Softball Heads to Arizona for Spring Break
3/2/2012 2:27:00 PM | Softball
For the sixth straight season, the Creighton softball team is heading to Arizona for Spring Break, as the Bluejays are scheduled to play nine games in eight days. The Jays will play in two tournaments hosted by nationally-ranked Arizona State and play a midweek game against the defending NCAA champion Sun Devils on Tuesday in Tempe. (Live stats will not be provided by Arizona State for games that do not include the Sun Devils).
The Bluejays (7-3) enter this weekend's Wilson/DeMarini Invitational looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Creighton started the season with seven straight wins for the first time since 1987 before getting swept in a three-game series at No. 18 Louisville last weekend. All three losses were shut outs for the Bluejays after CU entered the weekend averaging 10.3 runs per game and hitting .394 as a team. Even after the losses, the Jays still enter Spring Break hitting .322 as a team with 72 runs scored in 10 games.
Creighton opens play with games against North Dakota State (9-6) and Boise State (9-6) on Saturday at Arizona State's Farrington Stadium. NDSU, an NCAA Tournament team last year, is led by pitcher Whitney Johnson, who owns a 1.31 ERA and 94 strikeouts in just 64 innings of work this season. The Broncos are guided by Tara Glover's .463 average and team-best 25 hits, 13 runs and five stolen bases.
Howard entered the weekend 1-5. The Bluejays topped Howard 8-0 in Tempe last March, in a game featuring home runs from Amy Baker and Brittnie Kreiser and a two-hitter from Becca Changstrom. CU faces Howard and fifth-ranked Arizona State on Sunday. The two-time NCAA Champion Sun Devils (15-2) enter the tournament following a no-hitter of MVC foe Wichita State on Thursday. ASU is hitting .358 as a team with 27 home runs in 17 games, having out-scored opponents 143-19. The Jays have lost their last 12 games against nationally-ranked opponents.
Junior Amy Baker is no doubt happy to return to Tempe this week. As a sophomore, she had six home runs at Farrington Stadium, tying a school-record with three home runs against Campbell and hitting five home runs in one day at the Diamond Devil Invitational in 2011. The Bluejay slugger has nine home runs and 20 RBI in 21 career games in Tempe. Baker enters the weekend with 94 career RBI, ranked 11th in school history and just six shy of becoming the ninth player in CU history with 100 career RBI. Baker, who has yet to hit a home run this year, began the year ranked fourth in school history with 33 home runs.
Sophomore Ellen Homan enjoyed her Spring Break in Tempe last year, hitting .448 with 13 hits in 10 games in Arizona. Christa Ruf hit .357 in Arizona with two homers and eight RBI last year. All three of Kreiser's 2011 home runs came at Farrington Stadium. Changstrom posted a 1.58 ERA, allowing only 14 hits in 31 innings of work in Tempe last spring.
The Bluejays play Arizona State on Tuesday before playing four games at the Diamond Devil Invitational next Friday and Saturday. The Jays meet Pacific and New Mexico State in Tempe on Friday, before concluding their Spring Break trip against Valparaiso and East Carolina. Both NMSU and ECU advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, and both were Bluejay opponents in Tempe last year.
The Bluejays (7-3) enter this weekend's Wilson/DeMarini Invitational looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Creighton started the season with seven straight wins for the first time since 1987 before getting swept in a three-game series at No. 18 Louisville last weekend. All three losses were shut outs for the Bluejays after CU entered the weekend averaging 10.3 runs per game and hitting .394 as a team. Even after the losses, the Jays still enter Spring Break hitting .322 as a team with 72 runs scored in 10 games.
Creighton opens play with games against North Dakota State (9-6) and Boise State (9-6) on Saturday at Arizona State's Farrington Stadium. NDSU, an NCAA Tournament team last year, is led by pitcher Whitney Johnson, who owns a 1.31 ERA and 94 strikeouts in just 64 innings of work this season. The Broncos are guided by Tara Glover's .463 average and team-best 25 hits, 13 runs and five stolen bases.
Howard entered the weekend 1-5. The Bluejays topped Howard 8-0 in Tempe last March, in a game featuring home runs from Amy Baker and Brittnie Kreiser and a two-hitter from Becca Changstrom. CU faces Howard and fifth-ranked Arizona State on Sunday. The two-time NCAA Champion Sun Devils (15-2) enter the tournament following a no-hitter of MVC foe Wichita State on Thursday. ASU is hitting .358 as a team with 27 home runs in 17 games, having out-scored opponents 143-19. The Jays have lost their last 12 games against nationally-ranked opponents.
Junior Amy Baker is no doubt happy to return to Tempe this week. As a sophomore, she had six home runs at Farrington Stadium, tying a school-record with three home runs against Campbell and hitting five home runs in one day at the Diamond Devil Invitational in 2011. The Bluejay slugger has nine home runs and 20 RBI in 21 career games in Tempe. Baker enters the weekend with 94 career RBI, ranked 11th in school history and just six shy of becoming the ninth player in CU history with 100 career RBI. Baker, who has yet to hit a home run this year, began the year ranked fourth in school history with 33 home runs.
Sophomore Ellen Homan enjoyed her Spring Break in Tempe last year, hitting .448 with 13 hits in 10 games in Arizona. Christa Ruf hit .357 in Arizona with two homers and eight RBI last year. All three of Kreiser's 2011 home runs came at Farrington Stadium. Changstrom posted a 1.58 ERA, allowing only 14 hits in 31 innings of work in Tempe last spring.
The Bluejays play Arizona State on Tuesday before playing four games at the Diamond Devil Invitational next Friday and Saturday. The Jays meet Pacific and New Mexico State in Tempe on Friday, before concluding their Spring Break trip against Valparaiso and East Carolina. Both NMSU and ECU advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, and both were Bluejay opponents in Tempe last year.
Players Mentioned
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