Softball Hosts SIU in Home-Opening Series
3/24/2011 2:54:00 PM | Softball
Creighton Hosts Southern Illinois in Home-Opening Weekend
Sunday, March 27 • Creighton Sports Complex • Noon (DH)
This Week: The Bluejays were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Iowa State on Tuesday, but due to weather in Ames, the teams rescheduled the twin bill for March 31 at 2 pm. Due to this weekend's forecast, Creighton and Southern Illinois will only play two games of the scheduled three-game series, playing a noon doubleheader on Sunday, weather permitting. Fans interested in breaking news on weather-related schedule changes should follow Creighton athletics on Twitter.
Following the Bluejays: Fans can follow live stats for every home game this season here.
Last Week: Creighton opened MVC play by taking two of three games on the road at Evansville. The Bluejays shutout the Purple Aces 6-0 in the opening game, followed by a 4-2 loss in game two. Becca Changstrom then worked within one out of a no-hitter on Sunday and Christa Ruf hit two, two-run home runs to top the Aces 4-0 in the rubber game of the series. That win on Sunday also gave head coach Brent Vigness his 564th win at Creighton, tying the school record for career victories. Changstrom was named MVC Pitcher of the Week and Ruf was the MVC Player of the Week for their play last week.
Scouting Creighton (11-13, 2-1 MVC): Creighton, which has appeared in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and is the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion, has been picked to finish sixth in this year's MVC race ... The Bluejays return just three starters from last year's 37-23 team, while they have 11 freshmen and just 10 returners on the roster ... Creighton opened the season 5-1, but is 6-12 since the host start ... The Bluejays, who set a school record with 66 home runs last year, have 20 in their last 20 games and 13 homers in their last seven games ... Sophomore catcher Amy Baker has hit seven of her MVC-leading eight home runs in Creighton's last six games to move into the Creighton career top-10 with 23 home runs ... Junior center fielder Christa Ruf is hitting a career-high .328 to lead the team and tops the MVC with a career-best 20 RBI, adding a career-high six home runs and team-leading 11 runs scored as well ... Freshmen Ellen Homan is hitting .392 in her last 19 games to move her average to .313 on the season, while fellow rookie Malloree Grove is hitting .305 ... Sophomore Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .971 fielding percentage, is hitting .253 as a team and allowing opponents to hit .222 with a staff ERA of 3.18 ... Freshman Becca Changstrom, who has tossed five shutouts in 13 starts, has emerged as the staff ace, leading the MVC with a 1.42 ERA and leading the team with an 8-5 record, 83.2 innings pitched and 85 strikeouts ... Changstrom has not allowed a run in her last 25.1 innings pitched.
Scouting Southern Illinois (16-10, 3-0 MVC): The Salukis are the preseason co-favorites in the MVC and defending MVC regular-season champions ... SIU swept Wichita State at home last weekend, but is 4-5 in its last nine games ... The Salukis are hitting .255 as a team and lead the MVC with 87 walks in 26 games ... SIU hit .333 in its series with WSU last weekend, holding SIU to just eight hits in the three games ... Mallory Duran leads the team with a .358 average, 29 hits and 26 runs ... Haley Gorman (.326) tops the team with eight stolen bases, as SIU is second in the MVC with 31 stolen bases ... Jayna Spivey has a team-high five home runs, of SIU's 15 long balls ... Last year's MVC Pitcher of the Year Danielle Glosson is 10-6 with a 2.85 ERA and league-leading 116.2 innings pitched and 97 strikeouts ... Glosson tossed 16 scoreless innings, allowed five hits and had 17 Ks last weekend against Wichita State.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 18th season at Creighton, owning a record of 564-388-2 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 23 years as a head coach is 712-459-3. The most tenured softball coach in school history has led the Jays to six MVC Tournament titles (1999, 2003-05, 2007, 2010), six regular-season MVC crowns (1998-2000, 2007-09), seven NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2003-05, 2007-08, 2010) and was named MVC Coach of the Year in 1998 and guided the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
CU-SIU Series: Creighton is 31-20 all-time against Southern Illinois, including 29-18 under Brent Vigness ... The Jays are 12-5 against SIU since 2006 ... The Bluejays lost both regular-season games at SIU last year, but defeated the Salukis twice in the MVC Tournament, including a 3-2 win the championship game ... CU took two of three from SIU the last time the Salukis played in Omaha, as Tara Oltman tossed her only career no-hitter against the then 24th-ranked Salukis ... Creighton is the only MVC team that SIU coach Kerri Blaylock has a losing record against (12-23).
Vigness For the Win: Head coach Brent Vigness captured win No. 564 as Creighton's head coach with a 4-0 victory at Evansville on Sunday - tying Creighton Hall of Famer Mary Higgins' record. One of only two coaches in program history, he is in his 18th season as the most tenured coach in program history, surpassing Higgins' 17 seasons from 1977-1993. His next win will make him the all-time winningest coach – in any sport – in school history.
Homecoming: Creighton is scheduled to play its first home games of the season this weekend, when it plays host to Southern Illinois for a three-game MVC series at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays have played their first 24 games on the road this season, their longest season-opening road trip since playing its first 25 games on the road in 2004.
Home Openers: The Bluejays open their home season with a doubleheader against Southern Illinois on Saturday. Creighton swept its home opening doubleheader against Indiana State last year on March 21, after splitting its previous four home-opening twin bills. The Jays have won five of their last six home openers, to move to 5-5 in their last 10 home opening games.
Speaking of Home: Creighton posted an 11-8 record at home last year, including 8-4 in MVC play. Amy Baker was Creighton's leading hitter in Omaha, batting .385 with a team-best eight home runs and 25 RBI in just 19 home games. Liz McKewon played in only seven home games last year because of her injured back, hitting .278 with five hits. Christa Ruf's only career home run before this season's six blasts came at home last year, where she hit .273 - compared to .184 outside of Omaha. Kylie Hovinga was 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA in nine home appearances last year, including six starts.
MVC Players of the Week: Freshman Becca Changstrom was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week and junior Christa Ruf was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday following their play at Evansville last week. Changstrom flirted with two no-hitters, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth in a two-hit shutout last Saturday before coming within one out of a no-no on Sunday. She hurled 14 innings against UE, allowing just three hits in two complete game shutouts. Ruf went 3-for-4 with two home runs and all four RBI in Creighton's 4-0 win on Sunday. She also walked three times, scored three runs and had a .600 on-base percentage during the three-game set.
League Leaders: Amy Baker leads the MVC with eight home runs on the season, with seven of those coming in her last six games. Christa Ruf is tied for the league-lead with a career-high 20 RBI, while she is tied for second in the MVC with her career-best six home runs. Danai Martin leads the MVC with a career-high 10 stolen bases. Liz McKewon is tied for the league-lead with eight sacrifice bunts. Becca Changstrom is tops in the MVC with a 1.42 ERA and an opponents batting average of just .143 against.
Shutout Streak: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom has thrown three consecutive shutouts to extend her scoreless innings streak to 25.1. The last time she allowed runs to score was on a two-run home run in the fifth inning to Weber State on March 11. If you're wondering, the longest scoreless streak in All-American Tara Oltman's career came in March of her freshman season – 33 straight scoreless. Oltman's longest stretch without allowing an earned run was 42.2, also as a freshman.
Baker's Blasts: For the third time in her career, sophomore Amy Baker was named the MVC Player of the Week (March 14) after an amazing three-game span at the Diamond Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Baker hit five home runs in a doubleheader on March 11, tying the school record by hitting three home runs in a game against Campbell on March 11. She followed with another blast on Saturday, giving her six home runs in the span of eight plate appearances. All six of her hits during the week were home runs, while she topped the team with 11 RBI in six games as well.
Ruf Batted In: Christa Ruf is off to a fantastic start to her junior season, leading the MVC with 20 RBI, and topping the team with 22 hits, 11 runs scored and .328 average. Her .317 average is 121 points higher than her career average at the start of the season and her 20 RBI through 24 games are six more than she had through the first 86 games of her career. She is second on the team and MVC with six home runs in 67 at bats – she entered the year with only one home run in her first 140 career at bats.
Sacrificing in Two Ways: Senior shortstop Liz McKewon is tied for the league-lead with eight sacrifice bunts this season, already passing last season's total by five. She has now dropped down 39 sac bunts in her career, to rank 11th in school history. Her next bunt will move her into a tie for ninth in CU history with 40 sacs. Not only does she sacrifice her at bats, but she also has sacrificed her body, getting hit by a pitch 14 times in her career to rank sixth in school history in that category.
Outfield Speed: Sophomore right fielder Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases this spring, already equalling the team-leading total of Renae Sinkler from 2010, which is the most stolen bases by a Bluejay since Melanie Dorsey had 24 stolen bases in 2005. Martin is hitting .391 in her last seven games to raise her average from .184 to .276. Freshman left fielder Ellen Homan is second on the team with six stolen bases and a .313 average. Since starting her career 0-for-13 at the plate, she is hitting .392 (20-51).
More on Martin: As mentioned in the previous note, Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases. Eight of those stolen bases have come in three games, as she stole two bases in the season-opener against Western Illinois (Feb. 11) and posted three stolen bases against Northern Colorado (March 4) and against Howard (March 12). The Bluejays won each of those three games. Martin has walked seven times this season – including three in the season-opener – after she did not get receive one free pass all of last season. The sophomore was 7-for-35 (.200) last year, but is already 16-for-58 (.276) this season.
Fresh Faces: With freshmen making up more than half of this year's roster, it's no surprise that several have been plugged into starting roles. Freshmen Malloree Grove and Ellen Homan have each started the first 24 games this season at third base and left field, respectively. Grove, who had a team-best eight game hitting streak earlier this season, is hitting .305 average and Homan is second on the team with six stolen bases and .313 average. Freshmen have started 19 of the 24 games at first base, with Brittanee Grove starting 14 and Brittnie Kreiser starting five, combined they are flawless in 122 chances in the field. Kreiser is third on the team with three home runs. McKenna Setlik went 3-for-3 with three RBI in her collegiate debut has two home runs and five RBI in 18 games. Rookie pitcher Becca Changstrom is the staff ace, leading the team with eight wins, 1.42 ERA, five shutouts, nine complete games, 83.2 innings pitched and 85 strikeouts.
Sunday, March 27 • Creighton Sports Complex • Noon (DH)
This Week: The Bluejays were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Iowa State on Tuesday, but due to weather in Ames, the teams rescheduled the twin bill for March 31 at 2 pm. Due to this weekend's forecast, Creighton and Southern Illinois will only play two games of the scheduled three-game series, playing a noon doubleheader on Sunday, weather permitting. Fans interested in breaking news on weather-related schedule changes should follow Creighton athletics on Twitter.
Following the Bluejays: Fans can follow live stats for every home game this season here.
Last Week: Creighton opened MVC play by taking two of three games on the road at Evansville. The Bluejays shutout the Purple Aces 6-0 in the opening game, followed by a 4-2 loss in game two. Becca Changstrom then worked within one out of a no-hitter on Sunday and Christa Ruf hit two, two-run home runs to top the Aces 4-0 in the rubber game of the series. That win on Sunday also gave head coach Brent Vigness his 564th win at Creighton, tying the school record for career victories. Changstrom was named MVC Pitcher of the Week and Ruf was the MVC Player of the Week for their play last week.
Scouting Creighton (11-13, 2-1 MVC): Creighton, which has appeared in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and is the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion, has been picked to finish sixth in this year's MVC race ... The Bluejays return just three starters from last year's 37-23 team, while they have 11 freshmen and just 10 returners on the roster ... Creighton opened the season 5-1, but is 6-12 since the host start ... The Bluejays, who set a school record with 66 home runs last year, have 20 in their last 20 games and 13 homers in their last seven games ... Sophomore catcher Amy Baker has hit seven of her MVC-leading eight home runs in Creighton's last six games to move into the Creighton career top-10 with 23 home runs ... Junior center fielder Christa Ruf is hitting a career-high .328 to lead the team and tops the MVC with a career-best 20 RBI, adding a career-high six home runs and team-leading 11 runs scored as well ... Freshmen Ellen Homan is hitting .392 in her last 19 games to move her average to .313 on the season, while fellow rookie Malloree Grove is hitting .305 ... Sophomore Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .971 fielding percentage, is hitting .253 as a team and allowing opponents to hit .222 with a staff ERA of 3.18 ... Freshman Becca Changstrom, who has tossed five shutouts in 13 starts, has emerged as the staff ace, leading the MVC with a 1.42 ERA and leading the team with an 8-5 record, 83.2 innings pitched and 85 strikeouts ... Changstrom has not allowed a run in her last 25.1 innings pitched.
Scouting Southern Illinois (16-10, 3-0 MVC): The Salukis are the preseason co-favorites in the MVC and defending MVC regular-season champions ... SIU swept Wichita State at home last weekend, but is 4-5 in its last nine games ... The Salukis are hitting .255 as a team and lead the MVC with 87 walks in 26 games ... SIU hit .333 in its series with WSU last weekend, holding SIU to just eight hits in the three games ... Mallory Duran leads the team with a .358 average, 29 hits and 26 runs ... Haley Gorman (.326) tops the team with eight stolen bases, as SIU is second in the MVC with 31 stolen bases ... Jayna Spivey has a team-high five home runs, of SIU's 15 long balls ... Last year's MVC Pitcher of the Year Danielle Glosson is 10-6 with a 2.85 ERA and league-leading 116.2 innings pitched and 97 strikeouts ... Glosson tossed 16 scoreless innings, allowed five hits and had 17 Ks last weekend against Wichita State.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 18th season at Creighton, owning a record of 564-388-2 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 23 years as a head coach is 712-459-3. The most tenured softball coach in school history has led the Jays to six MVC Tournament titles (1999, 2003-05, 2007, 2010), six regular-season MVC crowns (1998-2000, 2007-09), seven NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2003-05, 2007-08, 2010) and was named MVC Coach of the Year in 1998 and guided the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
CU-SIU Series: Creighton is 31-20 all-time against Southern Illinois, including 29-18 under Brent Vigness ... The Jays are 12-5 against SIU since 2006 ... The Bluejays lost both regular-season games at SIU last year, but defeated the Salukis twice in the MVC Tournament, including a 3-2 win the championship game ... CU took two of three from SIU the last time the Salukis played in Omaha, as Tara Oltman tossed her only career no-hitter against the then 24th-ranked Salukis ... Creighton is the only MVC team that SIU coach Kerri Blaylock has a losing record against (12-23).
Vigness For the Win: Head coach Brent Vigness captured win No. 564 as Creighton's head coach with a 4-0 victory at Evansville on Sunday - tying Creighton Hall of Famer Mary Higgins' record. One of only two coaches in program history, he is in his 18th season as the most tenured coach in program history, surpassing Higgins' 17 seasons from 1977-1993. His next win will make him the all-time winningest coach – in any sport – in school history.
Homecoming: Creighton is scheduled to play its first home games of the season this weekend, when it plays host to Southern Illinois for a three-game MVC series at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays have played their first 24 games on the road this season, their longest season-opening road trip since playing its first 25 games on the road in 2004.
Home Openers: The Bluejays open their home season with a doubleheader against Southern Illinois on Saturday. Creighton swept its home opening doubleheader against Indiana State last year on March 21, after splitting its previous four home-opening twin bills. The Jays have won five of their last six home openers, to move to 5-5 in their last 10 home opening games.
Speaking of Home: Creighton posted an 11-8 record at home last year, including 8-4 in MVC play. Amy Baker was Creighton's leading hitter in Omaha, batting .385 with a team-best eight home runs and 25 RBI in just 19 home games. Liz McKewon played in only seven home games last year because of her injured back, hitting .278 with five hits. Christa Ruf's only career home run before this season's six blasts came at home last year, where she hit .273 - compared to .184 outside of Omaha. Kylie Hovinga was 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA in nine home appearances last year, including six starts.
MVC Players of the Week: Freshman Becca Changstrom was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week and junior Christa Ruf was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday following their play at Evansville last week. Changstrom flirted with two no-hitters, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth in a two-hit shutout last Saturday before coming within one out of a no-no on Sunday. She hurled 14 innings against UE, allowing just three hits in two complete game shutouts. Ruf went 3-for-4 with two home runs and all four RBI in Creighton's 4-0 win on Sunday. She also walked three times, scored three runs and had a .600 on-base percentage during the three-game set.
League Leaders: Amy Baker leads the MVC with eight home runs on the season, with seven of those coming in her last six games. Christa Ruf is tied for the league-lead with a career-high 20 RBI, while she is tied for second in the MVC with her career-best six home runs. Danai Martin leads the MVC with a career-high 10 stolen bases. Liz McKewon is tied for the league-lead with eight sacrifice bunts. Becca Changstrom is tops in the MVC with a 1.42 ERA and an opponents batting average of just .143 against.
Shutout Streak: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom has thrown three consecutive shutouts to extend her scoreless innings streak to 25.1. The last time she allowed runs to score was on a two-run home run in the fifth inning to Weber State on March 11. If you're wondering, the longest scoreless streak in All-American Tara Oltman's career came in March of her freshman season – 33 straight scoreless. Oltman's longest stretch without allowing an earned run was 42.2, also as a freshman.
Baker's Blasts: For the third time in her career, sophomore Amy Baker was named the MVC Player of the Week (March 14) after an amazing three-game span at the Diamond Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Baker hit five home runs in a doubleheader on March 11, tying the school record by hitting three home runs in a game against Campbell on March 11. She followed with another blast on Saturday, giving her six home runs in the span of eight plate appearances. All six of her hits during the week were home runs, while she topped the team with 11 RBI in six games as well.
Ruf Batted In: Christa Ruf is off to a fantastic start to her junior season, leading the MVC with 20 RBI, and topping the team with 22 hits, 11 runs scored and .328 average. Her .317 average is 121 points higher than her career average at the start of the season and her 20 RBI through 24 games are six more than she had through the first 86 games of her career. She is second on the team and MVC with six home runs in 67 at bats – she entered the year with only one home run in her first 140 career at bats.
Sacrificing in Two Ways: Senior shortstop Liz McKewon is tied for the league-lead with eight sacrifice bunts this season, already passing last season's total by five. She has now dropped down 39 sac bunts in her career, to rank 11th in school history. Her next bunt will move her into a tie for ninth in CU history with 40 sacs. Not only does she sacrifice her at bats, but she also has sacrificed her body, getting hit by a pitch 14 times in her career to rank sixth in school history in that category.
Outfield Speed: Sophomore right fielder Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases this spring, already equalling the team-leading total of Renae Sinkler from 2010, which is the most stolen bases by a Bluejay since Melanie Dorsey had 24 stolen bases in 2005. Martin is hitting .391 in her last seven games to raise her average from .184 to .276. Freshman left fielder Ellen Homan is second on the team with six stolen bases and a .313 average. Since starting her career 0-for-13 at the plate, she is hitting .392 (20-51).
More on Martin: As mentioned in the previous note, Danai Martin leads the MVC with 10 stolen bases. Eight of those stolen bases have come in three games, as she stole two bases in the season-opener against Western Illinois (Feb. 11) and posted three stolen bases against Northern Colorado (March 4) and against Howard (March 12). The Bluejays won each of those three games. Martin has walked seven times this season – including three in the season-opener – after she did not get receive one free pass all of last season. The sophomore was 7-for-35 (.200) last year, but is already 16-for-58 (.276) this season.
Fresh Faces: With freshmen making up more than half of this year's roster, it's no surprise that several have been plugged into starting roles. Freshmen Malloree Grove and Ellen Homan have each started the first 24 games this season at third base and left field, respectively. Grove, who had a team-best eight game hitting streak earlier this season, is hitting .305 average and Homan is second on the team with six stolen bases and .313 average. Freshmen have started 19 of the 24 games at first base, with Brittanee Grove starting 14 and Brittnie Kreiser starting five, combined they are flawless in 122 chances in the field. Kreiser is third on the team with three home runs. McKenna Setlik went 3-for-3 with three RBI in her collegiate debut has two home runs and five RBI in 18 games. Rookie pitcher Becca Changstrom is the staff ace, leading the team with eight wins, 1.42 ERA, five shutouts, nine complete games, 83.2 innings pitched and 85 strikeouts.
Players Mentioned
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