Softball Hosts UMKC and UNO For Three Midweek Nonconference Contests

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Creighton hosts UMKC and Nebraska-Omaha for its final nonconference games of the regular season.

Matchup
Tuesday, April 17 • UMKC (10-31) at Creighton (17-12) • 2 p.m. (DH)
Wednesday, April 18 • Nebraska-Omaha (14-26) at Creighton • 6 p.m.

Follow The Games
Live stats for all three contests can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.

Live streams with audio commentary will be available on Jays Video (gocreighton.com/jaysvideo) for all three games and the remaining Bluejay home games.

Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.

Scouting Creighton (17-12)
The Bluejays head into the week after playing only one game last week (April 11 at South Dakota) because weather conditions forced the cancellation of their originally scheduled conference series against DePaul.

Creighton leads the BIG EAST in batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.403) and scoring (5.48 runs per game) and ranks second in the league in slugging percentage (.433).

Senior Sam Crowley leads the team and ranks in the top five of the league with a .383 batting average. She also paces the Bluejays and is second in the league with a .605 slugging percentage which includes a team-best five home runs. The senior center fielder is also tied for the conference lead with eight sacrifice bunts and ranks eighth nationally with 0.86 sacrifice bunts per game.

Ashley Cantu leads the team in hits (35), runs scored (25), and is one of two Bluejays to start all 29 games this season.

Hope Moreno has also started each game this season after playing the first three seasons of her collegiate career at UTEP, and leads Creighton with 20 RBIs. She also paces the Bluejays with a .465 on-base percentage (26 hits, 13 walks, 7 HBP).

The Bluejays own a 3.40 team-ERA (2nd in BIG EAST) led byBryana Clark who boasts a 2.64 ERA during a 74.1 innings pitched.

Freshman Kiele Miller leads the team with 89 strikeouts during a team-high 80.1 innings, owns a 3.49 ERA and has a Bluejay-best seven victories. The freshman owns 7.8 strikeouts per seven innings, which is the second-best mark in the league.

Scouting UMKC (10-31)
The Kangaroos head to Omaha on a nine game losing streak.

One regular starter (Sydney Garcia, .301) is hitting above .300 as the team is hitting .253. UMKC averages 3.70 runs per game.

Garcia leads the team in hits (37), runs scored (23) and stolen bases (14-14).

The pitching staff owns a 6.06 ERA and has 83 strikeouts to 126 walks during 263.1 innings pitched. Olivia Fluehr leads the staff with a 4.67 ERA during 99.0 innings of work and paces the team with 35 strikeouts.

Fluehr also leads the Roos with seven home runs and 29 RBIs.

Head coach Meredith Smith Neal is in her 12th season at the helm of UMKC.

Series History Against Kangaroos
Creighton leads the all-time series against UMKC 45-2.

The Bluejays and Kangaroos split a doubleheader last season in Kansas City.

Scouting Nebraska-Omaha (14-26)
The Mavericks enter the week 2-2 during their last four games after enduring an 11-game losing streak during the second half of March.

Kelly Pattison leads UNO in many offensive categories. She ranks 17th in Division I with a .441 batting average, and second in the Summit League in on-base percentage (.475) and slugging percentage (.688). Pattison also leads the Mavs in hits (41), home runs (6) and RBIs (28).

As a team, UNO is hitting .232 and averaging 3.6 runs per game.

Sydney Hampton leads the Mavericks in the circle with a 3.60 ERA during 107.0 innings pitched. The staff holds a 4.87 ERA.

DJ Sanchez is in her second year as head coach of UNO.

Series History Against Mavericks
Creighton leads the all-time series against UNO 27-8.

The Bluejays and Mavericks have not met during the regular season since 1995 when Creighton earned a pair of one-run victories.

Logan Black Named to Honor Roll
Freshman Logan Black earned a spot on this week's BIG EAST honor roll, the league announced on Monday.

The Omaha native, pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs while walking one and striking out two during Creighton's 6-3 victory at South Dakota (April 11).

Black also hit a pinch-hit two-run homer during her first collegiate at-bat.

Black Launches First Career Homer
Pitcher Logan Black delivered a pinch hit two-run homer during her first career at-bat last week at South Dakota (April 11).

The freshman stepped to the plate with two outs and a runner at third base during the top of the second inning, and lifted a 1-0 delivery over the left-center field wall for her first career home run during her first career at-bat as a Bluejay.

Black also recorded the win by going four innings and allowing two earned runs during Creighton's 6-3 victory.

Elite Offense
Creighton leads the BIG EAST in batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.403) and runs per game (5.48).

The team's on-base percentage ranks 17th in Division I, and its batting average is good enough 28th in the country.

The Bluejays have recorded 10 or more hits in a game 14 different times this season. Creighton is 15-2 when out-hitting its opponent, and 1-10 when out-hit by its opponent (1-0 when hits are tied).

The Jays have drawn 101 walks (3.48 per game) and been hit by the pitch 25 times.

Additionally, Creighton has scored double-digit runs five times and is 13-0 when scoring six or more runs. The Bluejays rank 40th nationally in scoring.

Crowley Having Breakout Senior Season
Senior Sam Crowley leads the Bluejays with a .383 batting average, and is second on the team with 31 hits.

The Green Bay native also paces Creighton and ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .618 slugging percentage, which includes a team-best five home runs.

Crowley entered this season with only 20 hits during 106 career at-bats (.189). This year through 27 games she has 31 hits during 81 at-bats and has seven extra-base hits after having only five in her first three seasons (all last year).

Cantu Continues To Lead-off For The Jays
Sophomore Ashley Cantu has hit in the lead-off position of the batting order for each of Creighton's 29 games.

Cantu went 3-for-3, and matched a career-high with four RBIs during the Bluejays' 10-2 five-inning victory against South Dakota on April 4. She also scored twice, walked once and launched her second career home run.

The sophomore holds a .365 batting average and leads the Bluejays in hits (35), runs (25), and stolen bases (3-3). Additionally, Cantu has reached based because of an error six different times and on a fielder's choice seven times.

She has failed to record a hit only seven times this season and only had one game (March 4 at Missouri) in which she has not reached base at least once.

Cantu is hitting .475 (19 hits) as the lead-off hitter of an inning.

Midweek Games
The Bluejays have played three midweek nonconference games this season.

Creighton is 2-1 during such matchups.

The Bluejays were scheduled to play at UMKC on Tuesday, March 6 but weather forced the cancellation of that game.

Creighton's three games against UMKC and UNO mark the final three scheduled midweek contests of the season for the Bluejays.

The Jays finished 2-3 during midweek games last season.

Softball Hosts UMKC and UNO For Three Midweek Nonconference Contests

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Players Mentioned

Logan Black

Ashley Cantu

Bryana Clark

Sam Crowley

Kiele Miller

Hope Moreno