Bluejay Baseball Walks Off Villanova 3-2 in 12 innings

Omaha, Neb. -- Locked in a 2–2 tie after four innings, the series opener between Creighton and Villanova remained deadlocked into the 12th inning. The Bluejays finally broke through in the bottom of the frame as Kyle Hess laced a walk-off RBI single to right to cement the 3-2 win on Friday, April 25.

With one out in the 12th, Connor Capece set the stage with a double to center. After Nick Venteicher entered as a pinch-runner, Hess belted a two-out pitch into right to give the Bluejays their second extra-inning win in as many games this season.

The win pushed Creighton to 26-12 on the season and 7-3 in BIG EAST action, while Villanova dropped to 20-18 overall and 4-6 in conference contests. 

The Bluejays struck first in the second inning, plating an unearned run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Teddy Deters. The frame was set in motion as Ben North reached on an error to start the inning, then moved to third via a one-out single from Capece.

The Wildcats responded in the fourth when Jason Neff laced a two run double to give them a brief 2-1 lead. Dominic Cancellieri kept the Wildcats in check racking up seven strikeouts through the first four innings. 

Later that same inning, Will MacLean evened things up with a two out solo shot, his seventh home run of the season to knot the score 2-2.

Both starters posted a quality outing despite accepting a no decision. Cancellieri notched a season-high of eight strikeouts in six innings, tossing a season-best 91 pitches. He limited Villanova to two runs on seven hits and did not walk a batter. Wildcat starter Luke McCullough lasted 6.1 frames, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk using 101 pitches.

With both squads going to their bullpens in the seventh, Creighton used reliever Matt Aukerman for 1.1 innings of scoreless ball. Villanova, meanwhile, went directly to closer Alex Sachis in the seventh. After Aukerman retired the first four hitters he faced, a base on balls brought Creighton closer Garrett Langrell into the game in the eighth.

The two closers went back and forth as Sachis did not allow a hit until the 12th inning, while Langrell gave up two hits in a season-high 4.2 frames to earn the win (4-1). Sachis took the loss (4-4), giving up both hits in the final frame.

Capece led Creighton at the dish with three of the Bluejays' six hits in the contest.

Creighton returns to the field against Villanova on Saturday, April 26 at 6 p.m.