Softball Plays Three Mid-Week Games Against Big 12 Foes
3/29/2011 1:34:00 PM | Softball
Creighton at #13 Nebraska
Wednesday, March 30 • Lincoln, Neb. • 6 pm
Creighton at Iowa State
Thursday, March 31 • Ames, Iowa • 2 pm (DH)
This Week: Head coach Brent Vigness looks to become the winningest coach in Creighton athletics history as the Bluejays play three mid-week games with Big 12 opponents scheduled, before trying to open their home season again. Creighton plays at in-state rival Nebraska at 6 pm, followed by a make-up doubleheader at Iowa State on Thursday at 2 pm. The Jays then host Bradley in a three-game MVC series this weekend at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Last Week: All five of Creighton's games last week were either postponed or cancelled due to weather. The Bluejays' doubleheader scheduled at Iowa State last Tuesday was moved to this Thursday. Creighton's three-game MVC series with Southern Illinois was cancelled completely due to snow accumulation and cold temperatures in Omaha last weekend.
Scouting Creighton (11-13): 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 team 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, a Lincoln native, has not allowed a run in her last 25.1 innings pitched.
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. Vigness begins the week tied with CU Hall of Famer Mary Higgins for the most wins in program history.
Scouting #13 Nebraska (27-4): The Huskers, who went 30-29 last year, have won 27 of their first 31 games this year ... NU has wins over top-ranked Florida and nationally-ranked Stanford, BYU, Hawaii and Oklahoma ... The Huskers are hitting .344 as a team, allowing opponents to hit just .184 ... NU has 33 home runs and 45 doubles through 31 games, out-scoring opponents 198-65 this year ... They are led by freshman twins Taylor and Tatum Edwards ... Taylor is NU's top hitter (.441) and leads the team with seven doubles, 13 home runs and 45 RBI ... Tatum is second on the team with eight home runs and 26 RBI, and is 5-0 with a 1.89 ERA ... Five NU regulars hit at least .341, including Nikki Haget (.392), who tops the team with 35 runs scored and 13 stolen bases ... Ashley Hagemann (19-3, 1.79 ERA, 169 K) has hurled 129.2 of 201 innings for NU.
CU-NU Series: Nebraska leads the all-time series 76-36 ... Creighton has won five of the last nine meetings with the Huskers ... Prior to a wild 11-7 loss in Lincoln last year, the Jays had won four straight at Nebraska ... CU's 13-1 win in Lincoln in 2008 handed the Huskers their worst home loss since 1977 ... NU swept the series last year, with a 4-3 in Omaha and 11-7 win in Lincoln ... The Bluejays hit four home runs, but committed five errors against Nebraska in the loss in Lincoln last year.
Goin Bowlin: Creighton is 9-14 all-time at Bowlin Stadium, including 5-8 against Nebraska and 4-6 against NCAA Tournament opponents, as the Bluejays have made four NCAA Tournament appearances at the venue. The Jays have won four of their last five games against NU at Bowlin Stadium, including four straight from 2007-09, out-scoring the Huskers 22-3 in those four wins. CU played in the first ever regular-season game at the venue on March 19, 2002.
Against the Best: Creighton is 0-3 against top-25 teams this spring, losing twice to Arizona State and once to Arizona, while both Pac-10 teams were ranked in the top-10. The Bluejays have at least one top-25 win in each of the past six seasons. The last time Creighton did not have a win against a nationally-ranked team was 2004, when the Jays went 0-4 against the top-25 – all four losses against nationally-ranked Nebraska. Since 2005, the Bluejays are now 16-26-1 (.384) against top-25 teams. CU's last victory over a ranked opponent was a 2-1 win on Feb. 14, 2010 against No. 15 Northwestern in Tempe, Ariz.
Scouting Iowa State (15-9): The Cyclones played their first outdoor home games of the season last weekend, splitting a Big 12 series with No. 18 Oklahoma State ... ISU had a six-game winning streak snapped in a 15-1 loss to OSU on Sunday ... The Cyclones are hitting .304 as a team and have walked 93 times in 24 games, and have 12 home runs on the season ... Heidi Kidwell leads the team with a .411 average, 30 hits, 23 runs and 12 stolen bases ... Six other ISU starters hit at least .309 ... Tori Torrescano (.351) leads the team with five home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBI ... Rachel Zabriskie (9-5, 2.92 ERA) is the staff ace, throwing 86.1 of ISU's 145 innings this year, and logging 108 of the team's 131 strikeouts ... Zabriskie is ISU's career leader in wins, saves, appearances, starts, innings and strikeouts (728).
CU-ISU Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 24-19 ... The Cyclones have won the last three meetings with the Jays after the Bluejays had won three straight in the series ... ISU won 7-0 earlier this season at its indoor tournament and it swept a doubleheader in Omaha last year ... CU won 3-1 in Ames in 2009, keyed by Tara Oltman's season-high 12 strikeouts and a Michelle Graner home run.
Last time Against ISU: The Bluejays lost to Iowa State 7-0 on Feb. 11 at the Cyclone Indoor Invitational ... ISU ace Rachel Zabriskie struck out 13 and allowed only two hits - one each to Christa Ruf and Liz McKewon ... Sammy Snygg took the loss, she lasted 4.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, before Brittany Telecky tossed 1.2 innings in relief ... Tori Torrescano went 3-for-4 with a double, a home runs and three RBI to lead ISU's 11-hit attack in the win.
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' program 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.
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. She is the first Bluejay to throw a shutout in three straight starts since All-American Tara Oltman did so as a sophomore in 2008. If you're wondering, the longest scoreless streak in 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 innings, also as a freshman.
Slow Starters: The first inning hasn't been kind to the Bluejays this year, as they have their lowest run production and batting average of any inning in the first on the season. Creighton has scored only six first-inning runs this season and is hitting just .154 in the first inning this year. Three of the six first-inning runs scored this year came in CU's first four games. The Bluejays have been out-scored 15-6 in the first inning this year and 41-16 over the first two innings.
Homecoming: After having its home-opening weekend cancelled because of winter weather last weekend, Creighton is scheduled to play its first home games of the season this weekend, when it hosts Bradley for a three-game MVC series at the CU Sports Complex. Should the Bluejays play their three scheduled road games this week, they will have played their first 27 games on the road this season, their longest season-opening road trip since playing its first 32 games on the road in 1999.
Home Openers: The Bluejays open their home season with a doubleheader against Bradley 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 March 21 following their play at Evansville. Changstrom flirted with two no-hitters, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth in a two-hit shutout on Mach 19 before coming within one out of a no-no on March 20. 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 March 20. 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. 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.
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, ranking second in 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). She became the first Bluejay since Lauren Cisneros in 2005 to swipe three bases in one game. 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.
Same Six Starters: Creighton has had the same starter at six positions in all 24 games this season. The outfield to start every game this year has been Ellen Homan in left, Christa Ruf in center and Danai Martin in right. The left side of the infield has been Malloree Grove at third and Liz McKewon at shortstop, while Jennifer Bohle has started at second base every game this season. Amy Baker has started 23 of 24 games behind the plate.
Leftovers: Creighton's highest-scoring inning this season is the fifth inning, plating 25 runs and hitting .343 in the frame. The Jays have not scored more than 12 runs nor are they hitting better than .286 in any other inning this season ... Creighton's ERA in the first three innings of play this spring is 4.08, while it drops to 0.58 in the fourth inning ... Bluejay pinch-hitters are 3-for-28 (.107) on the season, Brittnie Kreiser, Blair Lowe and McKenna Setlik have one pinch-hit each ... Amy Baker hit a team-high .489 with runners in scoring position last year, she is hitting .107 (3-28) with RISP this season ... Baker walked 13 times in 58 games last year, but walked 13 times in her first 21 games this season ... Baker has 23 career home runs, the rest of the team has a combined 13 career homers.
Wednesday, March 30 • Lincoln, Neb. • 6 pm
Creighton at Iowa State
Thursday, March 31 • Ames, Iowa • 2 pm (DH)
This Week: Head coach Brent Vigness looks to become the winningest coach in Creighton athletics history as the Bluejays play three mid-week games with Big 12 opponents scheduled, before trying to open their home season again. Creighton plays at in-state rival Nebraska at 6 pm, followed by a make-up doubleheader at Iowa State on Thursday at 2 pm. The Jays then host Bradley in a three-game MVC series this weekend at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Last Week: All five of Creighton's games last week were either postponed or cancelled due to weather. The Bluejays' doubleheader scheduled at Iowa State last Tuesday was moved to this Thursday. Creighton's three-game MVC series with Southern Illinois was cancelled completely due to snow accumulation and cold temperatures in Omaha last weekend.
Scouting Creighton (11-13): 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 team 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, a Lincoln native, has not allowed a run in her last 25.1 innings pitched.
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. Vigness begins the week tied with CU Hall of Famer Mary Higgins for the most wins in program history.
Scouting #13 Nebraska (27-4): The Huskers, who went 30-29 last year, have won 27 of their first 31 games this year ... NU has wins over top-ranked Florida and nationally-ranked Stanford, BYU, Hawaii and Oklahoma ... The Huskers are hitting .344 as a team, allowing opponents to hit just .184 ... NU has 33 home runs and 45 doubles through 31 games, out-scoring opponents 198-65 this year ... They are led by freshman twins Taylor and Tatum Edwards ... Taylor is NU's top hitter (.441) and leads the team with seven doubles, 13 home runs and 45 RBI ... Tatum is second on the team with eight home runs and 26 RBI, and is 5-0 with a 1.89 ERA ... Five NU regulars hit at least .341, including Nikki Haget (.392), who tops the team with 35 runs scored and 13 stolen bases ... Ashley Hagemann (19-3, 1.79 ERA, 169 K) has hurled 129.2 of 201 innings for NU.
CU-NU Series: Nebraska leads the all-time series 76-36 ... Creighton has won five of the last nine meetings with the Huskers ... Prior to a wild 11-7 loss in Lincoln last year, the Jays had won four straight at Nebraska ... CU's 13-1 win in Lincoln in 2008 handed the Huskers their worst home loss since 1977 ... NU swept the series last year, with a 4-3 in Omaha and 11-7 win in Lincoln ... The Bluejays hit four home runs, but committed five errors against Nebraska in the loss in Lincoln last year.
Goin Bowlin: Creighton is 9-14 all-time at Bowlin Stadium, including 5-8 against Nebraska and 4-6 against NCAA Tournament opponents, as the Bluejays have made four NCAA Tournament appearances at the venue. The Jays have won four of their last five games against NU at Bowlin Stadium, including four straight from 2007-09, out-scoring the Huskers 22-3 in those four wins. CU played in the first ever regular-season game at the venue on March 19, 2002.
Against the Best: Creighton is 0-3 against top-25 teams this spring, losing twice to Arizona State and once to Arizona, while both Pac-10 teams were ranked in the top-10. The Bluejays have at least one top-25 win in each of the past six seasons. The last time Creighton did not have a win against a nationally-ranked team was 2004, when the Jays went 0-4 against the top-25 – all four losses against nationally-ranked Nebraska. Since 2005, the Bluejays are now 16-26-1 (.384) against top-25 teams. CU's last victory over a ranked opponent was a 2-1 win on Feb. 14, 2010 against No. 15 Northwestern in Tempe, Ariz.
Scouting Iowa State (15-9): The Cyclones played their first outdoor home games of the season last weekend, splitting a Big 12 series with No. 18 Oklahoma State ... ISU had a six-game winning streak snapped in a 15-1 loss to OSU on Sunday ... The Cyclones are hitting .304 as a team and have walked 93 times in 24 games, and have 12 home runs on the season ... Heidi Kidwell leads the team with a .411 average, 30 hits, 23 runs and 12 stolen bases ... Six other ISU starters hit at least .309 ... Tori Torrescano (.351) leads the team with five home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBI ... Rachel Zabriskie (9-5, 2.92 ERA) is the staff ace, throwing 86.1 of ISU's 145 innings this year, and logging 108 of the team's 131 strikeouts ... Zabriskie is ISU's career leader in wins, saves, appearances, starts, innings and strikeouts (728).
CU-ISU Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 24-19 ... The Cyclones have won the last three meetings with the Jays after the Bluejays had won three straight in the series ... ISU won 7-0 earlier this season at its indoor tournament and it swept a doubleheader in Omaha last year ... CU won 3-1 in Ames in 2009, keyed by Tara Oltman's season-high 12 strikeouts and a Michelle Graner home run.
Last time Against ISU: The Bluejays lost to Iowa State 7-0 on Feb. 11 at the Cyclone Indoor Invitational ... ISU ace Rachel Zabriskie struck out 13 and allowed only two hits - one each to Christa Ruf and Liz McKewon ... Sammy Snygg took the loss, she lasted 4.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, before Brittany Telecky tossed 1.2 innings in relief ... Tori Torrescano went 3-for-4 with a double, a home runs and three RBI to lead ISU's 11-hit attack in the win.
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' program 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.
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. She is the first Bluejay to throw a shutout in three straight starts since All-American Tara Oltman did so as a sophomore in 2008. If you're wondering, the longest scoreless streak in 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 innings, also as a freshman.
Slow Starters: The first inning hasn't been kind to the Bluejays this year, as they have their lowest run production and batting average of any inning in the first on the season. Creighton has scored only six first-inning runs this season and is hitting just .154 in the first inning this year. Three of the six first-inning runs scored this year came in CU's first four games. The Bluejays have been out-scored 15-6 in the first inning this year and 41-16 over the first two innings.
Homecoming: After having its home-opening weekend cancelled because of winter weather last weekend, Creighton is scheduled to play its first home games of the season this weekend, when it hosts Bradley for a three-game MVC series at the CU Sports Complex. Should the Bluejays play their three scheduled road games this week, they will have played their first 27 games on the road this season, their longest season-opening road trip since playing its first 32 games on the road in 1999.
Home Openers: The Bluejays open their home season with a doubleheader against Bradley 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 March 21 following their play at Evansville. Changstrom flirted with two no-hitters, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth in a two-hit shutout on Mach 19 before coming within one out of a no-no on March 20. 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 March 20. 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. 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.
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, ranking second in 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). She became the first Bluejay since Lauren Cisneros in 2005 to swipe three bases in one game. 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.
Same Six Starters: Creighton has had the same starter at six positions in all 24 games this season. The outfield to start every game this year has been Ellen Homan in left, Christa Ruf in center and Danai Martin in right. The left side of the infield has been Malloree Grove at third and Liz McKewon at shortstop, while Jennifer Bohle has started at second base every game this season. Amy Baker has started 23 of 24 games behind the plate.
Leftovers: Creighton's highest-scoring inning this season is the fifth inning, plating 25 runs and hitting .343 in the frame. The Jays have not scored more than 12 runs nor are they hitting better than .286 in any other inning this season ... Creighton's ERA in the first three innings of play this spring is 4.08, while it drops to 0.58 in the fourth inning ... Bluejay pinch-hitters are 3-for-28 (.107) on the season, Brittnie Kreiser, Blair Lowe and McKenna Setlik have one pinch-hit each ... Amy Baker hit a team-high .489 with runners in scoring position last year, she is hitting .107 (3-28) with RISP this season ... Baker walked 13 times in 58 games last year, but walked 13 times in her first 21 games this season ... Baker has 23 career home runs, the rest of the team has a combined 13 career homers.
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/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballCreighton Softball Hit-A-Thon 2025
Thursday, August 21
Creighton Baseball & Softball Fields Groundbreaking - 6/11/25
Wednesday, June 11
Creighton BET Postgame vs. St John's, 5/8/25
Thursday, May 08
Creighton Softball Highlights vs. Seton Hall, 5/4/25
Sunday, May 04
