An offensive explosion gave the Creighton baseball team their first Big East sweep in their first conference series as they produced a combined 29 runs in their Saturday doubleheader sweep of the Georgetown Hoyas.
Sophomore infielder Reagan Fowler singlehandedly outdid the Hoyas, going 7-8 with eight RBIs, six runs and a walk on the day. The bats were hot throughout the lineup as the Jays went on to beat the Hoyas 16-5 and 13-4.
“That’s the best day I’ve ever had,” Fowler said.
The Jays finished out the weekend on a high note on Saturday with a 16-5 pummeling of the Hoyas thanks to a seven-run sixth inning that depleted the Hoya bullpen.
A two RBI triple for Fowler got the Jays started as they put up three runs in the first, one run in the second and two runs in the third. They held a 6-3 lead until the top of the sixth, when the Hoyas plated two runs to cut the lead to 6-5.
In the bottom of the sixth, sophomore infielder Ryan Fitzgerald capped an inning in which the Jays had already scored three runs with an inside-the-park grand slam. It was the first inside-the-park home run in the history of TD Ameritrade Park, as Fitzgerald capitalized off of a ball that rolled all the way to the centerfield wall after a diving effort from the Hoya centerfielder came up short. The Jays batted through the order in the inning and came up with seven hits.
“I didn’t think I was gonna be able to make it home,” Fitzgerald said. “I know I had three guys in front of me so I was watching them. I got the green light to go so I went.”
Senior outfielder Ben Lahn gave the team some insurance with a three-run home run in bottom of the seventh. The Jays produced 16 hits and four walks in the game.
Fowler finished the game 4-4 with three RBIs and four runs. Sophomore catcher Joey Mancuso went 3-4 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Junior infielder Jake Peter scored twice while going 3-5 at the plate. Fitzgerald finished the day with four RBIs and one run.
On the mound it was sophomore Will Bamesberger earning his second win of the season, allowing two hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings pitched after taking over for starting freshman Jeff Albrecht. Sophomores John Oltman and Tommy Strunc each shut down the Hoyas in an inning of work at the end of the game.
In the early game on Saturday the Jays leaned on strong pitching, good plate discipline and more strong hitting in their 13-4 win.
Leading 3-1 after four innings, the team used a four-run fifth inning to distance themselves from the Hoyas. After senior outfielder Mike Gerber was intentionally walked to load the bases, Fowler smacked a three RBI double and scored on another double from junior infielder Landon Lucansky.
Georgetown plated one in the top of the sixth, but Lucansky came up with a single to score Gerber and later scored on a walk by senior outfielder Brad McKewon.
In the eighth the Jays batted through the order en route to a four-run inning that capped the strong win. The team only produced two hits in the inning but capitalized off of an error and a couple of walks to do the damage.
The Jays finished the game with 12 hits and a remarkable 11 walks compared to the 10 hits and one walk produced by the Hoyas.
McKewon, Peter and Fowler each scored twice while Fowler also notched five RBIs. Gerber finished 2-4 with one RBI, three runs and a walk. Lucansky went 3-3 with two RBIs, two runs and two walks.
“I know our offensive players have been frustrated,” head coach Ed Servais said. We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve scored less than two runs. For them to come out here, it gives them confidence that yes you can score runs at TD Ameritrade … I’m happy for the hitters that they had a good day.”
It was sophomores Taylor Elman and Nick Highberger who controlled the Hoya bats. Elman went seven innings while allowing four runs off of 10 hits and one walk while striking out five. Highberger closed the door in the eighth and ninth, not allowing a single batter to reach base.
With the sweep the Jays improved to 18-11-1 (3-0 Big East) on the year, and they will look to continue their conference success with a trip to Philadelphia this weekend to take on the Villanova Wildcats. It will be the team’s first game out of Nebraska in more than a month. The Wildcats are 10-21 (2-3 Big East) on the year, and will meet the Jays first on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. for a three-game set.