COLLEGE BASEBALL: Creighton Continues To Roll With Sweep of The Citadel

OMAHA–(CU Athletics Apr. 3)–Creighton Baseball won for the 11th time in the last 12 games with an 8-3 win over The Citadel to complete a weekend sweep over the Bulldogs.

The Bluejays (15-7) have now won 11 straight games inside Charles Schwab Field Omaha dating to last season, a park record.

Freshman catcher Hogan Helligso had two hits, two runs and drove home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to lead the Bluejay offense, which also saw Alan Roden go 3-for-4 with two RBI and Jared Wegner go 2-for-3 and launch his third home run in the past two days.

The Bluejay offense supported another strong outing by their pitching staff. Cade Lommel threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball in his longest start of the year before giving way to Tommy Lamb. Lamb induced a line drive double play to escape the sixth inning before Daniel Hammond needed just 10 pitches to retire three batters in the seventh.

Neither team scored in the first three frames before The Citadel’s (17-10) Ryan McCarthy homered to right to lead off the top of the fourth inning. But for the third time in as many days, The Citadel could not hold onto the lead against the host Bluejays.

CU tied the game in the fifth inning when Helligso singled, moved to second on a groundout and scored on Wegner’s single to left.

The Bulldogs ran into a pair of outs in the sixth inning. Tilo Skole reached on a bunt single but was cut down trying to advance to third on McCarthy’s single to left. After another single from Noah Mitchell put men on the corners with one out and ended Lommel’s day, Lamb came on and escaped any damage when first baseman Alan Roden snagged a line drive off the bat of Cole Simpson and stepped on first to double off Mitchell.

After a pair of Bluejays reached in the bottom of the sixth inning, CU went ahead when  Helligso’s blooper dropped just behind second base for a double that plated Brant Voth, ending the day for Bulldog starter Ben Hutchins. Andrew Meggs was walked by reliever Tyler Dunn before Roden doubled down the right field line to extend the CU lead to 4-1. After a walk to Wegner ended Dunn’s afternoon, Nolan Sailors singled against reliever George Derrick Floyd to score a pair and make it 6-1.

The Citadel scored twice against CU’s Paul Bergstrom in the eighth inning and brought the tying runner to the plate with one out after a two-run single by McCarthy before Bergstrom wiggled out of the jam with CU ahead 6-3.

Creighton tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth as Roden doubled and scored on Wegner’s team-high sixth homer of the season.

Bluejay closer Tommy Steier  needed just 14 pitches to retire the Bulldogs in the ninth to procure the sweep.

Creighton returns to action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when it visits Kansas State. That game will air on ESPN+.