Bluejays Host Braves in Softball

Creighton hosts Bradley
Saturday, April 4 ? Creighton Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? 12:00 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, April 5 ? Creighton Sports Complex ? Omaha, Neb. ? 12:00 p.m.

This Week: Creighton won its fourth straight game on Nebraska's home field, in a 3-0 win over its in-state rival on Wednesday night. Sara Loeffelholz went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Tara Oltman scattered five singles in the shutout victory. The Bluejays return home to host an MVC series this weekend, welcoming Bradley for a three-game weekend series. CU and BU play two on Saturday at noon and a single game on Sunday at noon as head coach Brent Vigness looks for his 500th win at Creighton this weekend. Fans can follow live stats for every game this weekend on the Creighton athletics home page.

Last Week: The Bluejays pushed their season-best winning streak to five games (it now stands at six) by sweeping a doubleheader sweep at Kansas last Wednesday, before their three-game MVC series at Northern Iowa was cancelled because of the weather. CU topped KU 2-1 in the opener and came-from-behind to win 4-3 in 10 innings in the night cap, for its first wins in Lawrence since 1996. Liz McKewon went 4-for-6 with her first two career doubles in the twin bill last week.

Scouting Creighton (18-8, 6-0 MVC): Creighton is the two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion and is coming off of its fifth NCAA Tournament in six years ... The Bluejays enter the weekend on a season-best six game winning streak and winners of 10 of their last 11 games ... CU is 6-0 in MVC play for the second time in three years, equalling its best Valley start in school history ... The Bluejays are hitting .263 as a team this year, while opponents are hitting just .212 off of CU pitching ... CU leads the MVC with a .972 fielding percentage ... Laura Kratochvil leads the team with career-highs in average (.338), hits (27), home runs (5) and RBI (24) ... Renae Sinkler is tied with Kratochvil with a team-high five home runs, while she tops the team with a .616 slugging percentage and .451 on-base percentage ... Bailey Dawson leads the team and ranks third in the MVC with 22 runs scored ... Junior transfer Sara Loeffelholz, a two-year starter at New Mexico, leads the team with 13 extra-base hits, eight doubles and two triples ... CU is hitting .272 in MVC play, led by Michelle Graner's .467 average ... MVC opponents are hitting just .168 against the Jays ... Two-time MVC Pitcher of the Year Tara Oltman has allowed four earned runs in her last 88 innings of work, and is 15-5 with a 1.06 ERA on the season, with 120 Ks in 125.2 innings pitched ... Oltman is 18-0 with a 0.52 ERA and just 63 hits allowed in 134.1 innings pitched at home in the last two seasons.

Scouting Bradley (14-14, 5-3 MVC): The Braves have won four straight MVC games after starting 1-3 in league play ... BU swept a doubleheader at UNI on Wednesday, scoring a season-high nine runs in the opener ... The Braves are eighth in the MVC with a .243 team average, while their team ERA of 2.55 ranks third (following CU in second) ... Miriam Wegmann leads the team with a .370 average, including a league-best .542 mark in Valley play ... Alycia Bachkora, who is hitting .417 in MVC play, tops the team with seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI, as she is the only Brave with more than eight RBI on the season ... Ashley Birdsong (8-6, 2.01 ERA) is the staff ace, with 113 strikeouts in 101 innings ... Amanda Clack (3-3, 2.86 ERA) and Katie Dennis (3-5, 2.86 ERA) also see time in the circle.

Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 16th season at Creighton, owning a record of 499-344-2 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 21 years as a head coach is 647-415-3. He has led the Jays to five MVC Tournament titles (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007), five regular-season MVC crowns (1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008), six NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008) and was named MVC Coach of the Year in 1998 and guided the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

CU-BU Series History: Creighton is 31-11 all-time against Bradley, including four straight wins in the series ...CU is 11-2 against BU in the last 13 meetings ... CU won 2-0 and 5-2 in the only two games the teams played last year in Peoria ... BU is the last MVC team to beat the Jays in Omaha, winning 4-2 on May 5, 2007 in the first game of that three-game series.

Bluejays Against BU: Jessica Wakasugi is 11-for-21 (.524) in her career against Bradley, including a 7-for-10 mark as a freshman in 2006. Michelle Koch is 5-for-10 with a double, home run and three RBI in five career games against the Braves. Michelle Graner went 3-for-7 (.429) with a double in CU's doubleheader sweep at BU last year - her first games against the Braves. Renae Sinkler, Bailey Dawson and Cassidy Nee also have home runs off of BU in their career. Nee's pinch-hit three-run blast at BU last year is her only career homer. Tara Oltman is 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA in her career against the Braves. She has allowed 16 hits, four runs, four walks and 17 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched and four appearances against Bradley.

Rescheduled Games: Creighton and Northern Iowa had their entire three-game series cancelled due to poor weather in Cedar Falls on March 28-29. The teams have agreed to make up two of the games with a doubleheader on April 7. CU and UNI will play two at 1 p.m. in Des Moines at Drake's Buel Field this coming Tuesday.

Some Streaks of Note: Creighton enters the week on its longest winning streak of the year, at six games. The Jays have won their first six MVC games this year and have now won 13 straight regular-season MVC games dating back to last season. CU has won 17 straight home games over Valley opponents, including its first three this season. Tara Oltman has won her last nine decisions and won 19 straight decisions at the CU Sports Complex.

Home Sweet Home: Creighton is 4-1 at home this year, including 3-0 in MVC play. The Bluejays were 19-2 at home last year, their most home wins since 1989. CU was 12-0 at home in Valley play last year and has now won 17 straight MVC home games, dating back to a loss to Bradley in May, 2007.

Early Home Numbers: Creighton has played just five games at home this year and its offense has yet to thrive at home. The Bluejays are hitting .198 in five games. Ten of CU's 22 hits in those five games have gone for extra bases however, five home runs and five doubles. Jessica Wakasugi leads the team with a .462 mark (6-13) at home, followed by Laura Kratochvil's .417 clip. Those are the only two Jays hitting above .250, and only four Jays are batting above .200 at home thus far. Kratochvil has three of CU's five homers at home and six of CU's 10 RBI. Tara Oltman is 4-0 with four complete games (two shutouts) in four appearances at home this year. She owns a 0.25 ERA with just one earned run allowed, four walks and 24 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched at the CU Sports Complex.

No Fooling: After its 3-0 win over Nebraska on April 1, Creighton is now 9-3-1 on April Fool's Day under head coach Brent Vigness. The Jays are 5-0-1 in their last six April 1 games.

Jays Sweep Honors: On March 23, the Creighton battery of Laura Kratochvil and Tara Oltman were tabbed the MVC Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Oltman tossed complete games in each of her four starts, while posting two shutouts, 0.25 ERA, 24 Ks in 28 IP and allowing just 12 hits. Kratochvil went 5-for-12 (.417) with three home runs and six RBI in CU's five games that week.

A First at CU: Creighton won five straight one run games March 21-25. Never before in school history had the Bluejays won five consecutive games by just one run.

Vigness 500: Head coach Brent Vigness enters the weekend with 499 wins in his 16 seasons at Creighton. One of only two coaches in school history, Vigness can join Mary Higgins with 500 victories on the Bluejay bench. Higgins was 564-298 in her 17 seasons at CU.

Against the Graner: While Michelle Graner is hitting just .233 on the season, she has done well in CU's first two weekends of MVC play, leading the team with a .467 average in conference games. She is 7-for-15 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and four RBI in CU's first six Valley games.

Double Your Pleasure: Creighton tied a school record with six doubles in its 4-3 10-inning win over Kansas on March 25. CU had previously recorded six doubles in a game three times, but had not done so in 10 years. The last time CU had six doubles in a game was on Feb. 26, 1999 against Detroit. Bailey Dawson, Michelle Graner, Sara Loeffelholz and Jessica Wakasugi each had one double, while Liz McKewon notched her first two career doubles in the win.

Double the Doubles Notes: Bailey Dawson's double at Kansas on March 25 was her sixth of the season and the 32nd of her career. With 32 two-baggers, she is now tied with DeAnn Kaster for 10th in a Bluejay career.

Oltman's ERA: After an unusually rough start to the season, Tara Oltman has settled into form as of late. The junior ace has allowed only four earned runs in her last 88 innings pitched, for a minute 0.32 ERA in that span. In that time, her ERA has dropped from 2.42 down to 1.06.

10 Inning Max: Creighton is 2-1 in extra-inning games this year, after defeating Kansas 4-3 in 10 innings on March 25. That game was CU's 11th extra-inning game in the last two seasons, but none have gone longer than 10 innings. The last CU game to go past 10, was an 11-inning loss at Indiana State on April 15, 2007.

Three For .300: Three Bluejay upper classmen starters have better than a .300 career batting average, led by senior Jessica Wakasugi's .320 mark which ranks eighth in school history. Juniors Renae Sinkler (.301) and Michelle Koch (.303) are also career .300 hitters.

Something Extra From Liz: Sophomore Liz McKewon has started all 86 games she's played at Creighton and through the first 84 games she had yet to record an extra-base hit. Her 85th game saw her not only hit her first career double, but she had a pair of two-baggers in CU's 4-3 10-inning win at Kansas (March 25). Her bloop double to lead off the 10th inning led to her scoring the game-winning run.

Best for Last: Senior Laura Kratochvil is having her best offensive year as a Bluejay this season. The catcher reached a career-high RBI total in her first 20 games and has since added to it, as she leads the team with 24 RBI in 26 games (her former mark was 15). She is tied for the team lead with a career-best five home runs and is leading the team with a .338 average (115 points higher than her career average entering the season). Her eight multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games also lead the team.

Still a Starter: Junior Sara Loeffelholz is a collegiate starter for the third straight season, but in her first at Creighton. The Omaha native transferred back home after starting 84 of 94 games at New Mexico over the past two seasons. The outfielder has started all 26 games this year at CU and leads the team with 13 extra-base hits, eight doubles and two triples.

The Run Producer: Senior Bailey Dawson knows how to produce runs, as evident by her lofty career numbers. Dawson ranks third in school history with 114 career RBI, fourth with 27 career home runs, seventh with 112 career runs scored and 10th with 32 career doubles. A starter at shortstop in all 178 of her career games, she has a .298 career average.

Wakasugi Has CLASS: Senior center fielder Jessica Wakasugi has been named one of 30 national candidates for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition. Wakasugi, a first-team all-MVC performer last year, owns a 3.64 cumulative GPA in business entrepreneurship and marketing.

Oltman's Climb: Just midway through her junior season, Tara Oltman has already moved into the CU career top-five in nearly every pitching category. Her 72 career wins already rank second in school history, just four shy of Tammy Nielsen's record of 76. She remains in second ? where she started the season ? in both saves (10) and strikeouts (632). Her 111 career appearances rank fourth and 83 career starts rank fifth, while her career ERA of 1.08 is sixth in CU history.

Get On for Them: Renae Sinkler is hitting a team-leading .520 with runners in scoring position, while Laura Kratochvil has a team-best 15 hits and is batting .500 with RISP. Not surprisingly, the pair leads the team in RBI, Kratochvil with 24 and Sinkler with 21. Sinkler is hitting .425 with runners on base and just .212 with the bases empty, while Kratochvil hits 178 points higher (.413-.235) with runners on base compared to no one on.

Same Seven Starters: Creighton has started seven of the same players in all 26 games this year, with four players starting at the same position in every game. The Jays have had the same left side of the infield in every game, with Liz McKewon and Bailey Dawson starting at third base and shortstop, respectively, each game. Michelle Koch has joined that pair in starting at second base every game. Jessica Wakasugi has pushed her streak of 190 straight CU games started in center field. Renae Sinkler has split starts at first base (14) and designated player (12), Sara Loeffelholz has split time in right field (14) and left field (12) and Michelle Graner has shared time in left field (14) and first base (12).

Hovinga Minus Arizona: Freshman Kylie Hovinga (3-3, 4.26 ERA) had the difficult task of not only pitching against national power Arizona, but had to do so after the high-scoring team was shut out by Tara Oltman. The Wildcats unleashed an 18-hit, 19-run attack on the Bluejay rookie. If you subtract her UA outing from her season statistics, Hovinga's ERA is cut in half and she is 3-2 with a 2.13 ERA, having allowed just 39 hits and 13 earned runs in 42.2 innings.

Beating Arizona: For the second straight year, CU went to Arizona and defeated the nationally-ranked Wildcats earlier this month. This time CU crushed Arizona 6-0 on March 7, the first time the powerful UA offense had been shutout at home since UCLA did it in 2005. Tara Oltman scattered five singles to a line up which averaged 17 runs per game in its other five games during the Hillenbrand Invitational. Bailey Dawson and Laura Kratochvil both homered in the win over No. 13 Arizona.

High-Scoring Affair: Creighton blasted Saint Louis 18-5 on Feb. 20 at the Tulsa Select Festival. The 18 runs were the most scored by the Bluejays since setting the school record of 20 runs against the College of Saint Mary's on Feb. 9, 2000. The 18 runs are the second-most scored in a game in CU history and the most ever against a Division I opponent.

Sinkler's Streaks: Renae Sinkler had a 12-game hitting streak earlier this season, to give her the three longest hitting streaks by a Bluejay in the last two years. Last year she had a 17-game streak and eight-game streak. Her 17-game streak last year was tied with Jamie Reiss for the longest by a Bluejay this decade.

Players Mentioned

Michelle Graner

Michelle Koch

Laura Kratochvil

Liz McKewon

Cassidy Nee

Tara Oltman

Renae Sinkler

Jessica Wakasugi

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