CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Jack Pineau tossed 4 1/3 hitless innings as Creighton defeated Xavier 5-2 on Thursday afternoon at Marge Schott Stadium. Pineau allowed one earned run, struck out six and earned the win for the Bluejays, who improved to 29-22 overall.

Teddy Deters highlighted the Creighton offense with a two-run homer in the ninth inning and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. The Bluejays totaled seven hits, scoring five runs on a combination of timely hitting and a Xavier error. The Musketeers, who dropped to 25-28, managed nine hits but stranded runners in scoring position.

Ryan Piech struck out seven over five innings for Xavier, allowing two hits and one earned run. Luke Hammond went 3-for-4 for the Musketeers.

Creighton broke a scoreless tie in the third with an RBI single from North, then added insurance runs in the seventh and ninth. Xavier scored single runs in the fifth and seventh but could not close the gap. The teams play again Friday in the second game of the Big East series.