Servais Era Ends as Baseball Drops Regional Final at #6 Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The legendary career of Creighton head coach Ed Servais came to an end on Sunday night as the Bluejays lost 8-3 at third-seeded and sixth-ranked Arkansas in the title game of the Fayetteville Regional on Sunday night.
The BIG EAST regular-season and BIG EAST Tournament champion Bluejays finish the 2025 season with a 43-16 record. Servais finishes his 22 years as Creighton head coach with a 721-420-1 record, the second-winningest coach in the history of the Creighton Athletic Department.
Logan Maxwell's 11th homer of the year gave Arkansas (46-13) a 2-0 lead in the first inning as he went the opposite way to place one into the Bluejay bullpen in left. One play after a likely line drive double play ball skipped off the glove of second baseman Kyle Hess, Justin Thomas Jr. hit a three-run home run to extend the Razorbacks lead to 5-0. Ryder Helfrick's third homer of the Regional with one out in the third inning made it 6-0.
Creighton halved the deficit in the top of the fourth inning, finally getting to Arkansas starter Gage Wood. Teddy Deters started the rally with a single and Will MacLean was then hit by a pitch, setting the stage for a three-run homer off the bat of Ben North that traveled 402 feet out to left-center. It was North's eighth round-tripper of the year.
The Razorbacks tacked on insurance runs in both the fifth and sixth innings against Bluejay reliever Jimmy Burke. Maxwell homered to open the fifth, while Charles Davalan's triple off the wall in center plated Brent Iredale.
Wood (3-1) worked six innings to earn the win, striking out a career-high 13 batters while throwing a career-high 89 pitches. He's now struck out 52 batters in 25.1 innings this season. Gabe Gaeckle followed him up by retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced, including seven strikeouts, for his first save of 2025.
Deters had two hits, while Sailors, MacLean and North accounted for CU's other two hits.
Maxwell was the lone Razorback with multiple hits, homering twice and drving in three.
Arkansas' victory advances the Razorbacks to its 11th Super Regional in program history, and first since 2022. The Hogs will face the winner of the Knoxville Regional next weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium.
NOTES: The game was televised on SEC Network ... Garrett Langrell made the first start of the season. He had finished each of his first 25 appearances without needing a reliever ... Today was just the second time in Garrett Langrell's 26 outings that Creighton lost. ... Teddy Deters batted in the clean-up spot for the first time this season. He reached base in his 21st straight game. He was the only Bluejay with a hit in every game of the Fayetteville Regional ... Creighton had its fourth consecutive errorless NCAA Tournament game, a program-record ... It's the first time the Jays have finished any of their 12 NCAA trips without an error ... Creighton finishes the season with 43 wins, its most since 45 victories in 2011 ... Arkansas leads the nation with 379 wins since the start of the 2017 season ... Arkansas set a program record with its 35th home win of the season (in 39 tries) ... Nolan Sailors finishes his career in the top 10 in Creighton history in hits (252; 7th), at bats (784; 6th), runs (184; T-8th), doubles (57; T-7th), hit-by-pitch (43; 3rd) and stolen bases (63; 5th) ... Creighton's Ian Koosman (RP), Will MacLean (1B), Nolan Sailors (OF) and Dakota Duffalo (DH) were named to the Fayetteville Regional All-Tournament Team.