Softball Hosts Indiana State This Weekend

Creighton hosts Indiana State
Saturday, April 26 ? Creighton Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? Noon (DH)
Sunday, April 27 ? Creighton Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? Noon
Live stats here.
Live audio here.

This Week: Creighton split a Monday make-up doubleheader at Illinois State, extending their winning streak to nine games with a 3-2 come-from-behind win, before falling 9-0 in the nightcap. CU then captured a mid-week victory over Drake on Wednesday. Tara Oltman dominated in a 2-0, two-hit shutout of the Bulldogs, striking out eight and not allowing a ball hit out of the infield. The Bluejays now play host to a three-game series with Indiana State this weekend, starting with a Saturday noon doubleheader and concluding Sunday at noon. The series again pits brother vs. sister, as Creighton head coach Brent Vigness again squares off with his sister, head coach of Indiana State, Brenda Coldren.

Last Week: The Bluejays won all five road games, dominating a doubleheader sweep of Drake on April 15, out-scoring the Bulldogs 20-5. Tara Oltman hurled a one-hit shutout in an 8-0 win to open the day and the Jays pounded out a season-high 15 hits in the nightcap. CU then traveled to Southern Illinois and swept a three-game set from the Salukis. Oltman again tossed a shutout and Michelle Graner homered to lift CU to 1-0 win to open the series. CU pounded SIU 9-2 in game two and overcame a three-run deficit to post a 5-3 win in the series finale. Oltman was tabbed the MVC Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week after going 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA, allowing just 14 hits and three earned runs while striking out 34 in only 25.1 innings.

Scouting Creighton (37-14, 15-3 MVC): The Bluejays have won 10 of their last 11 games and are 25-5 since March 8 ... The Jays are 13-2 at home this year, including 6-0 in MVC play ... With a sweep this weekend, CU would claim at least a share of the MVC regular-season title ... Renae Sinkler leads the team with a .479 average and 16 RBI in 15 home games, while she enters the weekend on a 16-game hitting streak in which she is 25-for-54 (.462), with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI ... Jessica Wakasugi (.438) and Bailey Dawson (.421) also enjoy hitting at home, as CU is hitting .313 with 18 home runs at the CU Sports Complex this year ... Wakasugi leads the team and ranks second in the MVC with a .415 average in Valley play ... CU leads the MVC with a .276 overall average and .285 in MVC play ... The CU offense is also tops in the league in hits, RBI, home runs, total bases, runs scored, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hit by pitches, walks and sacrifice bunts ... Tara Oltman leads the MVC with 27 wins and a 1.06 ERA and is 10-0 with two saves and a 0.74 ERA in 12 home appearances this year ... She is the only player in the nation to rank in the top-10 in both saves and wins.

Scouting Indiana State (19-23-1, 7-10 MVC): The Sycamores have lost three straight entering the weekend, following an eight-game winning streak, the program's longest since 1990 ... ISU is 10-4 in its last 14 games, despite the three-game skid ... The Sycamores are hitting .253 as a team, but just .238 in MVC play, while ISU's 31 home runs on the year ranks third in the league ... ISU has played without pitching ace Darcy Wood for much of the season, as the team ranks eighth in the MVC with a 3.35 ERA ... Meagan McCurdy (11-11, 2.87 ERA) has 130 Ks in 134.1 innings, while Katie Armour (4-8, 3.83 ERA) splits time in the circle ... Meredith Simpson, the reigning MVC Player of the Week, is second in the MVC with 10 home runs, and tops the team with a .355 average, nine doubles, 28 RBI and 26 runs scored ... Armour (.306) and Audrey Childress (.312) are the only other ISU players batting at least .300.

Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 15th season at Creighton, owning a record of 475-333-2 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 623-404-3. 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-ISU Series: Creighton has dominated the all-time series with ISU, owning a 33-5 advantage ... CU is 2-3 against ISU in the last two seasons, splitting a doubleheader at ISU last year and dropping two of three in Omaha in 2006 ... Brent Vigness is 11-3 all-time against his sister Brenda Coldren, including nine straight wins to start the sibling rivalry ... Prior to the 2006 loss, the Bluejays had won 18 straight over the Sycamores.

Home Field Advantage: Creighton is 13-2 at home this spring, including 6-0 in the MVC and its final six regular-season games at home. CU is now 28-8-1 (.770) 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. CU has not gone undefeated in Valley play since going 6-0 in 1997. 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 13-2 .867 6-0 1.000
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

We're Going Streaking!: Renae Sinkler enters the weekend on a career-best 16-game hitting streak in which she is batting .463 (25-54), with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI. She has also reached base in 25 straight games. Her hitting streak is the second-longest by a Bluejay this decade, while she is the ninth different Bluejay to log at least a 10-game hitting streak since 2000, see the list below:

Player Streak Year
Jamie Reiss 17 2007
Renae Sinkler 16 2008
Marie Gieron 14 2001
Melanie Dorsey 11 2005
Jessica Wakasugi 10 2006
Bailey Dawson 10 2006
Abby Johnson 10 2005
Christine Fukumoto 10 2005
Stacey Rybar 10 2004
Melanie Dorsey 10 2004

Oltman's Honors: Tara Oltman has been named the MVC Pitcher of the Week for the last two weeks and has earned the honor four times this year, six times in her career. Last week, Oltman went 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA, allowing just 14 hits and three earned runs while striking out 34 in just 25.1 innings. Oltman twice defeated Drake last week and struck out a season-high 12 in a 1-0 shutout of Southern Illinois.

Center of Attention: Jessica Wakasugi is hitting .513 in her last 17 games, going 20-for-39 in that span to raise her batting average 77 points to a team-leading .359. She leads the team with 13 multiple-hit games. The junior has started Creighton's last 156 straight games in center field. Her career .329 average currently ranks fourth in school history.

TJ and HR: TJ Eadus smashed her league-leading 11th home run of the season in Saturday's 9-2 win at SIU. The blast snapped a streak of 12 straight games in which she had not homered, the longest such streak of her CU career. Last Sunday, Eadus collected her first triple as a Bluejay and added a double for good measure, as she hit for the cycle over a two-game span.

Nice Numbers T.O.: Tara Oltman's numbers continue to get more and more impressive. The sophomore has already surpassed her win total from her freshman season, capturing her 27th win on Wednesday against Drake, while she is one win shy of the school record. She is just three wins shy of becoming the second pitcher in league history to record a 30-win season and four shy of that record of 31 set by Missouri State's Kellie Becher in 1994. Her 242 strikeouts and 224 innings pitched this season are already career-highs, while her K total ranks fourth in single-season history and her innings rank sixth. Her 454 career Ks rank fourth, just four shy of third place.

Only Oltman: Tara Oltman began the week ranked sixth in the NCAA with five saves and eighth in the NCAA with 26 wins. She is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top 10 in both categories. After Wednesday's win, the sophomore now has a career-best 27 victories on the year, just one shy of the school record. Her 53 career victories to rank fifth 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.

Sinkler is National Player of the Week: Renae Sinkler went 7-for-10 with nine RBI in just three games (April 7-13), 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.

Best From Hess: Senior Amanda Hess picked up her first MVC win of the season and her first victory in over a month when she hurled a complete game at Southern Illinois last Saturday. Hess allowed six hits and two runs, while she struck out seven to pick up her fifth win of the season. She also pinch-hit in the game and knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly.

Follow the Leader: Creighton is holding on to an impressive record 51 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 27-0 when scoring first this year and 12-0 when scoring in the first inning.

Double Trouble: Sophomore Renae Sinkler leads the team and the MVC lead with 13 doubles this season. Her 13 two-baggers are the most by a Bluejay since current assistant coach Abby Johnson's had 13 in 2005. The 13 doubles are tied for the ninth-most in CU single-season history.

Tara Sees 20-20: Sophomore Tara Oltman has joined an elite group, 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 eight CU pitchers to record 50 career victories.

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. Of Graner's last 15 hits, 11 have gone for extra-bases.

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). 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 5-for-23 from the left side this season. The third baseman is hitting .133 from the right side compared to .217 from the left side.

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. Since the two losses at WSU, Oltman has won her last nine decisions.

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.

Getting Over the Humpal: Freshman pitcher Emily Humpal made her first MVC start 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 .254 this season, 15-for-59, while also drawing eight walks and getting hit by two pitches. Jessi Jadlowski went 3-for-5 in the role before earning a starting spot, while Laura Kratochvil is hitting .364 (4-11) in the role and Cassidy Nee is batting .308 (4-13) in the pinch. CU has used a pinch-runner 47 times this year, with Jess Stigge making 36 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 .286 (12-42) with 12 RBI. The junior is 4-for-13 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 129 career hits, 127 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.

Related Videos