Softball Prepares for BIG EAST Tournament Tilt Against St. John's on Friday Afternoon

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Creighton plays its first postseason game since 2014 when the second-seed Bluejays face third-seeded St. John's during the semifinal round of the 2018 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep on Friday at the Ballpark at Rosemont, in suburban Chicago.

Top-seeded DePaul will face fourth-seeded Villanova at 12 p.m. on Friday.

The BIG EAST Softball Championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.

Matchup
Friday, May 11 • (3) St. John's (24-25, 12-5 BIG EAST) vs. (2) Creighton (27-14, 12-3 BIG EAST) • 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 12 • BIG EAST Championship • 1 p.m.

Follow The Games
Live stats for contests can be found at DePaul.Statbroadcast.com.

The BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep will be televised on FS2 which can also be found at FOXSportsGo.com or on the FOX Sports Go App with a proper cable subscription.

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

Scouting Creighton (27-14, 12-3 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays head to the BIG EAST postseason tournament for just the second time since joining the conference prior to the 2014 season.

Creighton ended the regular season on a five game winning streak, and is 14-3 since the start of April.

The Bluejays lead the BIG EAST in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.408) and scoring (5.85 runs per game), and rank second in the league in slugging percentage (.482).

Senior Sam Crowley leads the Bluejays batting average (.402 -- 2nd in BIG EAST), slugging percentage (.641 -- 3rd in BIG EAST) and home runs (7). She is also second on the team in hits (47), runs scored (29) and RBIs (32). Additionally, Crowley leads Division I in sacrifice hits per game (0.36) and paces the BIG EAST with 15 sacrifice hits.

Sophomore lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with a .378 batting average, leads the team in hits (51 -- 7th in BIG EAST), runs scored (41 -- 4th in BIG EAST), walks (21 -- 8th in BIG EAST) and is the only Bluejay to start all 41 games this season.

Hope Moreno has also appeared in each game this season (40 starts) after playing the first three seasons of her collegiate career at UTEP. She leads the Bluejays in hit by the pitches with eight (2nd in BIG EAST).

Senior Tash Coffiel leads the Bluejays with a .479 on-base percentage and is second on the team with 18 walks.

The Bluejays own a 3.31 team-ERA (second in BIG EAST) led by Bryana Clark who boasts a 2.84 ERA during 91.1innings pitched (28 appearances, 11 starts).

Freshman Kiele Miller owns a team-best 138 strikeouts (third-best mark in conference) during a Bluejay-high 123.2 innings pitched, and leads the league with 51 strikeouts looking.

During league play, MIller allowed 12 earned runs during 59.0 innings pitched (1.42 ERA -- best in BIG EAST) and recorded 64 strikeouts (2nd in league) to only 18 walks. She also held opponents to a .172 batting average during BIG EAST games, which was the best mark in the conference.

Scouting St. John's (24-25, 12-6 BIG EAST)
The Red Storm enter the postseason after sweeping Butler during the final weekend of the regular season, and winning their final six games overall.

St. John's is led by senior first baseman Krystal Puga, who leads the BIG EAST in multiple offensive categories. Puga is hitting .430 with 52 runs scored, 19 home runs and 44 RBIs. She also holds a .842 slugging percentage and .495 on-base percentage. Puga paces the league in all the aforementioned offensive categories.

Kaitlin Mattera (.357) and Gretchen Bowie (.352) also rank in the top 10 in the conference in hitting.

As a team, the Red Storm lead the conference in slugging percentage (.492) and are second in the BIG EAST in batting average (.303) and on-base percentage (.375).

St. John's ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with a 4.74 ERA. Madison Morris leads the staff with a 4.12 ERA during 146.0 innings pitched. Morris also owns 135 strikeouts (4th in BIG EAST).

Head coach Amy Kvilhaug is in her 12th season at the helm of the Red Storm.

Series History Against Red Storm
St. John's leads the all-time series against Creighton 10-3.

The Red Storm swept the Bluejays last season in Omaha, and the two teams were unable to play this season because of winter weather in the New York area.

Creighton's last win against St. John's came on April 25, 2015 at home, while the Red Storm have claimed the last seven meetings.

Scouting DePaul (possible opponent)
The Blue Demons enter postseason play with eight wins in their last nine games, including eight-straight victories against BIG EAST opponents.

DePaul leads the BIG EAST with a 2.18 team-ERA. Freshman Pat Moore owns a 1.95 ERA during 118.2 innings of work, Missy Zoch boasts a 1.98 ERA in 127.0 innings pitched and Kennedy Garcia holds a 2.47 ERA in 79.1 innings. (first, second and third, respectively, in league).

The Blue Demons have also recorded a league-best 329 strikeouts (Moore, 150; Zoch, 123) and are limiting opponents to a .208 batting average.

Offensively, freshman Kate Polucha leads the team with a .380 average and .443 on-base percentage. DePaul is hitting .284 as a team.

Eugene Lenti is in his 37th year as head coach at DePaul.

Series History Against Blue Demons
DePaul leads the all-time series against Creighton 15-7.

The Blue Demons have won seven consecutive contests against the Bluejays.

Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays are 2-11 against DePaul, including 0-1 in BIG EAST Tournament play.

Scouting Villanova (possible opponent)
The Wildcats were swept by the Bluejays during the final weekend of the regular season.

Villanova ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with a .282 team batting average.

Clean-up hitter Nikki Alden ranks third in the league in batting average (.380), third in on-base percentage (.462) and eighth in slugging percentage (.562), while lead-off hitter Brittany Husk ranks second in the conference in hits (68), seventh in batting average (.370) and third in runs scored (43).

Anissa Amarillas leads the pitching staff and has logged a BIG EAST-high 185.2 innings pitched. The freshman owns a 3.36 ERA. The Wildcats hold a 4.94 team-ERA, which is the highest mark in the BIG EAST.

Head coach Maria DiBernardi is in her 34th and final season at the helm of Villanova.

Series History Against Wildcats
The all-time series between Creighton and Villanova is tied 8-8.

The Bluejays swept the Wildcats in Omaha during the final weekend of the regular season. Creighton outscored Villanova 29-5 during the three-game sweep.

The Wildcats took two out of three from the Bluejays during the 2017 season at Villanova.

Creighton With Highest BIG EAST Finish
Creighton's 12 league wins were the most since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2014 season.

The Bluejays second place finish also marked their highest placement since joining the league.

Creighton's best finish in the BIG EAST Conference was fourth (10-10) in 2014.

The Jays' league winning percentage of .800 marked the best since 2008 (.875) when the team finished 21-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Conference Tournament History
The Bluejays are making their second ever appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, as the team made the 2014 tournament as the No. 4 seed following its first season in the conference.

Creighton is 0-1 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament. The Bluejays fell 9-1 to DePaul during the 2014 semifinals.

Across all athletic programs, Creighton is 4-9 in BIG EAST Championship title matches, but all four wins have come in volleyball. CU has also reached (and lost) the title tilt in baseball (three times), men's basketball (twice), men's soccer (twice), women's basketball (once) and volleyball (once).

Creighton earned six Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles (last 2010), each under the direction of head coach Brent Vigness. The Bluejays went 38-24 during 20 MVC Tournament appearances (including 2-2 showing in 1993, year before Vigness).

Elite Offense
Creighton leads the BIG EAST in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.408) and runs per game (5.85).

The team's on-base percentage ranks 10th in Division I, and its batting average is good enough for 13th in the country.

The Bluejays have recorded 10 or more hits in a game 20 different times this season. Creighton is 24-2 when out-hitting its opponent, and 2-12 when out-hit by its opponent (1-0 when hits are tied).

The Jays have drawn 138 walks (3.37 per game) and been hit by the pitch 33 times.

Additionally, Creighton has scored double-digit runs eight times and is 18-0 when scoring six or more runs. The Bluejays rank 25th nationally in scoring.

Miller Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Creighton softball freshman Kiele Miller earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week accolades, the league announced on Monday afternoon.

Miller did not allow a run during 10.1 innings of work and finished a perfect 3-0 as Creighton swept Villanova to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. She became the first Bluejay to earn a victory during all three games of a conference series since Tara Oltman in 2010.

The freshman held the Wildcats to a .094 batting average as she allowed only three hits. Miller also struck out eight and walked three while lowering her ERA during BIG EAST contests to a league-best 1.42.

The Dripping Springs, Texas native, opened the weekend by allowing only one hit during four innings of work in Creighton's five-inning 14-0 victory.

She also came in for the final out during the top of the seventh inning of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader before the Bluejays walked off with a victory in the last of the seventh.

On Sunday, Miller allowed only two hits during a six-inning complete-game effort while she recorded her 13th win of the season (seventh in BIG EAST play).

Miller ended league play as the BIG EAST leader in ERA (1.42), batting average against (.172) and strikeouts looking (26), while she ranked second in overall strikeouts (64) and wins (7) during 59.0 innings of work in 12 conference games, including nine starts.

Coffiel Listed On BIG EAST Honor Roll
Senior third baseman Tash Coffiel claimed a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced on Monday.

Coffiel closed her home career by going 6-for-8 with four runs scored, four RBIs and slugging 1.500 with a double, triple and home run over the course of Creighton's three-game sweep of Villanova.

She opened the weekend by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a home run (second of her career) and a triple during the Bluejays' 14-0 victory against the Wildcats.

During the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, Coffiel finished a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored to finish the day 5-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored, while hitting for the cycle in four consecutive at-bats across the two games.

She capped the regular-season by going 1-for-2 with a run scored during Sunday's six-inning victory.

Seniors Shine On Senior Day
Seniors Bryana Clark, Tash Coffiel, Sam Crowley, Hope Moreno and Jordyn Sturgeonwere each recognized between games of Saturday's doubleheader.

Crowley, Sturgeon, Moreno and Coffiel combined to go 12-for-24 with three walks, four home run (one by each) and seven RBIs during Creighton's doubleheader sweep.

Clark pitched 3.2 innings during the two contests and allowed one earned run, while recording six strikeouts.

Crowley's Breakout Senior Season
Senior Sam Crowley leads Creighton and ranks second the BIG EAST in batting average (.402) and third in slugging percentage (.641).

Crowley also paces the Bluejays with seven home runs.

She also ranks second on the team in RBIs (32), hits (47) and runs scored (29).

During BIG EAST play, Crowley ranked first in the league with a .523 batting average (23-for-44) and in slugging percentage (.909). She has scored 16 times (third in league) and had 17 RBIs (second in BIG EAST) during Creighton's 15 league games.

Crowley entered this season with only 20 hits during 106 career at-bats (.189). This year through 39 games she has 47 hits during 117 at-bats and has 12 extra-base hits after
having only five in her first three seasons (all last year).

Clark Called On For Relief Role
After starting the season as the Bluejays' opening day starter, senior Bryana Clark has moved into a relief role, and made the most of her opportunity.

Clark has made a relief appearance 17 times and owns a 2.06 ERA during 37.1 innings of relief work. She has also struck out 33 batters.

She also owns four victories and one save as a reliever.

Clark allowed only one hit during three innings of relief as Creighton rallied for a 5-2 victory against Georgetown (April 29) to claim the series.

Overall, the senior owns a team-best 2.84 ERA during 91.1 innings of work (28 appearances).

Bluejays Score 11 Runs In One Inning
Creighton scored 11 runs during the third inning of the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Villanova for the most runs in a single inning by a Bluejay softball team since Feb. 11, 2012 vs. Arkansas-PIne Bluff (11 in 4th inning).

During the 11-run inning, Creighton hit four home runs, marking the first time the Bluejays hit four home runs in the same inning since March 5, 2010 against North Dakota State when the team hit five home runs during its 13-run first inning.

Walking Off With Victories
Creighton claimed walk-off victories during each of the final two games of the regular season against Villanova.

The Bluejays own seven walk-off wins this season, including five walk-off home runs.

Score    Play (player)   Date
9-1 vs. SUU   2-RBI single (McKelvy)   Feb. 10
6-3 vs. SEMO   3-run HR (Finan)   March 9
12-11 vs. Wichita St.   RBI single (Finan)   March 17
7-6 vs. PC   Solo HR (McGill)   March 28
13-12 vs. UMKC   Solo HR (Moreno)   April 17
6-5 vs. Villanova   Solo HR (Moreno)   May 5
9-0 vs. Villanova   3-run HR (Crowley)   May 6

Hope Moreno owns three home runs this season, and two have been walk-off homers.

Vigness Earns Win No. 900
Head coach Brent Vigness picked up his 900th career victory with the Bluejays' 5-4 comeback victory during the second game of a doubleheader on April 29 against Georgetown.

Vigness owns a 904-630-4 record during 30 years of head coaching.

He claims a 756-559-3 mark in 25 seasons at Creighton.

The Central College (Pella, Iowa) graduate started his head coaching career at Division II Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts and led the Lady Hounds to a 148-71-1 record during five seasons (1989-1993).

Vigness opened his coaching tenure at Creighton in 1994 and is the winningest head coach in Creighton athletics history with 756 victories during 25 seasons.

Jays End Regular-Season With 7 In Omaha
Creighton concluded the regular-season with a stretch of seven consecutive games in Omaha.

The Bluejays went 5-2 during those seven games, including 5-1 in BIG EAST play.

Creighton finished the season 13-6 at home this season.

Creighton's 13 wins in Omaha this season mark the most for the Bluejays since joining the BIG EAST. The program record for wins in a single-season at home is 24 (24-4 in 1989).

Small-ball Bluejays
Creighton owns 45 sacrifice bunts (leads the BIG EAST) and seven sac flies through 41 games this season.

Sam Crowley leads the team and the BIG EAST with 15 sacrifice bunts while three other Bluejays have four.

The Bluejays had a total of seven sacrifice flies and 44 sac bunts during 2017. Creighton led the BIG EAST in sacrifice bunts for the second consecutive season.

Bluejays Finish Month of April at 11-3
The Bluejays compiled a record of 11-3 during the month of April, including 7-2 in BIG EAST play.

Creighton hit .311 and outscored its opponents 81-55 during the month.

Jordyn Sturgeon led the Bluejays with a .419 during 11 games played (10 starts), and raised her season average from .269 to .325. The senior catcher recorded five multi-hit games in April.

Kiele Miller logged a team-high 50.2 innings in the circle and struck out 67 batters while allowing 21 earned runs (2.90 ERA) and holding the opposition to a .207 batting average.

Sturgeon Named To BIG EAST Honor Roll
Senior catcher Jordyn Sturgeon claimed a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced on Monday, April 30.

Sturgeon hit a go-ahead two-run homer during Creighton's 5-2 comeback win to secure the team's series victory against Georgetown (April 29).

In the second game of a doubleheader on April 28, she capped the Bluejays' five-run fourth inning with an RBI single and finished 2-for-4, the only Bluejay to record multiple hits during the come-from-behind 5-4 win.

The senior also hit two doubles during the Creighton's midweek game against cross-town foe Nebraska-Omaha (April 26).

CU Sports Complex Turns Into Launching Pad
A total of 47 home runs were hit during 19 Creighton games played at the Creighton Sports Complex, which is the most during the past 10 season. The Bluejays hit 25, while
opponents had 22.

Creighton hit a program-record six home runs against UMKC at home on April 17, and the two teams combined for 10 homers.

During the past 10 seasons, the most home runs Creighton has hit during a single season at home is 26 (2010).

During the 2015 season, 41 home runs were hit during the span of 13 games, but 25 of those were hit by the opposition, which is the most during the past 10 seasons.

Here's a look at the home runs totals at the CU Sports Complex during the past 10 years:

HRs (CU HRs)   Number of Games   Year
47   (25)   19   2018
29   (13)   12   2017
26   (9)   15   2016
41   (16)   13   2015
29   (17)   15   2014
20   (13)   14   2013
34   (20)   16   2012
26 (12)   14   2011
42 (26)   19   2010
26 (19)   18   2009

By comparison, the Bluejays have hit only 12 home runs and allowed 14 during 22 games away from the Creighton Sports Complex.

Creighton's 37 home runs this season are the most since the team hit 42 in 2014. The program record for home runs in a season is 66, which was set during 2010. The Bluejays have hit more than 30 home runs 13 different times in program history (each time since 2001).

Miller Achieves 100 Strikeouts As Freshman
Freshman Kiele Miller enters the weekend with 138 strikeouts during 123.2 innings pitched.

She is one of only four pitchers in Creighton softball history to record more than 100
strikeouts during their freshman season, and ranks third in program history for strikeouts by a freshman.

Strikeouts       Pitcher               Year
212   Tara Oltman   2007
175   Becca Changstrom   2011
138   Kiele Miller   2018
116   Marcia Jacobsen   1981
98       Cassidy Nee   2006
98       Shelli Mellegaard   1999

She is averaging 7.8 strikeouts per seven innings pitched, which is the second-best mark in the BIG EAST.

During 59.0 innings of work during conference play (12 appearances, nine starts), the freshman had 64 strikeouts to only 18 walks, and held a league-best 1.42 ERA (12 earned runs). She held opponents to a .172 batting average in BIG EAST contests, which is the best mark in the conference.

Miller has also already amassed the 2017 Creighton high for strikeouts as Bryana Clark led the Bluejays with 95 during 145.0 innings of work last season.

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 41 games.

The sophomore leads the Bluejays in hits (51) and runs scored (41), and is second on the team with a .378 batting average. Additionally, Cantu has reached based because of an error nine different times and on a fielder's choice seven times.

Cantu is hitting .509 (29 hits) as the lead-offhitter of an inning.

Jays Keeping It Close
Creighton has played in 12 one-run this season and is 9-3 during those contests, including 5-0 during BIG EAST play.

The Bluejays played in 14 one-run games in 2017, and went 7-7.

Creighton also finished 4-1 during one-run BIG EAST contests.

Scoring All The Runs
Creighton scored 15 runs against Utah Valley (Feb. 10) during their second game of the
season.

The Bluejays' run total marked their most in a single-game since April 9, 2016 against Georgetown (15-2 W).

Creighton has won two games by a margin of 14 (15-1 vs. UVU, 2/10; 14-0 vs. Villanova, 5/5), which each match their largest margin of victory since a 16-2 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb 23, 2013.

The Bluejays have scored 10 or more runs eight times this season through 41 games and is averaging 5.85 runs per contest (leads BIG EAST).

Creighton is 18-0 when scoring six or more runs.

By comparison, Creighton scored more than 10 runs only six times last season (50 total games) and ended the year averaging 3.9 runs per game.

Friday Marks Anniversary of 31-Inning Game
On May 11th (and 12th), 1991, the Creighton and Utah softball teams met in the longest softball game in NCAA history.

Game one remains the longest game in NCAA Softball history. Less than a half-hour later, the same two teams played the third-longest game on record.

Creighton defeated Utah 1-0 in 31 innings, as Lorrie McGill, current Bluejay Jayci McGill's mother, scored the winning run, in a game that started at 6 p.m. (May 11) and lasted six hours and 21 minutes.

Because the loss marked Utah's first loss of the WAC Tournament, the two teams had to play again to decide the tournament champion.

With first pitch at 12:45 a.m. on May 12, Utah claimed a 4-3 win in 25 innings during the second game to claim the title, in a contest that lasted five hours and 23 minutes.

For more information, visit www.gocreighton.com/31 innings.

Softball Prepares for BIG EAST Tournament Tilt Against St. John's on Friday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Cantu

Bryana Clark

Tash Coffiel

Sam Crowley

Jayci Foster

Kiele Miller

Hope Moreno

Jordyn Sturgeon