North Charleston, S.C. — Pushing across runs in the first six frames and seven of nine overall, Creighton Baseball outslugged Charleston Southern 13-6 in the series opener on Friday, March 29.
The win pushed the Bluejays to 18-4 on the season, while the Buccaneers fell to 12-14 overall.
Back in the lineup for the first time in more than three weeks, senior Nolan Clifford wasted no time making an impact at the plate. Tate GIllen opened the game with walk, stole second and scored on Clifford’s single through the left side. After Clifford stole second, Nolan Sailors laced an RBI single through the right side to give the Bluejays a 2-0 lead.
The Buccaneers inched closer with a run in the bottom of the first, but a leadoff double from Will MacLean led to another Bluejay run. Creighton tacked on four runs in the third, ignited by a solo home run from Tate Gillen. Later in the frame Nolan Sailors laced an RBI double to right-center, then Canales delivered an RBI single to make it 6-1. MacLean drove in the final run of the inning with an RBI grounder moving the Creighton lead to 7-1.
Clifford provided an RBI single in the fourth, while Canales connected for a solo home run to open the fifth as Creighton built a 9-4 edge.
That was more than the Bluejay pitching staff needed as starter Dominic Cancellieri earned the win (6-0), limiting the Buccaneers to four runs (three earned) on six hits in five innings. Charleston Southern’s Parks Ledwell took the loss (2-1), allowing seven runs on five hits and two walks in two innings.
The top of the order set things in motion for Creighton as Gillen, Clifford and Sailors combined to go 7-for-12 with six RBI and nine runs scored. Gillen reached in his first five trips to the dish, scoring four times. Clifford went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Creighton and Charleston Southern play a doubleheader on Saturday to wrap up the series.
Creighton Baseball beats Charleston Southern
