Softball Starts Home Stand With Midweek Games Against North Dakota, Nebraska
4/11/2011 6:17:00 PM | Softball
Creighton hosts North Dakota
Tuesday, April 12 • Creighton Sports Complex • 3 pm (DH)
Creighton hosts #11 Nebraska
Wednesday, April 13 • Creighton Sports Complex • 6 pm
This Week: Creighton begins its longest home stand of the season, playing six games in Omaha this week. The Bluejays play a doubleheader against North Dakota on Tuesday at 3 pm, and then host nationally-ranked Nebraska on Wednesday at 6 pm. Wichita State comes to Omaha for a three-game MVC series this weekend, starting with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.
Last Week: The Bluejays won their third straight MVC series, taking two of three games at Missouri State last weekend. The Jays won the opener 4-1, before losing 3-2 on a squeeze play in the bottom of the seventh in game two. In the series finale, the Jays scored two runs in their final at bat – including a game-winning squeeze play of their own – to win 4-3 and take the series.
Scouting Creighton (16-17): 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 10 returners on the roster ... The Bluejays, who set a school record with 66 home runs last year, have 22 homers in their last 16 games ... The Jays are hitting .302 in their last 15 games, after hitting .228 in their first 18 games ... The Jays are hitting .356 with six home runs in three home games this spring ... Catcher Amy Baker has hit 12 of her MVC-leading 13 home runs in Creighton's last 15 games and the sophomore already ranks sixth in school history with 28 career homers ... Baker, who is tied with Christa Ruf for the team-lead with 26 RBI, has 23 RBI in her last 15 games ... Ruf entered the season with one home run and 14 RBI in 86 career games, but has hit eight home runs with 26 RBI this spring ... Freshmen Ellen Homan starts the week on an eight-game hitting streak, during which she is hitting .433 (13-30), and she tops the team with 33 hits and a .340 average ... Liz McKewon is tied for the MVC-lead with 11 sacrifice bunts this season ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .964 fielding percentage, is hitting .263 as a team and allowing opponents to hit .232 with a staff ERA of 3.18 ... In their last 15 games, the Bluejays have posted a 2.51 ERA and opponents are hitting just .220 against them ... Freshman Becca Changstrom has emerged as the staff ace, leading the MVC with an opponents average of just .162, while she tops the team with a 12-7 record, 119.1 innings pitched and 116 strikeouts ... Changstrom is now 3-for-5 with two RBI at the plate on the season as well.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 18th season at Creighton. With a record of 569-392-2 at Creighton, he is the winningest coach in Bluejay athletics history. 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 717-463-3. 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.
Scouting North Dakota (10-24): North Dakota has played all 34 of its games on the road this season ... UND has played three MVC teams this year, losing twice to Drake and once to Northern Iowa, while it defeated Bradley ... The Sioux are hitting .269 as a team with 24 home runs and 41 doubles ... Opponents are hitting .307 against UND as the Sioux have a team ERA of 4.13 ... UND has made 57 errors for a .944 fielding percentage on the season ... Kayelee Schoeny leads UND with a .407 average, 44 hits, 18 runs and 13 stolen bases ... Brittany Baker leads UND with six home runs, while Caralyn Chewning and Amanda Johnson each have five homers. Chewning (.286) leads the team with 19 RBI ... Michelle Frank (5-7, 3.28 ERA, 83.1 IP, 73 K) is the staff ace, sharing time with Emma Gronseth (2-10, 4.83 ERA, 75.1 IP, 66 K, 45 BB) and Chewning (3-6, 4.23 ERA, 49.2 IP, 27 K) in the circle.
Scouting #11 Nebraska (30-6): The Huskers are 9-2 in true road games this year ... NU ranks among NCAA leaders with a .331 team average, 6.1 runs per game, 41 home runs and .507 slugging percentage ... Seven NU starters are hitting .313 or better ... NU has out-scored opponents 219-73 this year, holding opponents to just a .180 average ... Freshman Taylor Edwards, who tops the team with a .419 average, leads NU and ranks in the NCAA top-10 in home runs (15) and RBI (50) ... Nikki Haget (.369) leads the team with 45 hits, 37 runs and 13 stolen bases ... Taylor's twin Tatum is second on the team with 10 home runs ... The NU pitching staff owns a 1.95 ERA, led by Ashley Hagemann's 1.73 ERA ... Hagemann (22-5) has appeared in 30 of NU's 36 games and pitched 165.2 of NU's 237 innings this year. She ranks among NCAA leaders with 218 strikeouts.
CU-UND Series: Creighton and North Dakota have never met on the softball field.
CU-NU Series: Nebraska leads the all-time series 77-36 ... The Bluejays and Huskers have split the last 10 meetings, with NU winning the last four ... The Jays last beat the Huskers (3-0) on April 1, 2009 in Lincoln and last beat NU in Omaha (7-2) on March 26, 2008 ... NU won 7-2 two weeks ago in Lincoln and swept the series from the Jays last year with a 4-3 in Omaha and 11-7 win in Lincoln ... Amy Baker hit a three-run home to account for CU's three runs in its home loss last year.
He's a Winner: Head coach Brent Vigness captured win No. 565 as Creighton's leader on March 31 at Iowa State, a 9-3 win in Ames - just 30 miles from where he attended high school in Zearing, Iowa. The win moved him past Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Mary Higgins for not only the softball record victory total, but he is now the winningest coach in Creighton athletics history - any sport. In his 18th season, he is the most tenured softball coach in school history, surpassing Higgins' 17 seasons between 1977-93.
Back Homan: Ellen Homan is on an eight-game hitting streak, tying Malloree Grove for the longest hitting streak by a Bluejay this season. During her streak, she has five multiple-hit games and is hitting 13-for-30 (.433) to raise her average to a team-best .340, which ranks sixth in the MVC. The freshmen left fielder has upped her batting average 102 points in the last month, hitting .418 (23-55) in CU's last 16 games. She leads the team with 33 hits and 10 multi-hit games.
Becca Brings Her Bat: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom worked her bat into the starting lineup last weekend at Missouri State, and it paid off. The left-handed swinging hurler singled in her first at bat – her first career hit – against MSU and came around to score the first run of the game in CU's 4-1 series-opening win. On Sunday, after she allowed two runs in the first inning, she got them back in the second inning, driving in a pair of runs on a bases-loaded single, in which she fouled off seven pitches in a 10-pitch at bat. She singled in her second at bat and dropped down a sac bunt in her third trip to the plate in CU's 4-3 Sunday win. She's now 3-for-5 with two RBI this season.
Coming up Clutch: Amy Baker is tied for the team-lead with 26 RBI this season. The sophomore catcher has seven hits in her last 10 at bats with runners in scoring position, after she had just three hits in her first 30 at bats in that situation this season. Baker is now 10-for-40 (.250) with runners in scoring position this season, after she led the team with a .489
Same Spot Last Year: While it may seem the Bluejays are struggling this season, take a quick look back at last year's NCAA Tournament team and you'll see an identical record through 33 games. The 2010 Bluejays were also 16-17 through 33 games, before going 21-6 over their final 30 games. Renae Sinkler was off to her amazing start with a .375 average, 13 home runs and 32 RBI last year, compared to Amy Baker's .287 average, 13 home runs and 26 RBI this year. Last year's team was hitting .204 through 33 games, compared to a .263 mark this season. Opponents were hitting .250 against the Jays last year through 33 games, and opponents are batting just .232 against CU this year. See the statistical breakdown comparing the 2010 and 2011 team through 33 games:
First 33 Games, 2010 vs. 2011
Category 2010 2011
Overall Record 16-17 16-17
MVC Record 2-5 6-3
Batting Average .204 .263
Opp. Average .250 .232
Runs 123 119
Hits 164 220
Home Runs 32 29
Doubles 26 13
RBI 112 109
On-Base % .306 .340
Stolen Bases 23-28 33-45
ERA 3.15 3.18
Complete Games 15 16
Shutouts 7 7
Earned Runs 100 97
BB-K 97-217 99-187
Three Series, Three Wins: With all of its success in recent seasons, it may be surprising to note that Creighton has won its first three MVC series for the first time since 2007. The Jays have taken 2-of-3 MVC games from Evansville, Bradley and Missouri State this spring.
Comeback Kids: In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Bluejays captured one win each season when trailing after six innings. If that is the quota to meet, the Bluejays did so on Sunday at Missouri State. The Jays trailed 3-2 heading into the seventh, but scored twice in their final at bat, with Ellen Homan's RBI triple tying the score and Homan scoring the game-winning run on a squeeze bunt from Christa Ruf. The win was CU's third come-from-behind win of the season, including its second in MVC play.
Women of Steal: The Bluejays tied a season-high with five stolen bases in their 4-1 win at Missouri State on Saturday. Freshman speedster Ellen Homan stole a pair of bases, as did sophomore slugger Amy Baker. The two stolen bases for Baker were not only the first two of her career, but they were her first two attempts after playing 88 games without attempting to steal.
First Inning Findings: Creighton has scored in the first inning in only five of its first 33 games this year, plating seven first-inning runs for its lowest scoring frame of the season. That is quite a change from last year's offense which scored in the first inning in 29 of its 60 games. The Jays scored 67 first-inning runs last year for their highest scoring frame of the season.
Good Home Start: The Bluejays are hitting .356 with six home runs and 15 runs scored through their first three home games this spring. Dating back to last season, the Jays are averaging 5.2 runs per game at home, with 32 homers in their last 22 home games.
No April Fools: As an MVC power over the last decade, Creighton has used April to build momentum heading into May and the postseason. Last year the Bluejays were just 14-13 in the first two months of the season, before going 15-6 in April. Since 2007, the Bluejays are now 60-22-1 (.729) in April, while their overall winning percentage in that same span is .662, including .630 in months outside of April.
Happy Homecoming: Amy Baker enjoyed her home opening weekend on April 2-3, going 7-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBI in CU's three-game series with Bradley. Baker, an Omaha native, has shown she enjoys playing at the CU Sports Complex in her two seasons, as she led the Bluejays with a .385 average, eight home runs and 25 RBI in 19 home games as a freshman.
Baker Player of the Week (x2): For the second time this year and the fourth time in her career, Amy Baker was named the MVC Player of the Week on April 4. Baker hit a home run in five of her six games during the week, including a solo shots at No. 13 Nebraska and Iowa State, and a home run in each game of CU's three-game set with Bradley. For the week she hit .429 (9-21) with five home runs and nine RBI.
Baker's Dozen: Amy Baker has 13 home runs on the season to lead the MVC, with 12 coming in her last 15 games. Since starting the season hitting .182 (8-44) with one home run, five RBI and a .250 slugging percentage through 18 games, Baker's bat has exploded. In her last 15 games, Baker is hitting .380 (19-50) with 12 home runs, 23 RBI and a 1.100 slugging percentage to raise her average on the season to .287 and her slugging percentage to .702.
In a Pinch: Heading into the second game of its doubleheader at Iowa State on March 31, Creighton's pinch-hitters were 3-for-31 (.097) with three RBI on the season. In the Jays' 9-3 win over the Cyclones in game two, Bluejay pinch-hitters went 2-for-3 with three RBI. CU pinch-hitters are now 5-for-11 (.455) in the last seven games. McKenna Setlik had an RBI single and MaKenzie Michael had a two-run single in pinch-hitting roles at Iowa State. Setlik added another pinch-hit against Bradley and Brittanee Grove also collected a pinch-hit against BU last weekend. Michael again had a pinch-hit at Missouri State (April 10).
Since the Skid: Creighton suffered a seven-game losing streak from March 4-10, but has since gone 9-6 in its last 15 games. The Bluejays were four games under .500 (7-11) for the first time this season following their seven straight losses, hitting just .228 with eight home runs and 49 runs scored through 18 games (2.7 per game). Since that point, the Bluejays have heated up, hitting .302 with 21 home runs and 70 runs scored in their last 15 games (4.7 per game). Opponents were hitting .243 against the Jays through their first 18 games, but are batting only .220 against Creighton in the Jays' last 15 games, while the Jays had a 3.78 team ERA through 18 games, only to lower it to 3.18 with a 2.51 ERA in their last 15 games.
Super Subs: Looking for a spark from his deep bench, head coach Brent Vigness shook up his lineup at Iowa State on March 31. Malloree Grove and Danai Martin had started the first 25 games of the season at third base and right field, respectively, before the changes. Vigness inserted Ashley Frutos into the lineup at second base, shifting the infield of Jennifer Bohle from second to shortstop and Liz McKewon from shortstop to third base. Emily Perry has replaced Martin in the lineup in right field for the last eight games.
Before March 31, both Perry and Frutos had not started one game this season. In her first five starts, Perry went 6-for-17 (.353) and hit her first career home run. Frutos has a hit in six of her first eight starts and is hitting .304 (7-23) with four RBI and four sacrifice bunts as a starter.
Snygg's Heroics: Sammy Snygg is the Iowa prep record-holder with 49 home runs hit at North Polk High School, but the sophomore had yet to hit a big fly in her collegiate career before last weekend. The sophomore picked a perfect time to hit her first home run as a Bluejay on April 2, launching a towering fly ball just inside the left field foul pole in the bottom of the eighth-inning against Bradley, giving the Jays a 4-3 walk-off win. It was CU's first walk-off home run since Michelle Graner hit one on May 3, 2009 and the first Bluejay homer in extra-innings since Graner did so at Drake on April 21, 2010.
Lucky 13: Freshman Becca Changstrom struck out a career-high 13 batters in a 7-1 win over Bradley on April 2. The 13 Ks equal the highest strikeout total in a game by a Bluejay since the 2008 season. Tara Oltman twice struck out 13 in 2010, while no Bluejay has fanned more than 13 in a game since Oltman struck out a career-high 14 against Illinois State on April 21, 2007.
Homan Gets Hot: Freshman Ellen Homan has started all 33 games this season in left field. The rookie leads the team with a .340 average and 33 hits, but she had to overcome a slow start to reach those numbers. The rookie was hitless in her first 13 collegiate at bats, but since that time she is 33-for-84 for a .393 average.
Amy's Records: Amy Baker set Creighton freshman records last year for home runs (15), RBI (46) and total bases (109). She has already set another school record this year, as her 13 home runs are the most by a sophomore in school history and are tied for fourth in single-season history. With her next blast, she will become the first player in school history to have two seasons with at least 14 home runs.
Baker's Blasts: Amy Baker hit scoreboards at Nebraska (March 30) and Iowa State (March 31) with monster home runs and enters this weekend having homered in each of her last three games. The sophomore 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 (March 8-12).
Doubles Down: Through 33 games, Creighton has just 13 doubles as a team – 15 fewer than the next closest team in the MVC. At this rate, the Bluejays are on pace to hit 21 doubles during the regular-season, which would be the fewest ever under Brent Vigness – 15 fewer than the 36 hit by the 2003 squad. Should the Jays stay on this pace, it will be the fewest two-baggers hit by the Jays since the 1992 team finished with 21 doubles.
Homer Happy: Home runs haven't necessarily meant success for the Bluejays this season. Creighton is 8-9 when they hit a home run this year and 8-8 when they fail to hit a home run. The Jays homered twice in their loss at Nebraska on March 30 – their only two hits of the night – and then hit a solo home run for their only run in a 7-1 loss to Iowa State on March 31. Creighton then did not have an extra base hit, but scored nine runs on 10 singles in its 9-3 win over the Cyclones.
Slow Starters: The first two innings haven't been kind to the Bluejays this year, as they have been out-scored 54-23 in the first two innings of games this year, including 24-7 in the first. The Jays' seven runs scored and .147 average in the first are their worst totals of any inning this spring. Three of the seven first-inning runs scored this year came in CU's first four games. The Bluejays have allowed 30 runs in the second inning this year, the most allowed in any frame.
Shutout Streak Snapped: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom tossed three consecutive shutouts (March 12-19) to extend her scoreless innings streak to 25.1. That streak was ended when she surrendered a two-run home run with no outs in the first inning at No. 13 Nebraska on March 30. She went from March 11 to March 30 between runs allowed. The rookie became the first Bluejay to throw a shutout in three straight starts since All-American Tara Oltman did so as a sophomore in 2008.
Sacrificing in Two Ways: Senior shortstop Liz McKewon is tied for the MVC lead and ranks among NCAA leaders with 11 sacrifice bunts this season, already passing last season's total by eight. She has now dropped down 42 sac bunts in her career, moving her into a tie for seventh place in school history in sac bunts. Not only does she sacrifice her at bats, but she also has sacrificed her body, getting hit by a pitch 15 times in her career to rank sixth in school history in that category. McKewon has been hit by almost as many pitches in her career as her career base on balls total (16).
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.
Getting Ruffed Up: Christa Ruf is off to a fantastic start to her junior season, as she is tied for the team-lead and fourth in the MVC with 26 RBI. Her 26 RBI through 33 games are 12 more than she had through the first 86 games of her career. She is second on the team and third in the MVC with eight home runs in 96 at bats – she entered the year with only one home run in her first 140 career at bats.
Martin Gets Moving: Danai Martin leads the team and ranks third in the MVC with 11 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. The sophomore has already equalled 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.
Hovinga Hurls No-Hitter: Junior pitcher Kylie Hovinga tossed the first Bluejay no-hitter in two seasons in a 10-0 win over Centenary on Feb. 25 at the UTA Classic in Arlington, Texas. The left-hander walked one and struck out five in the five-inning no-no. It was the 17th no-hitter thrown by the Bluejays during head coach Brent Vigness' tenure.
Bonus Bullets
• Creighton has scored 36 runs in the fifth inning this year, its highest scoring frame of the season. The Jays are hitting .362 in the fifth, 47 points higher than their next best inning.
• Bluejay first basemen are flawless in the field this year, with 205 putouts and four assists played perfectly between Sammy Snygg, Brittanee Grove and Brittnie Kreiser.
• CU captured its first extra-inning win of the season in the second game of its doubleheader with Bradley on April 2, Sammy Snygg's walk-off eighth-inning home run gave the Jays a 4-3 win and a 1-2 record in extras this season
• Ellen Homan is hitting a team-high .464 and has a team-best 13 hits with runners in scoring position.
• Amy Baker has 28 career home runs, the rest of the team has a combined 17 career homers.
• Liz McKewon is hitting .409 as CU's starting third baseman, compared to her .216 mark as the starting shortstop.
Tuesday, April 12 • Creighton Sports Complex • 3 pm (DH)
Creighton hosts #11 Nebraska
Wednesday, April 13 • Creighton Sports Complex • 6 pm
This Week: Creighton begins its longest home stand of the season, playing six games in Omaha this week. The Bluejays play a doubleheader against North Dakota on Tuesday at 3 pm, and then host nationally-ranked Nebraska on Wednesday at 6 pm. Wichita State comes to Omaha for a three-game MVC series this weekend, starting with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.
Last Week: The Bluejays won their third straight MVC series, taking two of three games at Missouri State last weekend. The Jays won the opener 4-1, before losing 3-2 on a squeeze play in the bottom of the seventh in game two. In the series finale, the Jays scored two runs in their final at bat – including a game-winning squeeze play of their own – to win 4-3 and take the series.
Scouting Creighton (16-17): 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 10 returners on the roster ... The Bluejays, who set a school record with 66 home runs last year, have 22 homers in their last 16 games ... The Jays are hitting .302 in their last 15 games, after hitting .228 in their first 18 games ... The Jays are hitting .356 with six home runs in three home games this spring ... Catcher Amy Baker has hit 12 of her MVC-leading 13 home runs in Creighton's last 15 games and the sophomore already ranks sixth in school history with 28 career homers ... Baker, who is tied with Christa Ruf for the team-lead with 26 RBI, has 23 RBI in her last 15 games ... Ruf entered the season with one home run and 14 RBI in 86 career games, but has hit eight home runs with 26 RBI this spring ... Freshmen Ellen Homan starts the week on an eight-game hitting streak, during which she is hitting .433 (13-30), and she tops the team with 33 hits and a .340 average ... Liz McKewon is tied for the MVC-lead with 11 sacrifice bunts this season ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .964 fielding percentage, is hitting .263 as a team and allowing opponents to hit .232 with a staff ERA of 3.18 ... In their last 15 games, the Bluejays have posted a 2.51 ERA and opponents are hitting just .220 against them ... Freshman Becca Changstrom has emerged as the staff ace, leading the MVC with an opponents average of just .162, while she tops the team with a 12-7 record, 119.1 innings pitched and 116 strikeouts ... Changstrom is now 3-for-5 with two RBI at the plate on the season as well.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 18th season at Creighton. With a record of 569-392-2 at Creighton, he is the winningest coach in Bluejay athletics history. 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 717-463-3. 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.
Scouting North Dakota (10-24): North Dakota has played all 34 of its games on the road this season ... UND has played three MVC teams this year, losing twice to Drake and once to Northern Iowa, while it defeated Bradley ... The Sioux are hitting .269 as a team with 24 home runs and 41 doubles ... Opponents are hitting .307 against UND as the Sioux have a team ERA of 4.13 ... UND has made 57 errors for a .944 fielding percentage on the season ... Kayelee Schoeny leads UND with a .407 average, 44 hits, 18 runs and 13 stolen bases ... Brittany Baker leads UND with six home runs, while Caralyn Chewning and Amanda Johnson each have five homers. Chewning (.286) leads the team with 19 RBI ... Michelle Frank (5-7, 3.28 ERA, 83.1 IP, 73 K) is the staff ace, sharing time with Emma Gronseth (2-10, 4.83 ERA, 75.1 IP, 66 K, 45 BB) and Chewning (3-6, 4.23 ERA, 49.2 IP, 27 K) in the circle.
Scouting #11 Nebraska (30-6): The Huskers are 9-2 in true road games this year ... NU ranks among NCAA leaders with a .331 team average, 6.1 runs per game, 41 home runs and .507 slugging percentage ... Seven NU starters are hitting .313 or better ... NU has out-scored opponents 219-73 this year, holding opponents to just a .180 average ... Freshman Taylor Edwards, who tops the team with a .419 average, leads NU and ranks in the NCAA top-10 in home runs (15) and RBI (50) ... Nikki Haget (.369) leads the team with 45 hits, 37 runs and 13 stolen bases ... Taylor's twin Tatum is second on the team with 10 home runs ... The NU pitching staff owns a 1.95 ERA, led by Ashley Hagemann's 1.73 ERA ... Hagemann (22-5) has appeared in 30 of NU's 36 games and pitched 165.2 of NU's 237 innings this year. She ranks among NCAA leaders with 218 strikeouts.
CU-UND Series: Creighton and North Dakota have never met on the softball field.
CU-NU Series: Nebraska leads the all-time series 77-36 ... The Bluejays and Huskers have split the last 10 meetings, with NU winning the last four ... The Jays last beat the Huskers (3-0) on April 1, 2009 in Lincoln and last beat NU in Omaha (7-2) on March 26, 2008 ... NU won 7-2 two weeks ago in Lincoln and swept the series from the Jays last year with a 4-3 in Omaha and 11-7 win in Lincoln ... Amy Baker hit a three-run home to account for CU's three runs in its home loss last year.
He's a Winner: Head coach Brent Vigness captured win No. 565 as Creighton's leader on March 31 at Iowa State, a 9-3 win in Ames - just 30 miles from where he attended high school in Zearing, Iowa. The win moved him past Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Mary Higgins for not only the softball record victory total, but he is now the winningest coach in Creighton athletics history - any sport. In his 18th season, he is the most tenured softball coach in school history, surpassing Higgins' 17 seasons between 1977-93.
Back Homan: Ellen Homan is on an eight-game hitting streak, tying Malloree Grove for the longest hitting streak by a Bluejay this season. During her streak, she has five multiple-hit games and is hitting 13-for-30 (.433) to raise her average to a team-best .340, which ranks sixth in the MVC. The freshmen left fielder has upped her batting average 102 points in the last month, hitting .418 (23-55) in CU's last 16 games. She leads the team with 33 hits and 10 multi-hit games.
Becca Brings Her Bat: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom worked her bat into the starting lineup last weekend at Missouri State, and it paid off. The left-handed swinging hurler singled in her first at bat – her first career hit – against MSU and came around to score the first run of the game in CU's 4-1 series-opening win. On Sunday, after she allowed two runs in the first inning, she got them back in the second inning, driving in a pair of runs on a bases-loaded single, in which she fouled off seven pitches in a 10-pitch at bat. She singled in her second at bat and dropped down a sac bunt in her third trip to the plate in CU's 4-3 Sunday win. She's now 3-for-5 with two RBI this season.
Coming up Clutch: Amy Baker is tied for the team-lead with 26 RBI this season. The sophomore catcher has seven hits in her last 10 at bats with runners in scoring position, after she had just three hits in her first 30 at bats in that situation this season. Baker is now 10-for-40 (.250) with runners in scoring position this season, after she led the team with a .489
Same Spot Last Year: While it may seem the Bluejays are struggling this season, take a quick look back at last year's NCAA Tournament team and you'll see an identical record through 33 games. The 2010 Bluejays were also 16-17 through 33 games, before going 21-6 over their final 30 games. Renae Sinkler was off to her amazing start with a .375 average, 13 home runs and 32 RBI last year, compared to Amy Baker's .287 average, 13 home runs and 26 RBI this year. Last year's team was hitting .204 through 33 games, compared to a .263 mark this season. Opponents were hitting .250 against the Jays last year through 33 games, and opponents are batting just .232 against CU this year. See the statistical breakdown comparing the 2010 and 2011 team through 33 games:
First 33 Games, 2010 vs. 2011
Category 2010 2011
Overall Record 16-17 16-17
MVC Record 2-5 6-3
Batting Average .204 .263
Opp. Average .250 .232
Runs 123 119
Hits 164 220
Home Runs 32 29
Doubles 26 13
RBI 112 109
On-Base % .306 .340
Stolen Bases 23-28 33-45
ERA 3.15 3.18
Complete Games 15 16
Shutouts 7 7
Earned Runs 100 97
BB-K 97-217 99-187
Three Series, Three Wins: With all of its success in recent seasons, it may be surprising to note that Creighton has won its first three MVC series for the first time since 2007. The Jays have taken 2-of-3 MVC games from Evansville, Bradley and Missouri State this spring.
Comeback Kids: In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Bluejays captured one win each season when trailing after six innings. If that is the quota to meet, the Bluejays did so on Sunday at Missouri State. The Jays trailed 3-2 heading into the seventh, but scored twice in their final at bat, with Ellen Homan's RBI triple tying the score and Homan scoring the game-winning run on a squeeze bunt from Christa Ruf. The win was CU's third come-from-behind win of the season, including its second in MVC play.
Women of Steal: The Bluejays tied a season-high with five stolen bases in their 4-1 win at Missouri State on Saturday. Freshman speedster Ellen Homan stole a pair of bases, as did sophomore slugger Amy Baker. The two stolen bases for Baker were not only the first two of her career, but they were her first two attempts after playing 88 games without attempting to steal.
First Inning Findings: Creighton has scored in the first inning in only five of its first 33 games this year, plating seven first-inning runs for its lowest scoring frame of the season. That is quite a change from last year's offense which scored in the first inning in 29 of its 60 games. The Jays scored 67 first-inning runs last year for their highest scoring frame of the season.
Good Home Start: The Bluejays are hitting .356 with six home runs and 15 runs scored through their first three home games this spring. Dating back to last season, the Jays are averaging 5.2 runs per game at home, with 32 homers in their last 22 home games.
No April Fools: As an MVC power over the last decade, Creighton has used April to build momentum heading into May and the postseason. Last year the Bluejays were just 14-13 in the first two months of the season, before going 15-6 in April. Since 2007, the Bluejays are now 60-22-1 (.729) in April, while their overall winning percentage in that same span is .662, including .630 in months outside of April.
Happy Homecoming: Amy Baker enjoyed her home opening weekend on April 2-3, going 7-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBI in CU's three-game series with Bradley. Baker, an Omaha native, has shown she enjoys playing at the CU Sports Complex in her two seasons, as she led the Bluejays with a .385 average, eight home runs and 25 RBI in 19 home games as a freshman.
Baker Player of the Week (x2): For the second time this year and the fourth time in her career, Amy Baker was named the MVC Player of the Week on April 4. Baker hit a home run in five of her six games during the week, including a solo shots at No. 13 Nebraska and Iowa State, and a home run in each game of CU's three-game set with Bradley. For the week she hit .429 (9-21) with five home runs and nine RBI.
Baker's Dozen: Amy Baker has 13 home runs on the season to lead the MVC, with 12 coming in her last 15 games. Since starting the season hitting .182 (8-44) with one home run, five RBI and a .250 slugging percentage through 18 games, Baker's bat has exploded. In her last 15 games, Baker is hitting .380 (19-50) with 12 home runs, 23 RBI and a 1.100 slugging percentage to raise her average on the season to .287 and her slugging percentage to .702.
In a Pinch: Heading into the second game of its doubleheader at Iowa State on March 31, Creighton's pinch-hitters were 3-for-31 (.097) with three RBI on the season. In the Jays' 9-3 win over the Cyclones in game two, Bluejay pinch-hitters went 2-for-3 with three RBI. CU pinch-hitters are now 5-for-11 (.455) in the last seven games. McKenna Setlik had an RBI single and MaKenzie Michael had a two-run single in pinch-hitting roles at Iowa State. Setlik added another pinch-hit against Bradley and Brittanee Grove also collected a pinch-hit against BU last weekend. Michael again had a pinch-hit at Missouri State (April 10).
Since the Skid: Creighton suffered a seven-game losing streak from March 4-10, but has since gone 9-6 in its last 15 games. The Bluejays were four games under .500 (7-11) for the first time this season following their seven straight losses, hitting just .228 with eight home runs and 49 runs scored through 18 games (2.7 per game). Since that point, the Bluejays have heated up, hitting .302 with 21 home runs and 70 runs scored in their last 15 games (4.7 per game). Opponents were hitting .243 against the Jays through their first 18 games, but are batting only .220 against Creighton in the Jays' last 15 games, while the Jays had a 3.78 team ERA through 18 games, only to lower it to 3.18 with a 2.51 ERA in their last 15 games.
Super Subs: Looking for a spark from his deep bench, head coach Brent Vigness shook up his lineup at Iowa State on March 31. Malloree Grove and Danai Martin had started the first 25 games of the season at third base and right field, respectively, before the changes. Vigness inserted Ashley Frutos into the lineup at second base, shifting the infield of Jennifer Bohle from second to shortstop and Liz McKewon from shortstop to third base. Emily Perry has replaced Martin in the lineup in right field for the last eight games.
Before March 31, both Perry and Frutos had not started one game this season. In her first five starts, Perry went 6-for-17 (.353) and hit her first career home run. Frutos has a hit in six of her first eight starts and is hitting .304 (7-23) with four RBI and four sacrifice bunts as a starter.
Snygg's Heroics: Sammy Snygg is the Iowa prep record-holder with 49 home runs hit at North Polk High School, but the sophomore had yet to hit a big fly in her collegiate career before last weekend. The sophomore picked a perfect time to hit her first home run as a Bluejay on April 2, launching a towering fly ball just inside the left field foul pole in the bottom of the eighth-inning against Bradley, giving the Jays a 4-3 walk-off win. It was CU's first walk-off home run since Michelle Graner hit one on May 3, 2009 and the first Bluejay homer in extra-innings since Graner did so at Drake on April 21, 2010.
Lucky 13: Freshman Becca Changstrom struck out a career-high 13 batters in a 7-1 win over Bradley on April 2. The 13 Ks equal the highest strikeout total in a game by a Bluejay since the 2008 season. Tara Oltman twice struck out 13 in 2010, while no Bluejay has fanned more than 13 in a game since Oltman struck out a career-high 14 against Illinois State on April 21, 2007.
Homan Gets Hot: Freshman Ellen Homan has started all 33 games this season in left field. The rookie leads the team with a .340 average and 33 hits, but she had to overcome a slow start to reach those numbers. The rookie was hitless in her first 13 collegiate at bats, but since that time she is 33-for-84 for a .393 average.
Amy's Records: Amy Baker set Creighton freshman records last year for home runs (15), RBI (46) and total bases (109). She has already set another school record this year, as her 13 home runs are the most by a sophomore in school history and are tied for fourth in single-season history. With her next blast, she will become the first player in school history to have two seasons with at least 14 home runs.
Baker's Blasts: Amy Baker hit scoreboards at Nebraska (March 30) and Iowa State (March 31) with monster home runs and enters this weekend having homered in each of her last three games. The sophomore 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 (March 8-12).
Doubles Down: Through 33 games, Creighton has just 13 doubles as a team – 15 fewer than the next closest team in the MVC. At this rate, the Bluejays are on pace to hit 21 doubles during the regular-season, which would be the fewest ever under Brent Vigness – 15 fewer than the 36 hit by the 2003 squad. Should the Jays stay on this pace, it will be the fewest two-baggers hit by the Jays since the 1992 team finished with 21 doubles.
Homer Happy: Home runs haven't necessarily meant success for the Bluejays this season. Creighton is 8-9 when they hit a home run this year and 8-8 when they fail to hit a home run. The Jays homered twice in their loss at Nebraska on March 30 – their only two hits of the night – and then hit a solo home run for their only run in a 7-1 loss to Iowa State on March 31. Creighton then did not have an extra base hit, but scored nine runs on 10 singles in its 9-3 win over the Cyclones.
Slow Starters: The first two innings haven't been kind to the Bluejays this year, as they have been out-scored 54-23 in the first two innings of games this year, including 24-7 in the first. The Jays' seven runs scored and .147 average in the first are their worst totals of any inning this spring. Three of the seven first-inning runs scored this year came in CU's first four games. The Bluejays have allowed 30 runs in the second inning this year, the most allowed in any frame.
Shutout Streak Snapped: Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom tossed three consecutive shutouts (March 12-19) to extend her scoreless innings streak to 25.1. That streak was ended when she surrendered a two-run home run with no outs in the first inning at No. 13 Nebraska on March 30. She went from March 11 to March 30 between runs allowed. The rookie became the first Bluejay to throw a shutout in three straight starts since All-American Tara Oltman did so as a sophomore in 2008.
Sacrificing in Two Ways: Senior shortstop Liz McKewon is tied for the MVC lead and ranks among NCAA leaders with 11 sacrifice bunts this season, already passing last season's total by eight. She has now dropped down 42 sac bunts in her career, moving her into a tie for seventh place in school history in sac bunts. Not only does she sacrifice her at bats, but she also has sacrificed her body, getting hit by a pitch 15 times in her career to rank sixth in school history in that category. McKewon has been hit by almost as many pitches in her career as her career base on balls total (16).
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.
Getting Ruffed Up: Christa Ruf is off to a fantastic start to her junior season, as she is tied for the team-lead and fourth in the MVC with 26 RBI. Her 26 RBI through 33 games are 12 more than she had through the first 86 games of her career. She is second on the team and third in the MVC with eight home runs in 96 at bats – she entered the year with only one home run in her first 140 career at bats.
Martin Gets Moving: Danai Martin leads the team and ranks third in the MVC with 11 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. The sophomore has already equalled 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.
Hovinga Hurls No-Hitter: Junior pitcher Kylie Hovinga tossed the first Bluejay no-hitter in two seasons in a 10-0 win over Centenary on Feb. 25 at the UTA Classic in Arlington, Texas. The left-hander walked one and struck out five in the five-inning no-no. It was the 17th no-hitter thrown by the Bluejays during head coach Brent Vigness' tenure.
Bonus Bullets
• Creighton has scored 36 runs in the fifth inning this year, its highest scoring frame of the season. The Jays are hitting .362 in the fifth, 47 points higher than their next best inning.
• Bluejay first basemen are flawless in the field this year, with 205 putouts and four assists played perfectly between Sammy Snygg, Brittanee Grove and Brittnie Kreiser.
• CU captured its first extra-inning win of the season in the second game of its doubleheader with Bradley on April 2, Sammy Snygg's walk-off eighth-inning home run gave the Jays a 4-3 win and a 1-2 record in extras this season
• Ellen Homan is hitting a team-high .464 and has a team-best 13 hits with runners in scoring position.
• Amy Baker has 28 career home runs, the rest of the team has a combined 17 career homers.
• Liz McKewon is hitting .409 as CU's starting third baseman, compared to her .216 mark as the starting shortstop.
Players Mentioned
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/ 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
