May 11, 2007
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State baseball team returned to Missouri Valley Conference baseball action on Friday night against Creighton, but the return was not successful for ISU (20-26, 8-11 MVC) as it dropped the series opener to CU (35-12, 15-4 MVC) by a score of 10-3 at Redbird Field. With the win, the Bluejays have now won five-straight games and 16 out of their last 17 contests, while ISU snapped a two-game winning streak.
Freshman starter Ryan Copeland (4-3) struggled for the Redbirds and suffered the loss after allowing five earned runs on nine hits in six innings of work on the mound. Creighton starter Marc Lewis (7-1) was strong on the mound for the Bluejays, as he gave up just three earned runs on six hits in 6.1 innings on the mound. Reliever Pat Venditte, who is ambidextrous and threw pitches with his left and right-hands in the game, shut down the `Birds for the final 2.2 innings to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Creighton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a RBI double by Darin Ruf, which scored Robbie Knight from second base. It didn't take long for Illinois State to answer, as the Redbirds took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of a two-run home run off the bat of Kyle O'Brien, his fourth of the season.
That lead would not last long, though, as the Bluejays answered back with four runs in the top of the third inning regain the lead. Knight and Ross Sinclair led off the inning with back-to-back singles to start the rally for CU and both scored in the next at bat when Chris Gradoville doubled into left field to put the Jays up 3-2. Ruf was up next and lined a home run over the left field wall, his seventh long ball of the season, to widen the Creighton lead to three runs at 5-2.
Both pitchers would settle down for the next three innings until the bottom of the seventh inning, when ISU cut the CU lead to two runs. Jesse Griswold led off the inning with a long double down the left field line and later advanced to third base on an O'Brien ground out. Mike Stalowy then singled up the middle off Lewis, which plated Griswold and ended Lewis' day. Venditte came on in relief and immediately surrendered a single to Matt Bolt, which allowed Stalowy to move to third base with just one out. The CU reliever would then get Mike Tokarski to strike out and Collin Salzenstein to pop out, which ended the ISU threat and left the score at 5-3.
That would be as close as the `Birds would get, as the Jays tacked on a run in the top of the eighth inning and then four more in the ninth inning to secure the 10-3, series-opening win. Gradoville finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and Ruf was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI to pace the Creighton offense. Stalowy and Bolt each chipped in for two hits for ISU, while O'Brien led the way with his two RBI off the home run.
ISU and Creighton return to action tomorrow at Redbird Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Junior Eric Theisen (3-7) will take the mound against Creighton right-hander Zak Moore (4-1)
