In their first meeting with the Xavier Musketeers (Overall: 8-26, Big East: 0-6) since a 5-0 loss last May in the Big East Tournament title game, the Creighton baseball team (Overall: 20-9, Big East: 5-1) got some revenge with a three-game sweep of the visiting Musketeers over the weekend at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Exclusive Photos From Creighton’s 3-1 Win Sunday vs. Xavier (here)
The Bluejays held the Xavier offense to four runs and a .222 on-base percentage in the series. Creighton’s Friday and Saturday starting pitchers, Rollie Lacy and Keith Rogalla, shut down the Musketeers for 15 innings in the first two games to set up a Johnny Wholestaff performance, featuring six Creighton pitchers, to complete the sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The sweep gave Creighton 15 wins in the last 18 games ahead of Tuesday’s rematch with in-state rival and nationally ranked Nebraska. More importantly it improved the Bluejays to 5-1 in Big East play, moving them into a tie for first place in the Big East regular-season standings with St. John’s (Overall: 18-12, Big East: 5-1). The Bluejays will host the Red Storm next weekend at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha for a pivotal series atop the conference standings.
Game One: Creighton defeats Xavier, 8-2.
Ryan Fitzgerald scored three runs and blasted a three-run home run into the right field bullpen off Xavier starting pitcher Brad Kirschner to lead the way in the series opener on Friday evening. Fitzgerald’s round-tripper came in the bottom of the first inning and gave Creighton a lead they would never relinquish after Xavier took a 1-0 lead in their half of the first.
“It’s unbelievable how big of a play that was for me,” said Creighton freshman starting pitcher Rollie Lacy. “I gave up a run right away and I was rushing myself, and not too calm. Then [Fitzgerald] goes out there and does that, it just put me in a much better atmosphere to go out there and throw strikes knowing that I have that additional offense.”
Lacy, a 6-foot-3-inch right-handed pitcher out of Minnesota, faced the minimum in five of the next six innings. He lasted a career-high seven innings, allowing two runs and scattering four hits to improve his record to 3-0 on the season.
The home run in the bottom of the 1st inning was all the run support Lacy and the Creighton pitching staff would need for the evening, but it wouldn’t be the only runs they would get. The Bluejays tacked on five more runs after the first inning, including three in bottom of the third to extend their lead to 7-1 as they cruised to victory.
“Tonight was one of our better two or three games we’ve played all year,” Creighton head coach Ed Servais said. “We were a more aggressive team. It was really good. Especially when they scored in the top of the first, and we did all of that business in the bottom of the first with two outs. We were more aggressive on base paths and getting the bat through the zone a little bit more. You could tell we had a little more bounce to our step. I think it was because we had a chance to practice a couple times this week and get them a little rest coming off the road.”
Game One Highlights
Bottom of the 1st: Trailing 1-0 with two outs, the Bluejays got a couple base runners thanks to a walk and a hit by pitch issued by Xavier starting pitcher Brad Kirschner. Second baseman Ryan Fitzgerald made him pay for extending the inning when he blasted an 0-1 offering from Kirschner into the bullpen in right field to give Creighton a 3-1 lead.
Bottom of the 2nd: After missing eight games while recovering from knee surgery, Creighton shortstop Nicky Lopez made his return to the diamond with an RBI single into center field to score catcher Kevin Lamb from third base and extend the Creighton lead to 4-1. Lamb led off the frame with a base hit, then stole second base and advanced to third when Xavier catcher Nate Soria’s throw down to second sailed into center field.
Bottom of the 3rd: With a run already across courtesy of an error by Xavier first baseman Ethan Schmidt, the Bluejays got a second run when Ryan Fitzgerald came home while Soria was throwing out Creighton designated hitter Brett Murray attempting to steal second base. Right fielder Kevin Connolly followed that up with a single and a stolen base before coming around to score on a line drive RBI single to right-center field by Kevin Lamb that put the Bluejays in command, 7-1.
Bottom of the 5th: Ryan Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to lead off the Bluejay half of the fifth inning. He scored his third run of the evening three pitches later when Brett Murray ripped a line drive RBI double down the right field line and into safety barrier in foul territory to make it 8-1.
Game Two: Creighton defeats Xavier, 6-1.
True freshman Keith Rogalla was locked in from the moment he took the mound on Saturday afternoon. The 6-foot-3 right-hander tossed eight shutout innings of two-hit baseball to improve his record to 3-0. He struck out eight batters, seven on swings and misses, walked two, and faced the minimum three hitters in six of his eight innings of work.
“[Keith] had good velocity today,” said Creighton head coach Ed Servais. “He threw a lot of fastballs and he threw a lot of fastballs by them. They knew it was coming and they still couldn’t catch up to it. He’s got a lot of talent and he’s really coming into his own at the right time for us, because we needed another starter.”
Rogalla looked overpowering from the start. He induced nothing but weak contact to the first three hitters he faced to begin the game. He got in a bit of trouble in third when he walked a pair of Musketeer hitters, but he eventually struck out the side in the frame to kill the Xavier rally. He cruised from that point on, retiring 11 in a row while his offense turned a 1-0 lead into a six-run advantage to support the young hurler.
“It’s tough sitting some of those innings, but obviously having run support early is key,” Rogalla said. “You can go after hitters [with the lead]. When it’s 0-0 you have to nitpick it — you don’t want to give up a run or let a base runner on. When you get a good lead it’s easy to pitch with that’s for sure.”
Game Two Highlights
Bottom of the 2nd: Left fielder Brett Murray led off the inning with a line-drive single to center field, then stole second base to move into scoring position. Two batters later third baseman Harrison Crawford dropped a single into right field to bring home Murray and give Creighton a 1-0 lead.
Bottom of the 3rd: Right fielder Kevin Connolly singled and stole a base to lead off the inning, then shortstop Nicky Lopez drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive. First baseman Reagan Fowler made it pay off with an RBI single to left-center to score Connolly without a play; Lopez followed him home after nobody for Xavier covered third base to receive a throw from left fielder Joe Forney, extending the Creighton lead to 3-0.
Bottom of the 6th: Creighton loaded the bases a couple times in the inning and pushed across three runs to extend the lead. The first trotted home when pinch-runner David Wiedeman scored on a wild pitch by Xavier relief pitcher Daniel Przeniczny. After a walk to designated hitter Matt Gandy, the Bluejays added another run on an RBI single by Kevin Connolly. Daniel Woodrow brought home Harrison Crawford on a grounder to second with one out, and the Bluejays headed to the seventh inning with a 6-0 lead.
Top of the 9th: Freshman right-hander Ethan DeCaster replaced Rogalla in the 9th to close the game out and clinch the series win for the Bluejays. He allowed an unearned run after an error by Harrison Crawford allowed Xavier catcher Nate Soria to reach base to lead off the frame. A single moved Soria to third and he scampered home on an RBI groundout by shortstop Andre Jernigan. That would be the end of Xavier’s comeback bid as DeCaster struck out the next hitter to end the game.
Game Three: Creighton defeats Xavier, 3-1.
Creighton entered the seventh inning trailing Xavier, 1-0, and not having reached third base all day against Musketeers starting pitcher Trent Astle. With one out in the seventh three straight men reached base to chase Astle from the game and senior designated hitter Landon Lucansky cleared the bases with a hard hit two-run single into center field off Xavier relief pitcher Zac Lowther. Left fielder Brett Murray and pinch-runner David Wiedeman scored easily and right fielder Kevin Connolly joined them when Xavier center fielder Will LaRue’s throw to the plate was well off the mark.
Lucansky advanced to third and would eventually be tagged out at home trying to extend the lead on a fly out, but his go-ahead hit would stand as the game-winner.
“We had three good at-bats before that from Kevin Lamb, Kevin Connolly, and Brett Murray,” Lucansky said. “Murray really started it off with that double. I was just looking for a fastball. [Lowther] tried to work through me as the [nine-hole hitter], and I just tried to get something and be aggressive to it. Luckily it was able to find a hole.”
Sophomore closer David Gerber came in with runners on first and second and no outs in the top of the eighth inning, picked off the lead runner trying to steal third before getting the final five outs via the strikeout.
Gerber said he wasn’t fazed by the situation partly due to the jolt of energy Lucansky’s hit gave the team in the dugout after being nullified by Astle all afternoon prior to the seventh inning.
“I was actually in the dugout for that and it was just a burst of energy,” Gerber said.
“It gets the crowd into it and it radiates a little bit. It really got us going in the right direction. For a little while there we didn’t really have much, and right when Landon got that hit it went full out. It was really great. Landon was unbelievable and really took advantage of his opportunity.”
Game Three Highlights
Top of the 4th: Courtesy of a pair of singles, Xavier put men on the corners with one out to chase Creighton starting pitcher Matt Warren. After a failed attempt to squeeze home a run with a bunt, the Musketeers got on the board with a two-out RBI single by third baseman Chase Puente to bring in designated hitter Ethan Schmidt and give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Bottom of the 7th: After being stifled all afternoon by Xavier’s Trent Astle, the Bluejays finally broke through against the Musketeer left-hander. Left fielder Brett Murray started a one-out rally with a double over Will LaRue’s outstretched glove in left-center field. Astle then plunked catcher Kevin Lamb and walked right fielder Kevin Connolly to load the bases. Musketeers head coach Scott Googins removed Astle and brought in freshman left-hander Zac Lowther out of the bullpen. Creighton designated hitter Landon Lucansky greeted him with a bases-clearing RBI single to put the Bluejays in front, 3-1, and six outs from a series sweep.
Top of the 8th: Xavier, now trailing by two runs, led off the top of the eighth inning with singles by first baseman Joe Forney and right fielder Brian Bruening. That brought Creighton sophomore closer David Gerber out of the bullpen, and the red hot right-hander got the outing started by stepping off and throwing Forney out trying to steal third base. Gerber struck out five of the next six batters to step in against him to wrap up the series sweep.
The Bluejays will return to the diamond on Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha as they host nationally-ranked Nebraska in the second game of a scheduled three between the Huskers and Jays. In the first meeting this season, Creighton has as many errors (2) as hits in a 5-1 loss down at Haymarket Park in Lincoln. Heading into this matchup the Bluejays appear to be playing as well as they have all season, and Ed Servais hopes that will translate into a better performance on Tuesday.
“I think we’ll play better. We didn’t respond very well to the environment down there in the first three innings last time we played,” Servais said. “The environment will be festive again on Tuesday. The weather is going to be good, there’s going to be a lot of folks out. I hope that we learn from what we did last time we played them that we can’t play that way. If we go in there a little bit anxious, a little bit tight, they’ll take advantage of it.
“The good thing is we’re set up pretty good pitching-wise. We didn’t used anybody a ton today, so we’ll have a lot of availability on Tuesday and that’s what we like to have. With having Nicky back we have a better defense now with Nicky at short and [Fitzgerald] at second. We weren’t as good defensively as we are today.”
Next Up:
- Tuesday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha vs. No. 23 Nebraska (game will be televised on CBS Sports Network)
- Friday, April 17 at 6:00 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha vs. St. John’s (game will be televised on Fox Sports 1)
- Saturday, April 18 at 2:00 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha vs. St. John’s
- Sunday, April 19 at 12:00 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha vs. St. John’s (game will be televised on CBS Sports Network)