LAWRENCE, Kan. — BYU baseball opened a two-game series with Creighton on Friday with a tough, 8-6, loss at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.
The series was originally scheduled to start Thursday, with three games at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, but due to inclement weather was shortened to two games and moved three-hours south to Hoglund Ballpark at the University of Kansas.
With the win, the Bluejays improve to 5-5 on the year while the Cougars fall to 4-9.
“We had plenty of chances offensively today but couldn’t come up with a big hit,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “Defensively, errors really hurt us. We made a few mistakes and Creighton took advantage of the opportunties. We need to get back to work and clean up the little things defensively.”
Game Summary
• BYU scored six runs on 10 hits, while Creighton scored eight runs on 13 hits
• Three Cougar errors resulted in three unearned Bluejays runs
• Creighton was 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position, while BYU was 2-for-14
Player Highlights
• Cole Gambill: 2-3, 2 RBI, 3 Runs, HR
• Ryan Sepede: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, Run
• Austin Deming: 2-4, 2 Runs, RBI, HR
BYU got on the board first in the second inning with two runs on two hits. Centerfielder Cole Gambill led off the inning with a walk and scored on a double to left center by Ryan Sepede. Designated hitter Safea Mauai then doubled to left, trading places with Sepede for a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the third on a solo home run over the leftfield wall by third baseman Austin Deming. A two-out single by Gambill, a Creighton error and back-to-back walks by Mauai and Jacob Wilk scored another run and gave BYU a 4-0 advantage.
Creighton responded with an unearned run in the third inning off a BYU error, then added another run in the fourth off a solo home run that cut the Cougars’ lead to 4-2.
BYU increased its lead in the top of the fifth with a Gambill two-run home run with Deming aboard for a 6-2 advantage.
The Bluejays responded with two runs in the top of the fifth, one in the sixth and took the lead for good with two more runs in the seventh to go up 7-6. An insurance run in the bottom of the eighth gave Creighton the 8-6 win.
BYU had multiple chances to score but left the bases load in both the third and sixth innings and stranded two in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings. The Cougars are now 1-7 on the year when committing multiple errors in a game and are 0-5 when trailing after seven innings.
Tommy Steier (2-0) got the win for the Bluejays, while Boston Mabeus (0-1) took the loss.
BYU and Creighton are schedule to face off in game two of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. CST from Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas.
The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market with Greg Wrubell on the call. In addition, Creighton will broadcast the game on FLObaseball.