Bluejays Host Aces in Softball Doubleheader

Creighton hosts Evansville
Sunday, April 13 ? CU Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? 11:00 a.m. (DH)
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This Week: Creighton pounded Nebraska for a season high 13 runs on Wednesday night, topping the Huskers 13-1 for the a season sweep of its in-state rival. The first-place Bluejays now return to Missouri Valley Conference play when they play host to Evansville. CU and UE will play a doubleheader at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Last Week: The Bluejays extended their season-long winning streak to 11 games with an 8-0 romp over Kansas in the first game of a Wednesday (April 2) doubleheader, only to have the streak halted with a 6-3 Kansas decision in the nightcap. Bailey Dawson homered in both games and Renae Sinkler went 5-for-8 in the twin bill, while Tara Oltman tossed a three-hit, six-inning shutout in the opener. Creighton then lost its first MVC series in two years, when Wichita State took two of three games in Wichita. WSU blanked CU 3-0 in the opener, before the Jays bounced back to win game two 3-1. The Shockers won the rubber game, 2-1 in nine innings last Sunday. Emily Humpal went 6.1 innings, allowing just three hits and a run in CU's win, with Oltman picking up her fifth save of the year.

Scouting Creighton (28-13, 6-2 MVC): The Bluejays have lost three of their last five games after winning 11 straight ... CU lost its first MVC series since April 2006 last weekend, after starting 5-0 in league play ... CU is second in the MVC in batting average, home runs, runs scored, hits and slugging percentage, while the Bluejay offense leads the MVC in on-base percentage, RBI, total bases, walks and sacrifice bunts ... CU ranks 17th in the NCAA with a .974 fielding percentage ... The Bluejays are 10-2 at home where they are hitting .315, led by Bailey Dawson's .429 (12-28) mark, while they have out-scored opponents 62-26 at the CU Sports Complex ... Jessica Wakasugi is hitting .563 (9-16) in CU's last seven games and now leads the team with a .330 average, including .333 in MVC play ... Renae Sinkler leads the team and MVC with 12 doubles, while she is hitting .469 (15-32) in her last 10 games to raise her average to .323, while also hitting .333 in MVC games ... TJ Eadus leads the team and MVC with 10 home runs and 27 walks ... Tara Oltman is the only player in the nation to rank in the top 15 in both wins (19) and saves (5) this year, while she leads the MVC with a 1.14 ERA and .183 batting average against ... Oltman is 7-0 with two saves and a 0.88 ERA, along with 54 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched at home this year.

Scouting Evansville (18-13, 4-6 MVC): The Purple Aces enter the weekend on a four-game MVC losing streak, after getting swept by Illinois State last weekend and falling to SIU on Wednesday ... The Aces rank third in the MVC with a .260 team average, while they average 4.7 runs per game and have 24 home runs ... Brittany Herald leads the MVC with a .411 average, .711 slugging percentage and .505 on-base percentage, while topping the team with six home runs and seven doubles ... Jacki Bradley leads UE with 23 RBI and Krista Price paces the team with 28 runs scored and tops the MVC with 11 stolen bases ... UE ranks seventh in the MVC with a 3.08 ERA, with three pitchers splitting the work load ... Bradley (7-9, 3.11 ERA) leads the team with 65 Ks and 108 innings, as Jennifer McKee (8-1, 2.43 ERA, 40.1 IP) and Ashley Hobbs (3-3, 3.52 ERA, 53.2 IP) also see time in the circle.

Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 15th season at Creighton, owning a record of 466-332-2 (.584) with the Bluejays. Vigness also served as head coach at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., for five years prior to coming to Creighton. His career record in 20 years as a head coach is 614-403-3 (.603). He has led the Jays to five MVC Tournament titles (1999, 2003-05, 2007), four regular-season MVC crowns (1998, 1999, 2000, 2007), five NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2003-05, 2007) and was named MVC Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2007 (Coaching Staff of the Year).

CU-UE Series: Creighton leads the series with UE, 23-16, but the Bluejays are just 8-9 against UE all-time in Omaha. UE has won six of their last nine games against CU in Omaha, dating back to 2000. The teams split a doubleheader last year in Evansville, while the Jays took 2-of-3 from UE in Omaha in 2006. CU has won five of the last seven overall meetings with the Purple Aces.

Bluejays against Purple Aces
Current Bluejays are hitting a combined .326 (29-89) in their career against the Purple Aces, led by TJ Eadus who was 3-for-6 (.500) in her two games against UE last year. Jessica Wakasugi has the most career hits against UE of the Jays, going 8-for-17 (.471) in her five career games against the Aces. Bailey Dawson is 6-for-16 (.375) in her five meetings with UE, with a home run, triple and four RBI. Laura Kratochvil is 3-for-9 (.333) with a pair of doubles in her career against UE. Mary Egan and Renae Sinkler have both homered off of UE pitching as well. Tara Oltman appeared in both meetings with UE as a rookie, tossing 8.2 innings, allowing one earned run for a 0.81 ERA, while walking four and fanning five. Oltman was the pitcher of record in CU's win over UE last year, while Amanda Hess allowed three home runs, seven hits and six earned runs in 5.1 innings against UE in last year's loss.

Creighton-Nebraska Recap, Jays Win 13-1
The 800th game in Brent Vigness' tenure at Creighton was a memorable one, as the Bluejays destroyed in-state rival Nebraska, 13-1 Wednesday night in Lincoln. The loss was NU's worst in the seven-year history of Bowlin Stadium and tied the worst home loss in NU history, which last happened in 1977. The win was CU's largest over NU since 1993, making the 12-run romp the largest over NU under Vigness. CU's 13 runs were a season-high. Jessi Jadlowski went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, Michelle Koch was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Jessica Wakasugi went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Eight players scored at least one run and eight players had at least one RBI in the win. Tara Oltman allowed just two hits and one run, while striking out eight and walking none in the five-inning affair.

Waka, Waka, Waka
Jessica Wakasugi has upped her average 48 points in CU's last seven games to .330. She is hitting .563 (9-16) in Creighton's last seven contests, including four two-hit games in that span. Wakasugi, who has 116 singles of her 118 career hits, has 10 recorded bunt hits this year and her career .320 average ranks eighth in school history.

Double Trouble
Sophomore Renae Sinkler leads the team and the MVC lead with 12 doubles this season. Her 12 two-baggers are the most by a Bluejay since four players had at least 11 doubles in 2005, led by current assistant coach Abby Johnson's 13. Sinkler, smacked a bases-loaded double against Nebraska, as her batting average has raised 57 points in CU's last 15 games to her current .323 mark. She enters the weekend on a six-game hitting streak, which followed a hitless game to snap a season-long eight-game hitting streak. She is CU's leading hitter over its last 10 games, as she is batting .469 (15-32) with five doubles and 10 RBI in that span.

Only Oltman
Tara Oltman began the week ranked fourth in the NCAA with five saves and 13th in the NCAA with 18 wins. She is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top 15 in both categories. The sophomore now has 45 career wins to rank eighth in school history. Her five saves are the most by a Bluejay since Candi Letts set the school record with nine in 1982, while her eight career saves rank third in school history.

Twenty Win Club
Sophomore Tara Oltman is one win shy of joining elite company. With one more win, Oltman will become just the third player in school history to log two 20-win seasons in a career. Creighton Hall of Famer Kelly Brookhart twice had 20-win campaigns and All-American Tammy Nielsen was a three-time 20-game winner. Marcia Jacobsen is the only other player in CU history to record a 20-win season.

Home Field Advantage
Creighton is 10-2 at home this spring, with 10 home games still on the schedule. CU is now 25-8-1 (.750) at home in the last two seasons, as the 2007 Bluejays went 15-6-1 at home, the most home wins under Brent Vigness (since 1994). CU's 11-2-1 mark in MVC play last year also established a school record for home conference victories. Below is the list of overall and MVC home records under Vigness.

Bluejay Home Records since 1994
Year Overall W-L% MVC W-L%
2008 10-2 .833 2-1 .667
2007 15-6-1 .705 11-2-1 .821
2006 8-8 .500 5-5 .500
2005 13-5 .722 9-5 .643
2004 12-5 .706 8-4 .667
2003 5-9 .357 5-8 .385
2002 9-4 .692 9-2 .818
2001 10-8 .556 7-6 .538
2000 9-5 .643 5-3 .625
1999 9-5 .643 7-3 .700
1998 11-3 .786 7-1 .875
1997 10-6 .625 6-0 1.000
1996 6-8 .429 5-5 .500
1995 13-7 .650 7-3 .700
1994 3-7 .300 3-3 .500

Both Sides of the Story and Plate
Sophomore Jess Stigge and freshman Liz McKewon have turned into switch hitters this season. Stigge batted exclusively from the left side last year in 26 at bats, but has batted right-handed in her three at bats this season ? collecting the first right-handed hit of her career against UMKC (March 25). McKewon had batted right-handed through her first 37 games and 75 at bats before switching to the left side for all three of last weekend's games at Wichita State. She got a hit in her first left-handed at bat and is now 1-for-7 from the left side.

Against the Graner
Michelle Graner's bloop single in the first inning against Nebraska on Wednesday night snapped a streak of eight straight extra-base hits for the Bluejay left fielder. She had hit three doubles and five straight home runs at one point during the streak.

Streak Snapped at 11
Creighton's season-long winning streak of 11 games came to an end in a 6-3 defeat to Kansas (April 2). The streak was the fifth-longest in the tenure of head coach Brent Vigness. During the streak, the Bluejays out-scored their opponents 61-16 and hit .317, while opponents hit just .181. CU slammed 16 home runs and had 19 doubles in the 11 games. Bailey Dawson hit .433 (13-30) during the streak, with three home runs and four doubles. TJ Eadus smashed six home runs and had nine RBI during the streak, while both Eadus and Dawson scored 11 runs in the same span. Renae Sinkler had 13 hits, six doubles and nine RBI while hitting .361 during the streak.

Round Trippers
Creighton has connected for 31 home runs this season, which already ranks as the fifth-highest total in school history. After homering 12 times in their first 25 games, CU has crushed 19 home runs in its past 16 games. The Jays have hit at least two home runs in a game nine times this season, including four straight games (March 25-29) in which CU launched 10 long balls. CU homered in seven straight games (March 21-29) and after going homerless in eight straight games has homered in 13 of its last 20 games.

Deep Flies
? Senior TJ Eadus leads the team and MVC with 10 home runs this year and has now hit 26 career home runs in less than two seasons at Creighton to rank fourth in school history on the career list. Her 10 deep flies this year already ranks seventh in CU single-season history.
? Sophomore Michelle Graner has hit five of her seven homers on the season in CU's last 10 games. She ranks second on the team and fourth in the MVC with seven homers this year, while her 14 career long balls already rank 10th in school history.
? Junior Bailey Dawson's homered in both games against Kansas (April 2) to raise her season total to six and her career total to 19, which ranks sixth in school history.

The Strikeout Trend
Tara Oltman's 183 strikeouts this season already rank as the fifth highest season total in school history. Each of the six highest K totals in CU history have come in the past six years, while the top eight strikeout totals have all occurred within the past eight seasons. In 2002 no one cracked the top eight, but Amanda Hess joined Oltman in the top eight with 151 Ks last year.

Getting Over the Humpal
Freshman pitcher Emily Humpal made her first MVC start last weekend, picking up CU's only win over Wichita State. The rookie allowed no runs and just one hit through six innings, before finishing with one run and three hits allowed in 6.1 innings. The right-hander also tossed five solid innings of relief against Kansas (April 2), allowing just one run on three hits. She posted a 1.24 ERA with seven strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched last week.

Run Support
Tara Oltman had won 11 straight decisions before logging back-to-back losses at Wichita State (April 5-6). In those two defeats, the Jays combined to score one run. Oltman has lost five starts this year and in those starts, the Jays have been shutout three times and scored a total of three runs.

In a Pinch
Creighton pinch-hitters are hitting .261 this season, 12-for-46. Jessi Jadlowski went 3-for-5 in the role before earning a starting spot, while Laura Kratochvil is hitting .429 (3-7) in the role and Cassidy Nee is batting .333 (3-9) in the pinch. CU has used a pinch-runner 36 times this year, with Jess Stigge making 28 appearances as a pinch-runner.

Needing Nee
While Cassidy Nee is listed as a pitcher on the CU roster, she has yet to make an appearance in the circle this year. That hasn't stopped the junior from making contributions to the squad this year as a pinch-hitter and designated player. Prior to this year, Nee was 2-for-11 with two RBI in her career. This season Nee is hitting .296 (8-27) with nine RBI. The junior is 3-for-9 as a pinch-hitter, with a home run, a double and six RBI in the pinch.

Not Single Anymore
Junior Jessica Wakasugi had slapped and bunted her way to 102 singles to start her career before collecting her first extra-base hit this year. The speedy outfielder found a hole in the La Salle outfield and rounded the bases for an inside the park home run on March 9 for her first career extra-base hit. Wakasugi again upped her slugging percentage on April 2 by slapping her first career double against Kansas.

We Beat the Champions
On March 8, Creighton defeated two-time defending NCAA Champion and then seventh-ranked Arizona, 2-1, in Tucson. Tara Oltman out-dueled UA All-American Taryne Mowatt in the circle, striking out nine and allowing just three hits and one run to the high-powered Wildcat offense. Renae Sinkler homered and Laura Kratochvil drove in Tucson native TJ Eadus with the game-winning run.

Vigness Wins No. 600
Creighton helped head coach Brent Vigness pick up his 600th career victory earlier this season, doing so in memorable fashion. The Jays topped two-time defending NCAA Champion and seventh-ranked Arizona 2-1 in Tucson on March 9 to notch the skipper's 600th career win.

Eadus Drafted by New England Riptide
Senior catcher TJ Eadus has been drafted by the New England Riptide of the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) softball league as announced in early February. The CU backstop was taken in the third round as the 14th overall selection during the Feb. 18 draft, becoming the first Bluejay to be drafted into the league.

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