30th-Ranked Jayhawks 1-Hit Creighton in 9-1 Victory
April 26, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Kan. –
Three University of Kansas pitchers combined to hold Creighton University to one hit in leading the 30th-ranked Jayhawks (31-16) to a 9-1 victory Wednesday in the Best of the Midwest Tournament at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Freshmen Nick Czyz and Paul Smyth along with sophomore Matt Lane combined for the 1-hit effort on the mound.
Czyz (3-1) didn’t allow a hit for the first 3.2 innings and just one hit in a career-high 7.0 innings of work for his third victory of the season. The lone run the Bluejays scored against Czyz came unearned in the sixth inning. The lefthander fanned six batters and walked just one.
Smyth and Lane pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Both pitchers struck out one Bluejay.
KU jumped on CU’s starter Jeff Daneff (0-2) for two early runs. Daneff walked the first two batters of the game and gave up a two-run double high off the left field wall to Gus Milner. Daneff was pulled for freshman Zak Moore after walking his fourth batter in 1.2 innings.
Allman led off the fourth inning with a walk and moved to second on a Preston Land single. Freshman catcher Andrew Spitzfaden ripped a shot that fell a few feet from Creighton’s diving centerfielder John Nowaczyk. Nowaczyk then booted the ball on his attempt to field it cleanly allowing Allman to come around and score.
The Jayhawks scored three runs in the eighth inning off doubles from Jared Schweitzer and Erik Morrison and a single off the bat of Spitzfaden. KU added three more runs in the ninth inning off an Allman two-run double and Creighton error.
Spitzfaden recorded a career-high two hits in his first start for the Jayhawks. Schweitzer tied a season-high with three hits while Allman tied a career best with three runs.
No. 30 Kansas (30-16, 9-9 Big 12) will host No. 8 Oklahoma in a three-game Big 12 series beginning Friday, April 26 at Hoglund Ballpark. Friday’s game will start at 7 p.m. with Saturday’s game slated for 6 p.m. and Sunday’s game at 1 p.m.
Game Notes: The first game of the day (Missouri vs. SEMO) ran long, forcing the game to start 59-minutes late … Gus Milner extended his hitting streak to seven games … KU is 3-1 against Missouri Valley teams this year, winning by a combined score of 36-10 … Creighton used six pitchers in the game.
