Bluejays Wrap Up Regular-Season With Missouri State

Creighton hosts Missouri State on Senior Weekend
Saturday, May 3 ? CU Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? Noon (DH)
Sunday, May 4 ? CU Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? Noon
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This Week: Creighton wraps up the regular-season with a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series with Missouri State at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays need just one win or an Illinois State loss to clinch sole possession of the MVC regular-season title for the second straight season. CU and MSU play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon, in which the three Bluejay seniors will be honored between games. The Jays conclude the regular-season on Sunday with a single game at noon.

Last Week: The Bluejays went 5-1 including a 4-0 home mark in which they posted three shutouts and stayed perfect at home in MVC play. CU started the week with a doubleheader split in a pair of makeup games at Illinois State. CU then blanked Drake 2-0 in a midweek matchup before sweeping a three-game set with Indiana State to claim at least a share of the MVC title. Tara Oltman threw shutout ball in 28 of 29 innings pitched, including 25 straight scoreless innings to end the week. She went 4-0 with a 0.48 ERA, three shutouts and a save, while allowing just 11 hits all week. Renae Sinkler's hitting streak came to an end at 17 games to tie the longest hitting streak by a Bluejay this decade.

Scouting Creighton (40-14, 18-3 MVC): The Bluejays have won 13 of their last 14 games and are 28-5 since March 8 ... With a 16-2 home mark this year, the Jays have logged the most home wins ever under Brent Vigness, while they are perfect at 9-0 at home in MVC play ... CU ranks 12th in the NCAA in fielding percentage this week at .975 ... The Bluejay offense leads the MVC in batting average, slugging, on-base, runs, hits, RBI, home runs, total bases, walks and sacrifice bunts ... CU also tops the MVC with a 2.39 team ERA and .208 batting average against ... Jessica Wakasugi leads the team with a .369 average and ranks second in MVC play with a .435 mark, as she is batting .516 (16-31) in her last 14 games ... Renae Sinkler leads the MVC with 59 hits and 13 doubles ... TJ Eadus is tops in the MVC with 11 home runs and 33 walks ... CU is hitting .322 at home this year, where seven Bluejay regulars are hitting at least .288 ... Michelle Koch went 7-for-14 in CU's six games last week, including 5-for-5 over her last two games ... Tara Oltman has established a school record with 29 wins this year, just two shy of the MVC record ... The CU ace ranks fourth in the NCAA in wins, while she ranks fifth in saves this week ... She enters the weekend having pitched 25 straight scoreless innings.

Scouting Missouri State (25-18, 11-10 MVC): The Bears enter the weekend in fifth place in the MVC after losing two of three to SIU last week ... MSU is 2-5 in its last seven games, including a mid-week split with Arkansas on Tuesday ... The Bears rank second in the NCAA with a .980 fielding percentage ... MSU ranks second in the MVC (behind CU) with a 2.58 ERA, led by staff ace Melissa Porche ... Porche is 16-13 with a 1.87 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 201.2 innings ... She has hurled 70 percent of MSU's innings and 78 percent of the innings in MVC play ... MSU's offense is tied for seventh in the MVC with a .247 average, including a .229 clip in Valley play ... Michelle Armentrout leads MSU with a .310 average, six home runs and 28 RBI ... Jessie Smith (.306) leads the team with 21 runs and 38 hits ... MSU ranks last in the MVC with 18 home runs, but ranks second with 39 stolen bases, paced by Christa Gammon's eight thefts.

CU-MSU Series
Creighton owns the all-time series lead over Missouri State, 40-23 ... CU went 4-0 against the Bears last year, including a pair of nine-inning shutout wins ... MSU topped CU 4-0 in the 2006 MVC Tournament in Omaha, but had its three-game regular-season series in Omaha rained out that year.

Head Coach
Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 15th season at Creighton, owning a record of 478-333-2 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 626-404-3. 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).

Home Field Advantage
Creighton is 16-2 at home this spring, including 9-0 in the MVC. The Jays' 16 home wins this year are the most ever under Brent Vigness, topping last year's 15 ?W's. CU is now 31-8-1 (.788) at home in the last two seasons. At 9-0 in MVC play, the Jays are looking for just their second undefeated home MVC season in school history, as the Jays went 6-0 in Valley play in 1997. CU enters the weekend with a chance to set a school record for conference home wins, which last year's team established with an 11-2-1 home MVC mark. 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 16-2 .889 9-0 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

Home Statistics
As expected, the Bluejays statistics are dominating at home, where they are hitting .322 as a team. Jessica Wakasugi (.459) and Renae Sinkler (.456) are both batting over .450 at home this year, while five other Bluejay regulars are hitting at least .288 at home. Tara Oltman is 12-0 with three saves in 15 home appearances, logging a 0.62 ERA at home this year.

We're Going Streaking!
Renae Sinkler had her career-best hitting streak snapped at 17 games last weekend, tying Jamie Reiss for the longest hitting streak by a Bluejay this decade. She was the ninth different Bluejay to log at least a 10-game hitting streak since 2000, hitting .474 (27-57) with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI during the streak. She also reached base in 26 straight games, while she has gone hitless in just two of her last 28 games.

Longest CU Hitting Streaks Since 2000
Player Streak Year
Renae Sinkler 17 2008
Jamie Reiss 17 2007
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

Against the Alma Mater
Missouri State's staff boasts two Creighton graduates, led by head coach Holly Hesse (1982). MSU assistant coach Sue Frederick (1989) is also an alum. Hesse also coached at CU under Mary Higgins upon graduation. The MSU head coach posted 54 career wins, which now ranks fifth behind Tara Oltman's 55. Hesse ranks among career leaders in saves, ERA, Ks, appearances and starts. Frederick's .423 average in 1987 ranks as the second-highest average in school history, while she ranks fourth in CU history with 209 career hits.

Poll Position
Creighton continues to receive votes in both major top 25 polls this week, while it is the first team listed in “others receiving votes” in the newly established Ultimate College Softball poll. The Jays are “28th” in the USA Softball poll and “29th” in the NFCA poll.

Time for a T.O.
Sophomore pitcher Tara Oltman continues to rocket up the Creighton record books at a rapid pace. The sophomore established a school record last week by picking up win No. 29 on the year, surpassing the former mark of 28 twice set by All-American Tammy Nielsen. She enters the week just two wins shy of the MVC single-season record of 31, set by Missouri State's Kellie Becher in 1994. Becher is the only player in league history to record a 30-win season.

Oltman's 472 career strikeouts already rank third in school history, while her 55 career victories rank fourth. Her 28 complete games this year are tied for third most in school history, while her 31 starts are tied for fourth. Oltman's six saves this year are tied for second in CU history and her nine career saves rank third.

Oltman is 14-2 with three saves and a 0.81 ERA in 19 MVC appearances. She has completed all of her 13 conference starts and over half (7) of her MVC starts have been shutouts.

Pitchers CAN Hit
Brent Vigness made good use of his bench last weekend by bringing Amanda Hess and Cassidy Nee off the bench as pinch-hitters. The players, both listed as pitchers on the roster, each contributed RBI singles. Last Saturday, Hess went 2-for-2 with two pinch-hit RBI singles against Indiana State. Nee added a pinch-hit RBI single herself on Sunday.

Waka Wakes Up
Junior Jessica Wakasugi has proven to be a second-half hitter in her career. This year she batted .288 through her first 29 games, while she is hitting .464 over her last 25 games to up her average to a team-leading .369. As a freshman she batted .288 through 25 games, but then closed her final 25 games of 2006 by hitting .397 to finish with a .338 mark.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Tara Oltman won back-to-back MVC Pitcher of the Week honors (April 14 & 21), but was snubbed on the 28th despite pitching 25 straight scoreless innings to end last week. Since dropping consecutive decisions at Wichita State (April 5-6), Oltman has won 11 straight decisions for the second time this year. After that weekend, Oltman is 11-0 with one save and a minute 0.68 ERA. She has allowed just seven earned runs and struck out 85 in her last 72 innings pitched.

Center of Attention
Jessica Wakasugi has started each of Creighton's last 159 games in center field - every game of her career. She is hitting a career-best and team-leading .369 this year, while her career average of .332 ranks fourth in school history. She is hitting .516 in her last 14 games, going 16-for-31 in that span. She leads the team with 13 multiple-hit games.

Stealing Home
Bluejay shortstop Bailey Dawson stole home against Indiana State last Saturday. She was aided when Michelle Graner took off from first base and drew the catcher's throw, as soon as the ball was released Dawson sprinted safely for home and Graner returned to first base as the Jays tacked on another run.

TJ and HR
TJ Eadus smashed her league-leading 11th home run of the season on April 19th, snapping a streak of 12 games in which she had not homered - the longest such streak of her CU career. Eadus has joined Stacey Rybar and Lauren Cisneros as the only two players in CU history to record two seasons with at least 10 home runs hit.

League Leaders
? Tara Oltman leads the MVC with a 1.00 ERA, 29 wins, 239 innings pitched, 31 starts, 28 complete games and .170 batting average against.
? Renae Sinkler leads the MVC with 59 hits, 13 doubles and 90 total bases.
? TJ Eadus leads the MVC with 11 home runs and 33 walks.
? Liz McKewon leads the MVC with 17 sacrifice bunts, while Jessica Wakasugi ranks second with 16 sacs. McKewon ranks 14th in the NCAA with 0.31 sacs per game, while Wakasugi ranks 18th with 0.30.

What is Koch-ing?
After starting last week 1-for-8, Michelle Koch has a hit in each of her last six at bats and batted .500 (7-14) in CU's six games last week. Koch was hitting .286 before the six straight hits, and the streak has since raised her average up to .327 on the year.

Forty Wins Again
For the fourth time in the last five years, Creighton has reached the 40-win plateau. The Jays have now made it to 40 wins four times in Brent Vigness' 15 years at the helm, equalling the four 40-win seasons CU Hall of Famer Mary Higgins totalled in her 17 years as the Bluejay leader. The Bluejays have trailed in 13 of their 40 wins this year.

Home Run Happy
The Bluejays enter the weekend with 42 home runs, tied as the third highest total in school history. Two more long balls this year would place the Bluejays second in school history, trailing just last year's record-setting 57 blasts.

Only Oltman
Tara Oltman began the week ranked fourth in the NCAA with 29 wins, while her six saves rank fifth. She is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top 10 in both categories. The right-hander ranks 16th in the NCAA with a 1.00 ERA and 27th in the nation with 4.16 hits allowed per seven innings pitched.

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 (April 19). Hess allowed six hits and two runs, while she struck out seven to pick up her fifth win of the season. Hess picked up another MVC win over Indiana State (April 26). Her bat has also come alive of late, as she has earned starts as a DP and is 4-for-10 at the plate in MVC play and she has driven in her first three RBI of the year in CU's last seven games.

Follow the Leader
Creighton is holding on to an impressive record 54 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. The Bluejays have lost just one game this year when it held the lead at some point during the game (but not at the conclusion of an inning). The Jays are 30-0 when scoring first this year and 13-0 when scoring in the first inning.

Pinch Me
Creighton pinch-hitters went 3-for-3 last weekend against Indiana State. CU pinch-hitters are hitting .290 (18-for-62), while also drawing nine walks. Cassidy Nee leads the team with five pinch-hits, hitting .357 (5-14). Amanda Hess had two pinch-hits last week and is now 3-for-6 in the role, while Jessi Jadlowski went 3-for-5 in the role before earning a starting spot. Laura Kratochvil is hitting .364 (4-11) in the role. CU has used a pinch-runner 50 times this year, with Jess Stigge making 37 appearances as a pinch-runner.

Left-Right-Left
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-28 from the left side this season. The third baseman is hitting .133 from the right side compared to .179 from the left side. McKewon leads the MVC and ranks 14th in the NCAA with 17 sacrifice bunts.

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 .289 (13-45) with 13 RBI. The junior is 5-for-14 as a pinch-hitter, with a home run, two doubles and nine RBI in the pinch.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Of her 132 career hits, 130 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.

Bluejays Wrap Up Regular-Season With Missouri State

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