Softball Plays Five MVC Games in Three Days

Creighton at Southern Illinois
Saturday, April 19 ? Charlotte West Stadium ? Carbondale, Ill. ? Noon (DH)
Sunday, April 20 ? Charlotte West Stadium ? Carbondale, Ill. ? Noon
Creighton at Illinois State
Monday, April 21 ? Redbird Softball Complex ? Normal, Ill. ? Noon (DH)

This Week: After scoring 20 runs in a doubleheader sweep of Drake on Tuesday, the first-place Bluejays continue their seven-game MVC road trip by playing five conference games in three days, starting with a Saturday doubleheader at second-place Southern Illinois. CU and SIU will conclude their series with a single game on Sunday and then the Jays will move upstate to Illinois State. The Bluejays and Redbirds will play a rescheduled doubleheader on Monday at noon.

Last Week: Creighton won its three games last week by out-scoring its foes 23-5. On Wednesday (April 9) the Bluejays knocked off in-state rival Nebraska 13-1 to hand the Huskers their worst home defeat in school history. CU then had one of its three games with Evansville cancelled because of weather last weekend in Omaha, but swept a doubleheader from the Aces, 6-1 and 4-3 in nine innings. Tara Oltman picked up the win in all three games for CU and earned MVC Pitcher of the Week and Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors by going 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA, eight hits allowed and 20 strike outs in 17.2 innings. Renae Sinkler was not only the MVC Player of the Week, but was named the USA Softball National Player of the Week by going 7-for-10 with nine RBI in CU's three games.

Scouting Creighton (32-13, 10-2 MVC): The Bluejays followed a season-long 11-game winning streak by dropping three of its next four games and losing its first MVC series in two years, but since that span the Jays have won five straight games entering the weekend and are 17-3 in their last 20 games ... CU is 7-7 in true road games this year, with four road contests coming against top-10 opponents ... The Jays are hitting .216 with eight home runs in 14 road games, while posting a 3.32 ERA on the road ... During CU's five-game winning streak the Jays have out-scored their opponents 43-10 and are hitting .374 as a team, led by Jessica Wakasugi .714 (10-14) average in that span ... Bailey Dawson (.533) and Renae Sinkler (.500) are also hitting at least .500 over CU's last five games ... Wakasugi, a career .332 hitter, leads the team with a .371 average, while her .483 average in MVC play is tops in the league ... Sinkler, who leads the MVC with 12 doubles, is on a 10-game hitting streak in which she is batting .529 (18-34) ... Dawson is hitting .421 with 10 runs scored in 12 MVC games ... Creighton is second in the MVC with a .278 overall team batting average, while the Jays are hitting a league-best .293 in MVC play ... The Bluejay offense leads the MVC in runs, home runs, hits, RBI, sacrifice hits, slugging and on-base percentage ... CU ranks 21st in the NCAA with a .973 fielding percentage ... TJ Eadus, who hit .385 with two home runs and six RBI against SIU last year, leads the team and MVC with 10 home runs and 30 walks, but she has not homered in CU's last 11 games ... Sophomore Tara Oltman, the 2007 MVC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year, is the only player in the NCAA to rank in the top 11 nationally in both wins (23) and saves (5) this year, while she leads the MVC with a 1.07 ERA and .177 batting average against ... Oltman has struck out exactly eight batters in each of her last four starts and with 209 strikeouts entering the weekend she is just three shy of her freshman season total.

Scouting SIU (24-16, 10-4 MVC): The Salukis had an eight-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday with a doubleheader split against Evansville ... Of their last nine wins, five have come via the shutout ... SIU leads the MVC with a .282 team average, while Lauren Haas tops the team with a .349 mark ... Haas also leads SIU with nine doubles and 29 RBI ... The Salukis lead the MVC with 38 stolen bases ... Katie Wilson leads the team and is second in the MVC with 11 stolen bases ... Katie Wagner (.325) leads SIU and ranks second in the MVC with eight home runs ... SIU's team ERA is third in the MVC at 2.71 as the Salukis are led by a pair of freshmen in the circle ... Danielle Glosson (5-5) leads the team with a 2.39 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 88 innings of work ... Fellow rookie Nikki Waters (12-9) leads the team with 12 wins, five shutouts and 133.1 innings pitched ... Junior Katie McNamara is 7-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 42 innings pitched ... SIU is 12-4 at home this season, including 9-1 in conference play.

Scouting Illinois State (18-16, 8-4 MVC): The Redbirds entered a three-game home series with Wichita State having won seven straight MVC games following a 1-4 conference start ... ISU lost at Illinois 16-8 last Wednesday ... On the season ISU is hitting .258, while opponents are hitting .267 against ISU pitching ... The Redbird pitching staff ranks eighth in strikeouts and ninth in walks allowed ... Kara Nelson, 2007 MVC Player of the Year, was hitting a team-high .400 before the weekend ... Amber Smith led the team with four home runs and 19 RBI ... Smith (8-6, 2.50 ERA) had pitched 92.1 innings and walked 60 along with 68 strikeouts ... Rachel Smith (5-4, 2.31 ERA) has tossed 66.2 innings, while two other Redbirds see time in the circle.

CU-SIU Series: The Bluejays lead the all-time series with the Salukis, 24-17, including a 3-1 mark against SIU last year. CU lost the first meeting with SIU in Omaha last year, but then took two from the Salukis to win the regular-season series. The Jays then topped SIU 6-2 in the MVC Tournament title game. CU split regular-season doubleheaders in Carbondale in both 2004 and 2006, with the third game lost to weather. The Jays also knocked off SIU in the 2004 MVC Tournament championship game at Charlotte West Stadium. Creighton is the only school in the MVC that SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock has a losing record against (9-16).

Individuals vs. SIU: Few Bluejays have managed much success against the Salukis during their careers. Jessica Wakasugi is 7-for-16 (.438) in her career against SIU, while TJ Eadus hit .385 (5-13), with two home runs, three doubles and six RBI against the Salukis last year. In the MVC Tournament title game last year, Eadus went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI against SIU. Tara Oltman went 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA, 23 strikeouts and 23.1 innings pitched against SIU last year.

CU-ISU Series: Illinois State leads the all-time series with Creighton, 29-24-1. CU did not lose to ISU last year, sweeping a doubleheader in Omaha and then tying a rain-shortened game in the series finale. The Jays were swept in a three-game series in Normal in 2006, while CU swept a three-game set at ISU in 2004.

Individuals vs. ISU: Only one Bluejay hitter has a career average of at least .333 against Illinois State, as Michelle Koch went 2-for-6 (.333) with three RBI and two stolen bases against the Redbirds last year. TJ Eadus (.286) went 2-for-7 with a home run and two RBI against ISU last year and Renae Sinkler's two hits off of ISU pitching last year were both doubles. Bailey Dawson is 4-for-17 (.235) with three RBI and two runs scored vs. ISU in her career. Tara Oltman went 2-0 with a .276 ERA and 21 strikeouts in just 12.2 innings pitched against the Redbirds last year.

Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 15th season at Creighton, owning a record of 470-332-2 (.586) 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 618-403-3 (.605). 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).

Sinkler is National Player of the Week: Renae Sinkler went 7-for-10 with nine RBI in just three games last week, good enough to earn her both MVC Player of the Week and USA Softball Collegiate Softball Player of the Week honors as awarded by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA). The sophomore first baseman had three RBI in each of CU's games last week to become the first Creighton player ever honored as the National Player of the Week.

Oltman's Honors: Not only does Tara Oltman dominate in the circle, she's not too shabby in the classroom either. The sophomore pitcher went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA last week to be named MVC Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season and fifth time in her career. The English major carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average through her first three semesters on campus and was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week last week as well.

That's Offensive: Creighton has won five straight games since dropping three of four. During CU's five-game streak, the Jays have out-scored opponents 43-10, scoring an average of 8.6 runs per game. CU scored a season-high 13 runs at Nebraska (April 9) to start the streak. CU has had at least eight hits in each of the five games and averaged 10.4 per game, while its 15 hits at Drake in its last outing were a season-high. Four Bluejay regulars are hitting at least .450 during the streak. Jessica Wakasugi is 10-for-14 to log a .714 average over her last five games, while Bailey Dawson (.533), Renae Sinkler (.500) and Michelle Koch (.462) are all above .450. Sinkler has nine hits and 11 RBI in her last five games. Tara Oltman has been the pitcher of record in each of the five wins, with a 0.72 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 innings during the streak.

Take Your Base: Creighton batters were hit by five pitches in the Jays' 8-0 victory over Drake last week. CU also walked five times, including three bases-loaded walks in that contest, and advanced bases because of three DU wild pitches.

Season-Highs: Renae Sinkler went 4-for-4 with the game-winning RBI against Evansville last Sunday to mark CU's first four-hit game of the year. Bailey Dawson didn't let Sinkler stand alone for long, as the CU shortstop went 4-for-5 as the Jays pounded out a season-high 15 hits in a 12-5 drubbing of Drake on Tuesday.

Streaking: Renae Sinkler enters the weekend on a season-best 10-game hitting streak in which she is batting .529 (18-34) with two home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI. Jessica Wakasugi begins the trip on a six-game hitting streak, as she is batting .647 (11-17) with six runs scored in that span.

Center of Attention: Junior outfielder Jessica Wakasugi has started every game for Creighton in center field for the past three seasons, a streak of 150 straight games. The slap-hitter has a team-best 12 multiple-hit games this year, with half of those coming in CU's last 11 games. She has moved her average from .282 up to a team-best .371 in her last 11 games, while hitting .629 (17-27) in that span. Her career average has soared up to .332, which currently ranks fourth in school history. She is 14-for-29 in CU's first 12 MVC games to lead the league with a .483 conference average.

Follow the Leader: Creighton is holding on to an impressive record 45 games into the season. When the Bluejays have the lead at the end of any inning this year, they are undefeated. So if a team finds itself trailing the Bluejays at the completion of any inning this year, it also finds itself trailing at the end of the game. Similarly, the Bluejays are 24-0 when scoring first this year and 11-0 when scoring in the first inning.

TJ and HR: Senior TJ Eadus established a school record with 16 home runs in her first year at Creighton last year. This season, the Bluejay catcher leads the team and MVC with 10 homers. But while Eadus leads the league in round-trippers, she has yet to hit one this month and begins the weekend on the longest home run drought of her CU career. She has gone 11 games without hitting a home run, following a doubleheader with Northern Iowa on March 29 in which she blasted three bombs.

Only Oltman: Tara Oltman began the week ranked sixth in the NCAA with five saves and 11th in the NCAA with 21 wins. She is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top 11 in both categories. The sophomore now has 23 wins on the year and 49 career victories 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.

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.

Tara Sees 20-20: Sophomore Tara Oltman joined an elite group last week, becoming just the third pitcher in school history to log at least two 20-win seasons. Creighton Hall of Famer Kelly Brookhart recorded two 20-win campaigns, while All-American Tammy Nielsen was a 20-game winner in each of her three years with the Bluejays. Less than two full seasons into her collegiate career, she is already one of just 11 CU pitchers to record 40 career victories, while she enters the weekend one win shy of becoming the eighth pitcher in school history to log 50 career wins.

Creighton-Nebraska Recap, Jays Win 13-1: The 800th game in Brent Vigness' tenure at Creighton was a memorable one, as the Bluejays crushed in-state rival Nebraska, 13-1 in Lincoln (April 9). The loss was NU's worst in the seven-year history of Bowlin Stadium and tied the worst home loss in NU history. 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 game.

Pulling the Old Switcharoo: 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 six at bats this season ? collecting the first right-handed hit of her career against UMKC (March 25) and adding another hit on Tuesday at Drake. McKewon had batted right-handed through her first 37 games and 75 at bats before switching to the left side at Wichita State. She got a hit in her first left-handed at bat and is now 2-for-15 from the left side after slapping an RBI single at Drake on Tuesday. The third baseman is hitting .133 from both sides of the plate this season.

Against the Graner: Michelle Graner's bloop single in the first inning at Nebraska (April 9) 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. Graner smacked two more doubles at Drake on Tuesday and now 10 of her last 12 hits have gone for extra-bases.

Home Field Advantage: Creighton is 12-2 at home this spring, with seven home games still on the schedule. CU is now 27-8-1 (.764) at home in the last two seasons, as the 2007 Bluejays went 15-6-1 at home, the most home wins ever 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 12-2 .857 4-1 .800
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

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.

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 35 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 23 home runs in its past 20 games. The Jays have hit at least two home runs in a game 11 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. CU is 19-3 when hitting a home run in a game this year and 10-1 when smashing at least two long balls in a game.

The Strikeout Trend: Tara Oltman's 209 strikeouts this season already rank as the fifth highest season total in school history, and are just three behind her freshman season total. 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 against Wichita State on April 5, picking up CU's only win over the Shockers. 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 against the two Kansas opponents.

In a Pinch: Creighton pinch-hitters are hitting .280 this season, 14-for-50. 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 (4-12) in the pinch. CU has used a pinch-runner 40 times this year, with Jess Stigge making 31 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 .300 (9-30) with 11 RBI. The junior is 4-for-12 as a pinch-hitter, with a home run, two doubles and eight 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. She now has 126 career hits, 124 of which are singles.

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 Arizona 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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