Creighton Runs Away Late to Keep Championship Hopes Alive

Despite struggles early and often for Villanova, Creighton could not capitalize on many mistakes made by the Wildcats.

Creighton (33-11, 12-4 Big East) maneuvered their way to a 10-1 victory Thursday night at TD Ameritrade, eventually taking advantage of walks, errors, and various other issues afflicting the last-placed Villanova Wildcats (13-36, 4-11).

Wildcat starter Jimmy Kingsbury struggled with control for the entire evening, throwing 113 pitches, only 59 of which were strikes. Despite his struggles, Kingsbury kept the Bluejays scoreless into the 5th inning. Twice the Bluejays left the bases loaded, in the 3rd and 4th inning, but could not capitalize. In the 5th, errors, command issues and timely hitting finally broke open the scoreless tie.

Creighton starter Mitch Ragan pitched a gem into the 8th inning, going 7.1 innings, striking out 9 and giving up just 1 earned run, coming from a monster home run by Villanova freshman Nick Lorusso.

Creighton's 5th inning scoring came thanks to chain hitting from Parker Upton, Jake Holton, Will Robertson, and Jordan Hovey.

After giving up the bomb in the top of the 7th, Creighton answered by once again loading the bases in the bottom of the 7th, and taking advantage by drawing a walk, and scoring a 2-RBI single off the bat of Will Hanafan.

Bats exploded once again in the 8th inning, as the Bluejays tacked 4 more runs in the inning thanks in part to Jake Holton's 13th home run of the season, as well as David Vilches' 2nd of the year.

Top Players

Creighton's Mitch Ragan showed why he's the Jays' top starter with his 101-pitch gem.

Catcher David Vilches went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a home run. Vilches is batting 7-for-11 in his last 3 games.

Inside the Box Score

Villanova struggled in every facet of their defense all night, committing two errors and countless other miscues leading to extra opportunities and advanced runners for Creighton. There is a reason this team has only won 13 games all year.

Villanova threw 194 pitches on the night, recording just 99 total strikes. Compare that to Creighton's far more efficient 80 strikes in just 116 total pitches.

Up Next

Weather permitting, Creighton wants to get at least one final game in in this series, as severe weather is in the forecast all weekend. The Bluejays sit just a half-game back of Xavier atop the Big East standings, and a sweep of Villanova will mean Creighton wins outright ownership of the Big East regular season championship.

Tomorrow's first pitch is currently set for 6:30 PM local time at TD Ameritrade Park.