With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Alex Staehely drew a walk, and Joey Bowens followed with a double to right-center field to put runners on second and third. Robbie Knight laced a 2-0 pitch into the gap in left-center field, scoring Staehely easily, with Bowens overcoming a late start off second base to slide around the tag and touch home plate with the game-winning run.
Seattle U jumped on top in the first inning as Bryndon Ecklund (Elma, Wash.) hit the first pitch he saw into right field for a one-out single, and Josh Kalalau (University Place, Wash.) broke out of a 0-for-7 stretch with a home run over the left field fence to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead. Creighton cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first when Knight led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, reached third on a balk, and scored on another wild pitch.
Max Whieldon (Trabuco Hills, Calif.) settled down after the first inning, allowing five hits, three walks, and one run in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six Bluejay batters. Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) came on with two runners on and two outs in the seventh inning, pitched out of that jam without any damage, but took the loss after giving up the two runs in the ninth inning.
Creighton (24-21) nearly wasted a solid pitching performance by starter Brandon Koenigstein, who gave up six hits, one walk, and two runs in eight innings of work with three strikeouts. Jack VanLeur gave up a hit in the ninth inning and was credited with the victory.
Ecklund finished the day 2-for-4, while Kalalau added a double to his home run for a 2-for-4 afternoon. Knight went 3-for-5 with two doubles for the Bluejays, while Bowens went 2-for-3 with a stolen base to go along with the game-winning run.
Seattle University (9-36) starts the final week of the season with a two-game series at Oregon State Tuesday, May 18 and Wednesday, May 19, in Corvallis, Ore. Tuesday's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while Wednesday's contest is set to start at 1 p.m.