Creighton University
18-9, 3-1
Xavier
8-24, 0-4
Lacy's Arm & Fitzgerald's Bat Lead Baseball to 8-2 Win Over Xavier
4/10/2015 10:52:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Freshman Rollie Lacy held Xavier to two runs on four hits in seven innings, while junior Ryan Fitzgerald blasted a three-run homer in the first to push Creighton Baseball to an 8-2 win on Friday, April 10.
With the win Creighton moved to 18-9 on the season and 3-1 in BIG EAST play, while Xavier fell to 8-24 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, it took the Bluejay offense all of two batters to get going. After the first two Creighton hitters went down in bottom of the frame, junior Reagan Fowler was hit by the first pitch of his at-bat. Junior Harrison Crawford worked a five-pitch walk to put runners on first and second. The second pitch to Fitzgerald landed in the Xavier bullpen as he launched the 0-1 offering from Xavier's Brad Kirschner over the left field wall. It was Fitzgerald's third home run of the season and his third career blast at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Creighton didn't sit on the 3-1 lead. Senior Kevin Lamb opened the second with sharp single to right-center. One out later he stole second and scampered to third on an errent throw. With two down in the inning sophomore Nicky Lopez laced an RBI single into right.
The Bluejays tacked on three more runs in the third on four singles and a Musketeer error.
That was more than enough run support for Lacy and he was on cruise control after the first inning, facing just 12 hitters from the second through the fifth innings.
After the game Lacy credited Fitzgerald's home run as a key.
"I gave up a run right away and I was rushing at the start," said Lacy. "Then [Fitzgerald] goes out there and does that. It just put me in such a better position to go out and throw strikes, knowing that I had the cushion."
Lacy went on to allow just two runs on four his through seven innings, a season-high for any Creighton starter in 2015, to move to 3-0 on the season. Kirschner, meanwhile, dropped to 2-6 on the season as he surrendered seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in 2.1 innings.
Fitzgerald finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI, while Lamb also collected three hits (3-for-4) with a run scored and an RBI.
The Bluejays and Musketeers will continue their three-game series on Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm.
DETAILS COMING!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lacy, Rollie (3-0)
L: KIRSCHNER, Brad (2-6)
Batting:
2B: JERNIGAN, Andre 1 ; LARUE, Will 1
RBI: FORNEY, Joe 1 ; JERNIGAN, Andre 1
SF: FORNEY, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FORNEY, Joe 1 ; LARUE, Will 1
SB: SORIA, Nate 1
Batting:
2B: Murray, Brett 2
HR: Fitzgerald, Ryan 1
RBI: Lopez, Nicky 1 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 3 ; Murray, Brett 2 ; Lamb, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 2 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 3 ; Connolly, Kevin 1 ; Lamb, Kevin 1
SB: Connolly, Kevin 1 ; Lamb, Kevin 1
CS: Murray, Brett 1
HBP: Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 1
