Huskers Fall to Creighton

Omaha, Neb. ? Nebraska out-hit Creighton, 11-9, but Chris Gradoville went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, including a key two-run, second-inning single, as Creighton topped the Huskers, 9-2 in front of a crowd of 18,316 at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium Tuesday evening.

Gradoville’s two-run single off Nebraska starter Matt Foust highlighted a three-run inning, as the Bluejays (38-12) broke open a 1-1 game and never trailed after that. The victory extended Creighton’s win streak to eight games and snapped the Huskers’ two-game winning streak.

Gradoville, Andrew Small and Robbie Knight combined for eight RBIs, as the trio went a 6-for-13 with five runs scored for Creighton, which picked up their first season series win over Nebraska since 1994.

Four Huskers ? DJ Belfonte, Jake Mort, Andrew Brown and Andy Gerch all recorded two-hit games in the loss. RBI doubles by Brown and Jake Opitz accounted for the Huskers’ runs, as NU fell to 27-22.

Foust, the first of five Husker pitchers used on Tuesday, took the loss, allowing four runs ? three earned on five hits over three innings to drop to 1-4 on the season.

Tuesday’s crowd of 18,316 was the second-largest single-game crowd in college baseball this season and the 17th largest regular-season crowd in college baseball history. It also marks the fourth time in the last six years that the game has drawn a crowd in excess of 18,000.

The Huskers return to conference action Friday night, as they travel to Kansas. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried state-wide on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com.