third innings of 3-hit shutout ball? Even Ed Servais was in disbelief after the game. Good pitching beats good hitting? You better believe it.

Role Reversal

Creighton looks like a team heading to an NCAA Regional. Nebraska may just have claw its way into the post-season.

Big Weekend

If the Huskers can manage to take two of three from Texas this weekend, they’ll be right back on track. It’ll be up to Tony Watson and Johnny Dorn, because the Husker bats sure aren’t getting it done. Nebraska may have to try its hand at small-ball.

Creighton heads to bottom-feeding Indiana State for three games. A sweep is in order in Terre Haute.