Sunday, April 13
Omaha, Neb.
11:00 AM
Creighton University
6
vs
1
Evansville
Bluejays Take Pair from Evansville in Softball
4/13/2008 6:00:00 PM | Softball
OMAHA, Neb. ? Creighton softball maintained its hold on first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Evansville Sunday at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays took game one 6-1 and edged the Purple Aces, 4-3, in nine innings in game two. Bluejay first baseman Renae Sinkler went 6-for-7 with a home run and six RBI in the twin bill, while sophomore pitcher Tara Oltman picked up the victory in both contests to help the Bluejays improve to 30-13 overall and 8-2 in MVC play.
In the opener, Creighton took a 4-0 lead with a four-run second inning. Michelle Koch lined a one-out solo home run over the right field wall to open the scoring. Jessica Wakasugi followed with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then onto third after a wild pitch. She would score on Jessi Jadlowski's second double of the day to put the Jays up 2-0. Jadlowski would then score on an RBI single by Bailey Dawson. TJ Eadus was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Sinkler. Sinkler drove in her first run of the day on an RBI single to center to cap the four-run frame.
Evansville (18-15, 4-8 MVC) would score its only run of the game when Oltman lost command of the strike zone in the top of the fourth inning. The Creighton ace allowed a leadoff single to Brittany Herald and combined that hit with three walks, including a bases-loaded free-pass to Amanda Ockomon, for the Aces only run of the game.
CU moved its lead to five when Sinkler blasted her fifth home run of the year to center field, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Oltman allowed just two hits, both to Herald, walked three and struck out eight for the complete-game victory in game one.
Jacki Bradley (7-10) took the loss in the circle for UE, tossing six innings and allowing six earned runs on 10 hits.
Jadlowski, Dawson and Sinkler each had two hits in the opener, while Wakasugi finished 3-for-3 in game one.
In game two, Creighton went ahead 2-0 after Sinkler hit RBI singles to bring in Dawson in both the first and third innings.
Bluejay freshman hurler Emily Humpal cruised through her first three innings of work before running into trouble in the top of the fourth. Humpal had allowed just one hit and struck out three through three innings and opened the fourth by striking out Herald, just the fifth time in 32 games the UE first baseman had whiffed. But the right-hander then allowed a home run to Krista Price and back-to-back singles to get knocked from the game.
Oltman relieved Humpal with one out and runners on first and second. Ockomon hit a single to center field which barely made it off the infield dirt to score the first run and when Eadus gunned a throw from behind the plate wide to third base, the UE runner from first base came all the way around to score on the play, giving the Aces a 3-2 lead.
The Jays would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Laura Kratochvil. Kratochvil's single down the left field line brought in pinch-runner Jess Stigge, who entered after Eadus had led off the frame with a four-pitch walk.
The game remained tied 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Sinkler struck again. Jadlowski led off with a bloop infield single and moved to second on a bunt by Dawson. Eadus then rocketed a single to left field, enabling Jadlowski to advance to third and Eadus took second on a the throw to the plate. With first base open and just one out, UE opted to not pitch around CU's hottest hitter. Sinkler ripped the first pitch she saw to shortstop where a diving Ockomon could only knock the ball down as Jadlowski crossed the plate with the winning run.
The final single of the day for Sinkler capped the first four-hit day by a Bluejay this year, as the sophomore finished game two 4-for-4 with three of the Jays' four RBI. By going 6-for-7 in the twin bill, the Lincoln native raised her batting average 28 points on Sunday, up to a team-leading .351. She is now on her second eight-game hitting streak of the year, in which she is batting an impressive .615 (16-26).
Oltman settled down after allowing two bloop singles in the fourth inning, to allow just two more hits over her final five innings of work. She allowed no runs and struck out four in 5.2 innings of relief to improve to 21-6 after the pair of victories. She is just the third player in school history to record two 20-win seasons in a career.
Ashley Hobbs (3-4) suffered the extra-inning defeat for UE, tossing all 8.1 innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, three of which were earned. She walked five and struck out one, as the Bluejays stranded 11 runners on base. Laura Rather finished 3-for-4 for UE in game two.
Creighton returns to MVC play on Tuesday when it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for a doubleheader with Drake. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 3 p.m. against the Bulldogs.
In the opener, Creighton took a 4-0 lead with a four-run second inning. Michelle Koch lined a one-out solo home run over the right field wall to open the scoring. Jessica Wakasugi followed with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then onto third after a wild pitch. She would score on Jessi Jadlowski's second double of the day to put the Jays up 2-0. Jadlowski would then score on an RBI single by Bailey Dawson. TJ Eadus was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Sinkler. Sinkler drove in her first run of the day on an RBI single to center to cap the four-run frame.
Evansville (18-15, 4-8 MVC) would score its only run of the game when Oltman lost command of the strike zone in the top of the fourth inning. The Creighton ace allowed a leadoff single to Brittany Herald and combined that hit with three walks, including a bases-loaded free-pass to Amanda Ockomon, for the Aces only run of the game.
CU moved its lead to five when Sinkler blasted her fifth home run of the year to center field, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Oltman allowed just two hits, both to Herald, walked three and struck out eight for the complete-game victory in game one.
Jacki Bradley (7-10) took the loss in the circle for UE, tossing six innings and allowing six earned runs on 10 hits.
Jadlowski, Dawson and Sinkler each had two hits in the opener, while Wakasugi finished 3-for-3 in game one.
In game two, Creighton went ahead 2-0 after Sinkler hit RBI singles to bring in Dawson in both the first and third innings.
Bluejay freshman hurler Emily Humpal cruised through her first three innings of work before running into trouble in the top of the fourth. Humpal had allowed just one hit and struck out three through three innings and opened the fourth by striking out Herald, just the fifth time in 32 games the UE first baseman had whiffed. But the right-hander then allowed a home run to Krista Price and back-to-back singles to get knocked from the game.
Oltman relieved Humpal with one out and runners on first and second. Ockomon hit a single to center field which barely made it off the infield dirt to score the first run and when Eadus gunned a throw from behind the plate wide to third base, the UE runner from first base came all the way around to score on the play, giving the Aces a 3-2 lead.
The Jays would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Laura Kratochvil. Kratochvil's single down the left field line brought in pinch-runner Jess Stigge, who entered after Eadus had led off the frame with a four-pitch walk.
The game remained tied 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Sinkler struck again. Jadlowski led off with a bloop infield single and moved to second on a bunt by Dawson. Eadus then rocketed a single to left field, enabling Jadlowski to advance to third and Eadus took second on a the throw to the plate. With first base open and just one out, UE opted to not pitch around CU's hottest hitter. Sinkler ripped the first pitch she saw to shortstop where a diving Ockomon could only knock the ball down as Jadlowski crossed the plate with the winning run.
The final single of the day for Sinkler capped the first four-hit day by a Bluejay this year, as the sophomore finished game two 4-for-4 with three of the Jays' four RBI. By going 6-for-7 in the twin bill, the Lincoln native raised her batting average 28 points on Sunday, up to a team-leading .351. She is now on her second eight-game hitting streak of the year, in which she is batting an impressive .615 (16-26).
Oltman settled down after allowing two bloop singles in the fourth inning, to allow just two more hits over her final five innings of work. She allowed no runs and struck out four in 5.2 innings of relief to improve to 21-6 after the pair of victories. She is just the third player in school history to record two 20-win seasons in a career.
Ashley Hobbs (3-4) suffered the extra-inning defeat for UE, tossing all 8.1 innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, three of which were earned. She walked five and struck out one, as the Bluejays stranded 11 runners on base. Laura Rather finished 3-for-4 for UE in game two.
Creighton returns to MVC play on Tuesday when it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for a doubleheader with Drake. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 3 p.m. against the Bulldogs.
Players Mentioned
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