Creighton University
21-10, 6-1
St. John's
20-13, 5-2
Lacy Tosses Complete Game in Baseball's 6-0 Win Over St. John's
4/17/2015 9:22:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - A dominant complete-game shutout from freshman Rollie Lacy lifted Creighton Baseball to a 6-0 win over St. John's on Friday, April 17.
The win moved the Bluejays into sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST Conference as Creighton improved to 21-10 overall and 6-1 in conference play. St. John's, meanwhile, fell to 20-13 overall and 5-2 in BIG EAST play.
The tone of the game was established in the first inning as Lacy set St. John's down in order with two punch outs and a grounder to second.
When the Bluejays came to the dish freshman Daniel Woodrow dropped a bunt single down the third baseline. Woodrow quickly swiped second, then came around to score on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Nicky Lopez and an RBI groundout by junior Reagan Fowler.
Lacy gave up a leadoff single in the second, but responded by retiring the next 12 Red Storm hitters in quick fashion. During that stretch Lacy retired St. John's down in the fourth on just four pitches.
"Rollie provided a blue print of what can be accomplished when you get your secondary pitches over," said Creighton head coach Ed Servais.
While Lacy was on cruise control the Creighton offense continued to apply pressure to St. John's pitchers.
Creighton pushed its lead to 2-0 in the second as junior Harrison Crawford drew a one-out walk, then went to third as junior Matt Gandy pounded a hit-and-run play into right field. With two down senior Kevin Lamb pounded a clutch RBI single through the left side.
The Bluejays got two more runs in the fourth as the bottom of the order came through again. This time Crawford was hit by a pitch with one out to start things off. Gandy followed suit with a single to right, then sophomore Kevin Connolly loaded the bags with a six-pitch walk. Lamb worked a four-pitch walk to plate Crawford and Woodrow drove in Gandy with a sac fly to left.
Crawford and Gandy went back to work in the sixth with a single by and an RBI double from Gandy to make it 5-0. After Connolly reached on a bunt single to put runners at the corners, Lamb bounced into a double play that allowed Gandy to come home.
That was more than enough for Lacy as the Minnesota native allowed just three hits heading into the final frame. Working longer than he has in his Creighton career, Lacy allowed the first two men to reach in the ninth on a walk and a single. Servais went to the mound for a few words, but stayed with Lacy. His faith was rewarded as Lacy struck out pinch-hitter Anthony Brocato and got Zach Lauricella to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game on his 100th pitch.
Lacy moved to 4-0 on the season by posting Creighton's first complete game of 2015 and the first complete game shutout by a freshman since 2001. The last Bluejay complete game came on May 16, 2014 as Bryan Sova defeated Xavier 7-2.
St. John's starter, Cody Stashak, fell to 5-4 as he was tagged for five runs on five hits and three walks in five innings.
Gandy led the Bluejay offense with his first three-hit day in the Creighton uniform, finishing 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Crawford was 1-for-2 with three runs scored.
Creighton and St. John's will continue the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm, but that could change as the forecast calls for rain showers throughout the day.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lacy, Rollie (4-0)
L: STASHAK, Cody (5-4)
Base Running:
SB: SANCHEZ, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Gandy, Matt 1
RBI: Woodrow, Daniel 1 ; Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Gandy, Matt 1 ; Lamb, Kevin 2
SH: Lopez, Nicky 1
SF: Woodrow, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Woodrow, Daniel 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 3 ; Gandy, Matt 2
SB: Woodrow, Daniel 1
HBP: Crawford, Harrison 1
