WATERLOO - Despite Northern Iowa's 8-1 start in Missouri Valley Conference play, many still had their doubts if the Panthers were a legitimate threat to contend for the league title.

UNI is starting to make believers out of everyone.

After splitting a doubleheader with Creighton on Saturday, UNI claimed its fourth consecutive series Sunday afternoon with a 9-7 triumph at Riverfront Stadium.

Creighton, picked to finish second in the preseason poll, is coming off a 45-win season that included a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"It was a weekend we had to prove to ourselves and prove to a lot of other people that we're for real," UNI shortstop Brandon Douglas said. "Everybody has said we haven't played anybody yet, but you have to beat those teams at the bottom to get to the top.

"We're on a roll, our confidence is high, and I think we're for real."

UNI (23-11, 10-2 MVC), which has never won a regular-season Valley title, has a one-game lead over Wichita State at the halfway point of the league race. The teams meet in two weeks at Eck Stadium in Wichita.

"If there were any guys on the team that had some slight doubt that we could be pretty good this year, I hope (this weekend) eliminated that," said head coach Rick Heller, whose program has won four Valley series in a season for the first time in its 17-year history with the league.

The fans are also starting to jump on the bandwagon. As the Panthers tried to close out the ninth inning, the season-best crowd of nearly 500 were on their feet chanting, "U-N-I, U-N-I."

"The past couple of years, we've been struggling to get 50 fans out here," Douglas said.

"When we do, it's mostly parents and family. To come out here and play in front of hundreds and have a great baseball atmosphere, it was awesome."

Once again, the Panthers had to survive a furious late comeback by the Bluejays (25-13, 8-7).

After UNI built a 9-2 cushion, Creighton rebounded with a three-run seventh.

In the ninth, the Bluejays tallied a pair of runs and brought the go-ahead run to the plate before closer Joe Gonzalez snared a line drive off the bat of Elliot Soto to secure the victory.

"They are never easy in this league, especially against a team like Creighton that's built its program on fighting, clawing, scrapping and playing hard," Heller said.

The Panthers, held to just six runs in two games Saturday, broke the game open with a three-run fifth. Dane Embury delivered an RBI single, followed by a two-run double from Douglas.

"For the first time this season, I thought our hitters were pressing the first four innings," Heller said. "We were trying to do too much."

In the sixth, UNI registered six runs on five hits off Creighton's top two relievers - Kevin Dooley and Pat Venditte. Dooley came in with a dazzling 1.17 ERA, while Venditte was a preseason all-American by Rivals.com.

Eddie Almonte and Levi Ferguson had run-scoring hits, and Embury poked a two-run double down the left-field line.

"He threw me three curveballs in a row, which I didn't think was a good idea," Embury said of Venditte. "It was huge for us to put together an inning like that."

UNI starter Nick Kirk, who hadn't pitched in two weeks because of tightness in his forearm, worked five-plus innings for the win. More importantly, Kirk didn't feel any pain afterward.

Waterloo East alum Derek Ott, who has been sidelined this spring with bone spurs in his right elbow, came in to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth before leaving in the ninth.

"I was getting tired a little bit in the ninth because I hadn't been out there much," said Ott, making only his third appearance of the year. "I hung a few pitches, but overall I felt good.

"I've never come out of the bullpen, so it's just a different experience for me. Still, I'm willing to take it on and help our team any way I can."

UNI, which has won 19 of its last 22, continues its nine-game homestand at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Clarke College before hosting in-state rival Iowa at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"This weekend showed the character of our team and how good we are," Embury said. "We made a pretty good statement.

"Now, we need to keep it going."

PANTHER BITS: UNI's Travis Hendrix snapped an 0-for-19 skid with a pair of singles. The third baseman came into the game three for his last 33 … Panther Brett Douglas extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a sixth-inning single … Gonzalez registered his seventh save - the most in a season for a UNI closer since Matt Cobb posted 10 in 1999 … With Steve Winklemann's two home runs, Creighton ended a drought of nine games without a homer.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

Creighton ab r h bi N.Iowa ab r h bi

Knight,cf 4 1 2 1 Manrique,cf 2 2 1 0

Lam,lf 5 0 1 0 Embury,rf/lf 4 2 2 3

Ruf,1b 5 2 2 1 BraDouglas,ss 4 0 1 3

Winkelmann,3b 5 2 3 3 Lopez,dh 3 0 0 0

Cafaro,2b 3 0 0 0 Featherston,1b 4 0 0 0

Nordgren,rf 5 1 2 0 BreDouglas,2b/rf 4 1 2 0

Servais,c 2 1 1 0 Hendrix,3b 3 1 2 0

Pecheck,ph/c 1 0 1 1 Almonte,c 3 1 1 1

Knox,dh 3 0 0 0 Ferguson,lf 3 2 1 1

Soto,ss 5 0 0 0 Ege,2b 1 0 0 0

Totals 38 7 12 6 Totals 31 9 10 8

Creighton 000 011 302 - 7 12 1

Northern Iowa 000 036 00x - 9 10 2

E - Soto (9); Bre. Douglas (4), Ege (5). DP - Creighton 1. LOB - Creighton 11, UNI 6. 2B - Knight 2 (10), Nordgren (5), Pecheck (3); Embury (6), Bra. Douglas (18). HR - Winkelmann 2 (8). SB - Cafaro (4); Ferguson (6). SH - Cafaro, Knox; Hendrix, Almonte. SF - Bra. Douglas.

Pitching summary

Creighton IP H R ER BB SO

Nihsen (L,2-1) 5.0 3 3 0 2 4

Roemmich 0.1 0 0 0 0 0

Dooley 0.0 3 3 3 0 0

Venditte 0.2 2 3 3 1 0

Lackovic 2.0 2 0 0 0 1

Northern Iowa IP H R ER BB SO

Kirk (W, 4-4) 5.0 5 2 2 1 2

Flattery 1.2 4 3 3 3 0

Ott 2.0 3 2 2 0 0

Gonzalez (S,7) 0.1 0 0 0 1 0

HBP - by Nihsen (Manrique); by Venditte (Manrique).WP - Venditte; Kirk, Ott.

U - Jason Stidham (plate); David Riley (first); Jon Garlits (third).

T - 2:37. Att. - 497.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

Northern Iowa 9, Creighton 7

Wichita State 8, Southern Illinois 3

Evansville 6, Indiana State 5

Missouri State 12, Bradley 6

Illinois State 13-15, Chicago State 1-5