Bluejay Baseball Advances to BIG EAST Championship with 11-8 Win Over Xavier

Mason, Ohio -- In Thursday's semifinal game of the 2025 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by Jeep at Prasco Park, No. 1 seed Creighton outlasted No. 3 seed Xavier, 11-8.

The win lifted Creighton to 40-14 on the season, while Xavier fell to 32-26 overall. The victory also marked the 900th career
 
The Bluejays return to the BIG EAST title game for the fourth time, including their first appearance since 2019, when the Bluejays bested Xavier for the program's first BIG EAST crown. They will face the winner of Friday's 4:00 p.m. (CT) rubber match between No. 2 seed UConn and No. 3 seed Xavier. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (CT) on FS2, with an if necessary contest scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CT) on FS1.
 
The Musketeers were the first to strike in the opening inning, with Clay Burdette collecting an RBI single to send Carter Hendrickson home for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bluejay bats were hot from the jump, responding with three runs in the bottom half of the frame! Nolan Sailors and Connor Capece each collected RBI doubles to give CU a 3-1 edge. Sailors first hit a shot to center field to send Tate Gillen home, before Capece doubled to right center to have Ben North and Nolan Sailors add to the scoreboard.
 
After a scoreless second inning, Xavier tied the game when Connor Misch singled to left center for a pair of RBI, as Hendrickson and Jake Lambdin crossed the plate. Moments later, Burdette hit his 13th home run of the season and second in as many days to give the Musketeers a 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the third.
 
Teddy Deters got the offense going again with an RBI single through the left side to send Capece home and cut the deficit to one, 5-4 in the bottom of the third, then the Bluejays reclaimed the advantage in the fifth as Kyle Hess hit a 410-yard bomb to right field with Deters along for the ride.
 
Creighton added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth with a two RBI double by Will Maclean, scoring North and Matt Scherrman.
 
Not backing down, Xavier plated a pair in the top of the seventh to pull back within one, 8-7, as Hendrickson collected an RBI single before Misch sacrifice fly out to center field to allow Jake Lambdin to cross home plate.
 
The scoring continued into the bottom of the seventh, when Creighton's Capece singled through left center with the bases loaded, sending Sailors and Scherrman home for a 10-7 advantage.
 
In the next half inning, Xavier's Aedan Anderson homered to left field on the first at bat of the eighth.
 
Gillen capped things off for the Bluejays with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, as Deters scored to make it 11-8.

Both starters were lifted after three frames as Bluejay reliever Ian Koosmam picked up the win (8-4) with 3.1 innings. Koosman retired the first nine hitters he faced, but was touched for two runs in the seventh. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Wilson Magers came on to close the door, allowing just one run over the final 2.2 inning to notch his first save as a Bluejay. It was Magers second relief appearance of the season.

Xavier reliever Jon Wylie took the loss (1-1), allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings.
 
Capece led the Bluejay offense with a 4-for-5 hitting performance, including four RBI and a run scored.