Softball at Nebraska Wednesday Night

Creighton at Nebraska
Wednesday, April 9 ? Bowlin Stadium ? Lincoln, Neb. ? 6:00 p.m.
Live stats available here.
Live Nebraska audio (free) and video (pay) here.

This Week: Creighton travels to in-state rival Nebraska for a midweek non-conference contest on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The first-place Bluejays then jump back into Missouri Valley Conference play when they play host to Evansville for a three-game set. CU and UE will play a doubleheader at noon on Saturday and conclude the series at the CU Sports Complex at noon 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 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 on 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 (27-13, 6-2 MVC): The Bluejays have lost three of their last four games after winning 11 straight games ... CU lost its first MVC series since April 2006 over the weekend, after starting 5-0 in league play ... CU is 4-7 in road games this year, with three losses to top-10 teams, while it is 4-2 in its last six away games ... The Jays lead the MVC with 31 home runs and 62 sacrifice bunts, ranking second in the MVC with a .265 team average ... CU ranks 17th in the NCAA with a .974 fielding percentage ... The Bluejays are 17-3 when hitting a home run this year and 10-10 when held without a home run ... Lincoln native Renae Sinkler, who is 5-for-10 in her career against Nebraska, leads the team and is tied for the MVC lead with 11 doubles, while her 40 hits and .323 average tops the Jays ... She has raised her average 57 points by hitting .422 (19-45) in her last 14 games, including a .563 (9-16) mark in CU's five games last week ... TJ Eadus leads the team and MVC with 10 home runs, four more than the entire Nebraska team ... Michelle Graner ranks second on the team with seven home runs, while her last eight hits have gone for extra-bases, including a stretch of five straight homers ... Jessica Wakasugi, a career .317 hitter, is batting .538 (7-13) in CU's last five games ...Tara Oltman (18-6) was the pitcher of record in both of CU's losses to Wichita State last weekend after winning 11 straight decisions ... She ranks among NCAA leaders with 18 wins and five saves, while she leads the MVC in wins and a 1.13 ERA.

Scouting Nebraska (16-18, 0-6 Big 12): The Cornhuskers have limped to an 0-6 start in Big 12 play, while they are 16-18 on the year, having lost eight of their last 11 ... NU is hitting .277 as a team, but has just 45 extra base hits and only six home runs ... The Huskers have stolen 49 bases this year ... Omaha native Darcy Rutherford leads the team with 39 hits and a .382 average ... Meghan Mullin follows with a .343 mark and a team-best 16 stolen bases ... Crystal Carwile leads the team with five of NU's six home runs this year, also topping the team with 22 RBI and 23 runs scored ... Newcomer Amanda Duran tops the team with eight doubles ... Molly Hill (7-8, 2.16 ERA) has 100 strikeouts in 97.1 innings, while Alex Hupp (8-7, 2.41 ERA) has 101 Ks in 101.2 innings shared in the circle.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 15th season at Creighton, owning a record of 465-332-2 (.583) 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 613-403-3 (.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-NU Series: Creighton trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 34-73, but since snapping a 15-game losing streak in the series, the Bluejays are 5-3 in their last eight meetings with the Huskers. The Jays won both games in Lincoln last year, 4-1, in the regular season and 2-1 to end NU's year in NCAA Regional play. CU's 7-2 win over NU in Omaha last month was CU's largest margin of victory in the series since a 6-0 Bluejay win on April 15, 1997.

Bluejays against Huskers
Lincoln natives Bailey Dawson and Renae Sinkler have enjoyed matching up against Nebraska during their careers, as Dawson has four hits and four RBI in six career games against NU and Sinkler is 5-for-10 in four career meetings with the Huskers. Dawson is hitting .267 (4-15) in her career vs. NU, after going 2-for-6 against the Huskers in each of her first two seasons, before an 0-for-3 game in this year's first meeting. She had a squeeze bunt and a two-run double in CU's regular-season win at NU last year. Sinkler was 2-for-6 against NU last year and went 3-for-4 with two RBI against the Huskers in Omaha last month. Michelle Koch has scored four runs in four career games against NU and is hitting .300 (3-10) against the Huskers. Laura Kratochvil was 0-for-6 against NU prior to her pinch-hit home run against NU in last month's meeting. Tara Oltman improved to 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four career starts against NU, allowing 21 hits along with 21 strikeouts in 28 innings of work.

Goin Bowlin
Creighton is 7-13 all-time at Bowlin Stadium, including 3-7 against Nebraska and 4-6 against NCAA Tournament opponents, as the Bluejays have made their last four NCAA Tournament appearances at the venue. Two of CU's three wins over NU at Bowlin Stadium came last year, a 4-1 win on March 21 and a 2-1 victory on May 19 in the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays played in the first ever regular-season game at Bowlin Stadium on March 19, 2002.

On the Road Again
Creighton is just 4-7 in road games this year, but 4-2 in its last six after dropping its first five true road contests of the year. Four of the 11 road games have come against top-10 schools, including No. 1 Arizona State. The Jays also played a three-game set at No. 7 Arizona, with CU defeating the Wildcats in the finale. CU is batting just .162 and averaging less than 1.5 runs per game, while it has been shut out in four of its 11 road games.

By the Numbers - 800
Wednesday night's game will mark the 800th game coached by Brent Vigness in his 15th season at Creighton. Earlier this season Vigness coached his 1,000th collegiate contest, a loss to seventh-ranked Arizona on March 7. The following day, CU topped Arizona for his 600th career victory.

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-5 from the left side.

Only Oltman
Tara Oltman begins 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 already has 44 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.

The Kitchen Sinkler
Sophomore Renae Sinkler leads the team and is tied for the MVC lead with 11 doubles this season. Her 11 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 also tops the team with a .323 average, having raised her average 57 points over her last 14 games by hitting .422 (19-45) in that span. The Lincoln native has been even hotter in her last 10 games, batting .484 (15-31) with five doubles in that span.

Against the Graner
Michelle Graner's last eight hits have all gone for extra bases, including a streak of five straight home runs in that span. Last week, she hit a two-run home run against Kansas to complete a streak of five straight hits that cleared the fence. Her other three hits during the streak have been doubles. She has 10 RBI over her last nine games, as she is one of four Bluejays with at least 20 RBI on the season now.

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.

Waka, Waka, Waka
Jessica Wakasugi has upped her average 37 points in CU's last six games to .319. She is hitting .538 (7-13) in Creighton's last six contests, including three two-hit games in that span. Wakasugi, who has 114 singles of her 116 career hits, has 10 recorded bunt hits this year and her career .317 average ranks eighth in school history.

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 15 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 19 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 nine games. She ranks second on the team and third 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 last Wednesday 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 175 strikeouts this season already rank as the sixth 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 .267 this season, 12-for-45. 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.

Extra Extra
Creighton lost 2-1 in nine innings to Wichita State on April 6. The loss was CU's third in extra innings this season, dropping the Jays to 2-3 in extras this year. CU has defeated LMU and Northern Iowa in extra innings, while also falling to Texas State and Arizona State.

Keys to Success
Creighton is remarkably undefeated this season when it owns the lead at the end of an inning this season - any inning: 8-0 after one, 14-0 after two, 16-0 after three, 19-0 after four, 17-0 after five and 17-0 after six. The Jays are also 9-0 when scoring in the first inning and 20-0 when scoring first this year. The Jays are 17-3 when homering in a game this year, while they are just 10-10 when held without a homer.

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 Bluejay 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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