College baseball notebook: North’s 2 slams and 10 RBIs highlight of Creighton’s high-scoring start
Ben North only wanted to hit a couple sacrifice flies. He ended up with a couple grand slams.
Creighton’s North turned in one of the eye-popping performances of the first two weeks of the college baseball season when he homered with the bases loaded in his first two at-bats against Houston Christian on Friday.
“With less than two outs for both of them, I’m trying to get a ball in the air to the outfield and score the run via sac fly because the infield was playing in hoping to get a groundball and maybe turn a double play,” he said Monday. “So, just trying to get a pitch elevated and put a good swing on it. Luckily I was able to do so.”
Both opposite-field homers left the park in Sugar Land, Texas, with the help of a wind blowing out to right. North also tripled in the 22-1 win and finished with a school record-tying 10 RBIs, most in the nation this season.
North’s first slam was his first homer in 32 games since April 1, and he had connected just twice in his first 54 career games.
“I’m a relatively big guy so I like to think I have the power to drive it out,” the 6-foot, 200-pound third baseman said. “Last year I definitely struggled a little bit at the plate. So this year, I’m just looking to get off to a better start and continue on that path the rest of the season.”
North is among six everyday players batting at least .350. The Bluejays (5-0), traditionally one of the best defensive teams in the country, have a team average of .376 and are No. 2 in scoring with 14.2 runs per game.
IN THE POLLS
Wake Forest (6-1) held on to its No. 1 ranking despite a 4-3 midweek loss to UNC Greensboro. The Demon Deacons rebounded with a three-game weekend sweep of Dayton, outscoring the Flyers 32-11.
Arkansas (5-2) remained No. 2 in the D1Baseball.com rankings and No. 3 by Baseball America. The Razorbacks played three one-run games over the weekend, winning two. LSU (7-1) stayed No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 3 by D1Baseball.com.
FANTASTIC FINISH
Oklahoma State produced the best finish of the week when Donovan LaSalle scored on Lane Forsythe’s suicide squeeze bunt for a 2-1 win over second-ranked Arkansas in 14 innings Friday.
Forsythe was able to bunt between the mound and third base on lefty Colin Fisher’s 0-2 pitch, and LaSalle scored standing up.
“It looks like a good play because the kid (Forsythe) did his job,” Cowboys coach Josh Holliday told reporters. “If he doesn’t do his job, I look like an idiot.”
3X SHUTOUTS
Texas pitchers threw 27 shutout innings in a three-game weekend sweep of Cal Poly, the first time the Longhorns held an opponent scoreless in three straight games since doing it against Minnesota in 2015.
Labarron Johnson Jr. and Gage Boehm combined on a three-hitter in a 2-0 win. Charlie Hurley and two relievers combined on a five-hitter in a 6-0 win. Cody Howard and three relievers pitched the final shutout, which was kept intact when Jake Steels was thrown out at the plate in the sixth.
CLEANUP SPOT
Arkansas’ Hagen Smith struck out 15 in a row to start a top-10 matchup against Oregon State on Friday and finished with a school record-tying 17. All but one out in his six-inning outing were by strikeout. The Razorbacks won 5-4. … Brendan Summerhill went 6 for 6 in a 24-4 win over Utah Tech on Tuesday for Arizona’s first six-hit game in 20 years. … Miami homered four times in the third inning and finished with eight in a 22-5 win over LIU on Sunday.
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