Creighton University
28-17, 11-4
Villanova
22-26, 7-9
Fitzgerald Hits For Cycle As Baseball Rolls Past Villanova
5/14/2015 5:20:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Ryan Fitzgerald became the first player in TD Ameritrade Park Omaha history to hit for the cycle as he led Creighton Baseball to a 13-5 win on Thursday afternoon. Fitzgerald was 5-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI, finishing with a stadium record 12 total bases.
Fitzgerald had a two-RBI triple in the first inning, a leadoff double in the second, singled to start the fifth before belting a three-run home run to right field to complete his historic feat, then added a leadoff double to left-center in the eighth inning for good measure. He's the first Bluejay to hit for the cycle since a different former Creighton player named Ryan Fitzgerald did it vs. Nebraska-Omaha on April 1, 2003 at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Creighton (28-17, 11-4 BIG EAST) scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed. The Jays led 7-2 after three innings before 'Nova rallied for three in the top of the fourth frame to knock starting pitcher Matt Warren from the game and draw within 7-5. Connor Miller needed one pitch to escape a bases-loaded jam after he entered, and threw just 56 pitches in a career-long 5.1 innings of scoreless ball to improve to 4-2.
Hunter Schryver (1-6) suffered the loss for Villanova, allowing seven hits and seven runs in 2.1 innings. Adam Goss had a triple, two hits and two RBI to pace the Wildcat offense, while Eric Lowe and Donovan May also had a pair of hits.
Eight of the nine Creighton starters had at least one hit, and the Jays finished with eight extra-base hits among its 15 overall safeties. Fitzgerald also set a stadium record with his five hits, Nicky Lopez was 3-for-6 with a triple and scored twice, and Landon Lucasnky was 2-for-4 with his first triple. CU finished with four triples, another park record, which also tied a single-game school record for any game.
Creighton and Villanova are scheduled to resume the series on Friday at 6:30 pm in a game that will be televised by NET.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Connor (4-2)
L: Hunter Schryver (1-6)
Batting:
2B: Donovan May 1
3B: Adam Goss 1
RBI: Adam Goss 2 ; Eric Lowe 1 ; Emmanuel Morris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Adam Goss 1 ; Donovan May 1 ; Zander Retamar 1 ; David Gulati 1 ; Emmanuel Morris 1
CS: Eric Lowe 1
Batting:
2B: Fitzgerald, Ryan 2 ; Lamb, Kevin 1
3B: Lopez, Nicky 1 ; Murray, Brett 1 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 1 ; Lucansky, Landon 1
HR: Fitzgerald, Ryan 1
RBI: Woodrow, Daniel 1 ; Lopez, Nicky 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 1 ; Murray, Brett 3 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 4 ; Lucansky, Landon 1 ; Gandy, Matt 1
SH: Woodrow, Daniel 1 ; Lucansky, Landon 1
SF: Woodrow, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Woodrow, Daniel 2 ; Lopez, Nicky 2 ; Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 1 ; Murray, Brett 2 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 3 ; Gandy, Matt 1 ; Lamb, Kevin 1
SB: Woodrow, Daniel 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 1
CS: Fitzgerald, Ryan 1
HBP: Crawford, Harrison 2
PO: Crawford, Harrison 1
