Softball Hosts South Dakota in Doubleheader Wednesday
3/27/2012 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Creighton hosts South Dakota in “Strikeout Cancer” Doubleheader
Wednesday, March 28 • Creighton Sports Complex • Omaha, Neb. • 5 pm (DH)
This Week: After playing their first 25 games away from home and having their scheduled home-opener rained out last week, the Bluejays are scheduled to play five games in Omaha this week, starting with a doubleheader against South Dakota on Wednesday at 5 pm. The games against USD will serve as Creighton's annual "Strikeout Cancer" games, where fans can donate money or make a pledge to donate a specific amount to the American Cancer Society for each Creighton strikeout recorded during the twin bill. Creighton then welcomes Indiana State to town for a three-game series starting Saturday at noon and concluding on Sunday at noon.
Last Week: Creighton had its scheduled home-opening doubleheader against Iowa State rained out last Wednesday. The Bluejays then traveled to Southern Illinois, where the Salukis posted a pair of come-from-behind wins to sweep Saturday's doubleheader 10-4 and 17-8. The Jays bounced back from a 5-0 deficit on Sunday to avoid the series sweep and beat SIU 7-6 in the series finale. Freshman Bri Lingl went 6-for-10 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI in the three-game set at SIU.
Scouting Creighton (12-13, 3-3 MVC): Creighton jumped out to the second-best start in school history this spring, winning its first seven games before playing five games against ranked opponents in an eight-game span ... The Bluejay offense has scored at least 10 runs in a game six times this year, including games of 18 and 19 runs scored ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .298 average, 19 home runs and 5.9 runs per game ... With 37 doubles, the Jays already have more doubles through 25 games than they had in 53 games last year ... Junior Amy Baker leads the MVC with 30 RBI and tops the team with six doubles ... Baker, who is hitting a career-best .338, ranks second in CU history with 37 career home runs and seventh with 109 RBI ... A pair of freshmen lead the Bluejay in hitting, as both Allie Mathewson and Bri Lingl are hitting .386 ... Mathewson, who enters the week batting .500 during her current six-game hitting streak, leads the team with 34 hits and six stolen bases and is tied with Ellen Homan (.381) for the team-lead with 22 runs scored ... Lingl, hitting .556 in MVC play, leads the team with a .702 slugging percentage and is second with 23 RBI ... Senior outfielder Christa Ruf is hitting .438 in her last six games ... Newcomer Alexis Cantu (.278) leads the team with five home runs, 23 walks and a .506 on-base percentage ...Sophomore pitcher Becca Changstrom is 6-7 and leads the team with a 3.83 ERA, 67.2 innings pitched and 63 strikeouts ...Junior Sammy Snygg (3-3, 4.51 ERA) ranks second on the team in innings (35.2) and strikeouts (33) ... Creighton's team ERA of 4.69 is its highest in program history.
Scouting South Dakota (7-23, 5-4 Summit): The Coyotes are coming off of a series win over IUPUI and are now 5-4 in their first season as members of the Summit League ... USD is just 2-19 outside of league play this spring ... The Coyotes have scored just 75 runs in 30 games and been shutout in 11 of their 23 losses ... USD is hitting just .221 as a team this spring, while opponents are batting .329 against the Coyotes ... Omaha native Katie Dinning leads the team with a .327 average, 32 hits and four triples, she is the only USD player batting above .270 ... Alexa Rudeen (.266) leads the team with three home runs and 13 RBI ... Lindsey Boyd (.221) tops USD with 16 runs scored and has more stolen bases (18) than Creighton (15) as a team ... The USD pitching staff has posted a 5.57 ERA and has walked more batters (103) than it has struck out (88) this season ... Erica Denney (4-11, 4.32 ERA, 81 IP, 100 H, 49 BB, 47 K) and Missy Blackburn (3-7, 5.70 ERA, 70 IP, 102 H, 30 BB, 34 K) split a bulk of the pitching duties for the Coyotes, while Paige Policky (0-5, 7.99 ERA) has also spent time in the circle.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 19th season at Creighton. With a record of 590-416-2 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 24 years as a head coach is 738-487-3. 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 Staffs of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
CU-USD Series: Creighton is 8-2 all-time against South Dakota, but the programs have not met since 1985, when the Bluejays swept a doubleheader from the Coyotes in Vermillion on March 26. The Coyotes have not played at Creighton since March 21, 1982, when the Jays swept a doubleheader 10-0 and 6-0.
Homecoming - Take Two: Creighton is 6-1 in its last seven home openers and it has swept home-opening doubleheaders in each of the previous two seasons (topping Bradley last year and Indiana State in 2010). For the second straight Wednesday Creighton will attempt to play its 2012 home opener, after last Wednesday's scheduled opener with Iowa State was rained out. The Bluejays are scheduled to host South Dakota in a Wednesday doubleheader at 5 pm this week after playing their first 25 games on the road this season. CU was just 5-9 at home last year.
Offensive Bounce Back: The Bluejays are currently hitting .298 as a team, a mark that would rank third in school history if the season ended today, and is the highest mark by a Creighton team since the 1993 team hit .315. CU scored 184 runs in 53 games in 2011, an average of 3.5 per game. This year the Bluejays have already scored 147 runs in 25 games, an average of 5.9 runs per game. CU's slugging percentage of .461 is up 93 points from last year's .368. Creighton's on-base percentage of .384 currently ranks as the third best in school history and is its best since the 2005 team's .393 OBP.
High in the Valley: Creighton is 3-3 through six MVC games this spring, but the Bluejays are hitting .316 and have scored 36 runs in their first six Valley games. Only once have the Jays scored more than 36 runs through six conference games – the 1995 team scored 37 runs in its first six MVC games. Creighton scored 77 runs in 24 conference games last year.
Fresh Faces: Freshmen Bri Lingl and Allie Mathewson are tied for the team-lead in hitting, with both owning a .386 average in their rookie season and both have excelled at the plate in their first six Missouri Valley Conference games. Lingl has started all six MVC games, splitting time between catcher and DP, and is hitting a team-high .556 with a team-leading 10 RBI in six Valley games. The rookie backstop has a 1.000 slugging percentage in conference play. Mathewson has started all six Valley games as well, splitting time between the outfield and first base, and she is tied with Lingl with a team-high 10 hits in Valley play. Mathewson is hitting .500 and tops the team with a .583 on-base percentage in league play.
Baker's Climb: Junior Amy Baker leads the MVC with 30 RBI in just 25 games this spring (after leading the team with 33 RBI in 53 games last year). Baker now has 109 RBI to rank seventh in school history on the RBI list. With four home runs this year, she now has 37 homers in her career, tied with Stacey Rybar and Lauren (Flores) Cisneros for second in school history, trailing only current volunteer assistant coach Renae Sinkler's school record 50 home runs.
Homan's Hitting: Sophomore Ellen Homan is batting .381 this spring, after leading the team with a .308 average as a freshman. Homan is hitting .332 in her career (84-253) which now qualifies her for the Creighton career top-10. Her current career mark of .332 ranks fifth in school history.
Power from the Left: Sophomore Alexis Cantu leads the team with five home runs this spring. The left-handed power hitter has already tied the single-season school record for home runs hit by a left-hander, tying Jessica German's five home runs hit in 2004.
Walk this Way: Alexis Cantu not only leads the team in home runs, but she also leads the team and ranks third in the MVC and seventh in the NCAA with 23 walks this season. Cantu has walked (23) more this year than she has struck out (19). Amy Baker ranks second on the team with 15 walks, compared to only 11 strikeouts. Baker, a junior, has already walked 58 times in her career, just four shy of the Creighton career top-ten.
Not So Ruf: Senior Christa Ruf has started every game this season and is tied for the team-lead with two triples. Ruf has caught fire over Creighton's last six games, hitting .438 (7-16) with a team-leading six runs scored and two stolen bases in that span. That .438 average over the last six games has raised her season average from .195 up to .263. Ruf ranks 11th in the NCAA with nine sacrifice bunts this spring.
Doubling Up: Last year Creighton managed to hit only 25 doubles in 53 games, its lowest total since 1992. This season the Bluejays have already smacked 37 doubles in 25 games to rank 22nd in the NCAA in doubles per game. Junior Amy Baker leads the team with six two-baggers after she hit just one double as a sophomore – in the 52nd of 53 games.
Tripling Up: Not only are doubles up for Creighton this year, but triples are also up. The Bluejays have eight triples this year, more than in any of its previous three full seasons. Senior outfielder Christa Ruf and freshman shortstop Liz Dike each have two triples to lead the Bluejays this year.
Hot Start: Creighton jumped out to a 7-0 start this season for its best start to a season since 1987. The 1987 team opened the year with 10 straight wins to set a school record, while the seven straight wins to open the year marked the best start to a season under head coach Brent Vigness. The Bluejays opened the year with an 18-0 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, setting the school record for the largest margin of victory in a game.
Surpassing 10: Creighton has scored at least 10 runs in a game six times already this season. The 2011 team scored 10 runs in a game just once and the Bluejays have already scored 10 or more runs in a game more this season than in the previous three seasons combined.
Record-Tying Game: In one of Creighton's high-scoring games this season, the Bluejays tied a school record. The Jays topped Howard 19-4 on March 4 in Tempe, Ariz., tying the school record with 22 hits in the lopsided win. The 19 runs rank second in school history, just one shy of the 20 runs scored against the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) on Feb. 9, 2000.
Leftovers: Allie Mathewson has five three-hit games this season ... Mathewson enters the week on a six-game hitting streak, during which she is 10-for-20 (.500) ... Bri Lingl has Creighton's only four-hit game this year ... Lingl tops the team with eight multi-RBI games this year ... Amy Baker leads the team by hitting .515 (17-33) with runners in scoring position after hitting only .204 (11-54) in the same situations last year ... Of Baker's league-leading 30 RBI, 14 have come with two outs ... Bluejay first basemen are hitting .369 (31-84) with four home runs and 28 RBI this spring after the same position produced just four home runs and 11 RBI, while hitting .196 (18-92) in 2011.
Wednesday, March 28 • Creighton Sports Complex • Omaha, Neb. • 5 pm (DH)
This Week: After playing their first 25 games away from home and having their scheduled home-opener rained out last week, the Bluejays are scheduled to play five games in Omaha this week, starting with a doubleheader against South Dakota on Wednesday at 5 pm. The games against USD will serve as Creighton's annual "Strikeout Cancer" games, where fans can donate money or make a pledge to donate a specific amount to the American Cancer Society for each Creighton strikeout recorded during the twin bill. Creighton then welcomes Indiana State to town for a three-game series starting Saturday at noon and concluding on Sunday at noon.
Last Week: Creighton had its scheduled home-opening doubleheader against Iowa State rained out last Wednesday. The Bluejays then traveled to Southern Illinois, where the Salukis posted a pair of come-from-behind wins to sweep Saturday's doubleheader 10-4 and 17-8. The Jays bounced back from a 5-0 deficit on Sunday to avoid the series sweep and beat SIU 7-6 in the series finale. Freshman Bri Lingl went 6-for-10 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI in the three-game set at SIU.
Scouting Creighton (12-13, 3-3 MVC): Creighton jumped out to the second-best start in school history this spring, winning its first seven games before playing five games against ranked opponents in an eight-game span ... The Bluejay offense has scored at least 10 runs in a game six times this year, including games of 18 and 19 runs scored ... CU ranks second in the MVC with a .298 average, 19 home runs and 5.9 runs per game ... With 37 doubles, the Jays already have more doubles through 25 games than they had in 53 games last year ... Junior Amy Baker leads the MVC with 30 RBI and tops the team with six doubles ... Baker, who is hitting a career-best .338, ranks second in CU history with 37 career home runs and seventh with 109 RBI ... A pair of freshmen lead the Bluejay in hitting, as both Allie Mathewson and Bri Lingl are hitting .386 ... Mathewson, who enters the week batting .500 during her current six-game hitting streak, leads the team with 34 hits and six stolen bases and is tied with Ellen Homan (.381) for the team-lead with 22 runs scored ... Lingl, hitting .556 in MVC play, leads the team with a .702 slugging percentage and is second with 23 RBI ... Senior outfielder Christa Ruf is hitting .438 in her last six games ... Newcomer Alexis Cantu (.278) leads the team with five home runs, 23 walks and a .506 on-base percentage ...Sophomore pitcher Becca Changstrom is 6-7 and leads the team with a 3.83 ERA, 67.2 innings pitched and 63 strikeouts ...Junior Sammy Snygg (3-3, 4.51 ERA) ranks second on the team in innings (35.2) and strikeouts (33) ... Creighton's team ERA of 4.69 is its highest in program history.
Scouting South Dakota (7-23, 5-4 Summit): The Coyotes are coming off of a series win over IUPUI and are now 5-4 in their first season as members of the Summit League ... USD is just 2-19 outside of league play this spring ... The Coyotes have scored just 75 runs in 30 games and been shutout in 11 of their 23 losses ... USD is hitting just .221 as a team this spring, while opponents are batting .329 against the Coyotes ... Omaha native Katie Dinning leads the team with a .327 average, 32 hits and four triples, she is the only USD player batting above .270 ... Alexa Rudeen (.266) leads the team with three home runs and 13 RBI ... Lindsey Boyd (.221) tops USD with 16 runs scored and has more stolen bases (18) than Creighton (15) as a team ... The USD pitching staff has posted a 5.57 ERA and has walked more batters (103) than it has struck out (88) this season ... Erica Denney (4-11, 4.32 ERA, 81 IP, 100 H, 49 BB, 47 K) and Missy Blackburn (3-7, 5.70 ERA, 70 IP, 102 H, 30 BB, 34 K) split a bulk of the pitching duties for the Coyotes, while Paige Policky (0-5, 7.99 ERA) has also spent time in the circle.
Head Coach: Head coach Brent Vigness (Central College, 1988) is in his 19th season at Creighton. With a record of 590-416-2 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 24 years as a head coach is 738-487-3. 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 Staffs of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
CU-USD Series: Creighton is 8-2 all-time against South Dakota, but the programs have not met since 1985, when the Bluejays swept a doubleheader from the Coyotes in Vermillion on March 26. The Coyotes have not played at Creighton since March 21, 1982, when the Jays swept a doubleheader 10-0 and 6-0.
Homecoming - Take Two: Creighton is 6-1 in its last seven home openers and it has swept home-opening doubleheaders in each of the previous two seasons (topping Bradley last year and Indiana State in 2010). For the second straight Wednesday Creighton will attempt to play its 2012 home opener, after last Wednesday's scheduled opener with Iowa State was rained out. The Bluejays are scheduled to host South Dakota in a Wednesday doubleheader at 5 pm this week after playing their first 25 games on the road this season. CU was just 5-9 at home last year.
Offensive Bounce Back: The Bluejays are currently hitting .298 as a team, a mark that would rank third in school history if the season ended today, and is the highest mark by a Creighton team since the 1993 team hit .315. CU scored 184 runs in 53 games in 2011, an average of 3.5 per game. This year the Bluejays have already scored 147 runs in 25 games, an average of 5.9 runs per game. CU's slugging percentage of .461 is up 93 points from last year's .368. Creighton's on-base percentage of .384 currently ranks as the third best in school history and is its best since the 2005 team's .393 OBP.
High in the Valley: Creighton is 3-3 through six MVC games this spring, but the Bluejays are hitting .316 and have scored 36 runs in their first six Valley games. Only once have the Jays scored more than 36 runs through six conference games – the 1995 team scored 37 runs in its first six MVC games. Creighton scored 77 runs in 24 conference games last year.
Fresh Faces: Freshmen Bri Lingl and Allie Mathewson are tied for the team-lead in hitting, with both owning a .386 average in their rookie season and both have excelled at the plate in their first six Missouri Valley Conference games. Lingl has started all six MVC games, splitting time between catcher and DP, and is hitting a team-high .556 with a team-leading 10 RBI in six Valley games. The rookie backstop has a 1.000 slugging percentage in conference play. Mathewson has started all six Valley games as well, splitting time between the outfield and first base, and she is tied with Lingl with a team-high 10 hits in Valley play. Mathewson is hitting .500 and tops the team with a .583 on-base percentage in league play.
Baker's Climb: Junior Amy Baker leads the MVC with 30 RBI in just 25 games this spring (after leading the team with 33 RBI in 53 games last year). Baker now has 109 RBI to rank seventh in school history on the RBI list. With four home runs this year, she now has 37 homers in her career, tied with Stacey Rybar and Lauren (Flores) Cisneros for second in school history, trailing only current volunteer assistant coach Renae Sinkler's school record 50 home runs.
Homan's Hitting: Sophomore Ellen Homan is batting .381 this spring, after leading the team with a .308 average as a freshman. Homan is hitting .332 in her career (84-253) which now qualifies her for the Creighton career top-10. Her current career mark of .332 ranks fifth in school history.
Power from the Left: Sophomore Alexis Cantu leads the team with five home runs this spring. The left-handed power hitter has already tied the single-season school record for home runs hit by a left-hander, tying Jessica German's five home runs hit in 2004.
Walk this Way: Alexis Cantu not only leads the team in home runs, but she also leads the team and ranks third in the MVC and seventh in the NCAA with 23 walks this season. Cantu has walked (23) more this year than she has struck out (19). Amy Baker ranks second on the team with 15 walks, compared to only 11 strikeouts. Baker, a junior, has already walked 58 times in her career, just four shy of the Creighton career top-ten.
Not So Ruf: Senior Christa Ruf has started every game this season and is tied for the team-lead with two triples. Ruf has caught fire over Creighton's last six games, hitting .438 (7-16) with a team-leading six runs scored and two stolen bases in that span. That .438 average over the last six games has raised her season average from .195 up to .263. Ruf ranks 11th in the NCAA with nine sacrifice bunts this spring.
Doubling Up: Last year Creighton managed to hit only 25 doubles in 53 games, its lowest total since 1992. This season the Bluejays have already smacked 37 doubles in 25 games to rank 22nd in the NCAA in doubles per game. Junior Amy Baker leads the team with six two-baggers after she hit just one double as a sophomore – in the 52nd of 53 games.
Tripling Up: Not only are doubles up for Creighton this year, but triples are also up. The Bluejays have eight triples this year, more than in any of its previous three full seasons. Senior outfielder Christa Ruf and freshman shortstop Liz Dike each have two triples to lead the Bluejays this year.
Hot Start: Creighton jumped out to a 7-0 start this season for its best start to a season since 1987. The 1987 team opened the year with 10 straight wins to set a school record, while the seven straight wins to open the year marked the best start to a season under head coach Brent Vigness. The Bluejays opened the year with an 18-0 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, setting the school record for the largest margin of victory in a game.
Surpassing 10: Creighton has scored at least 10 runs in a game six times already this season. The 2011 team scored 10 runs in a game just once and the Bluejays have already scored 10 or more runs in a game more this season than in the previous three seasons combined.
Record-Tying Game: In one of Creighton's high-scoring games this season, the Bluejays tied a school record. The Jays topped Howard 19-4 on March 4 in Tempe, Ariz., tying the school record with 22 hits in the lopsided win. The 19 runs rank second in school history, just one shy of the 20 runs scored against the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) on Feb. 9, 2000.
Leftovers: Allie Mathewson has five three-hit games this season ... Mathewson enters the week on a six-game hitting streak, during which she is 10-for-20 (.500) ... Bri Lingl has Creighton's only four-hit game this year ... Lingl tops the team with eight multi-RBI games this year ... Amy Baker leads the team by hitting .515 (17-33) with runners in scoring position after hitting only .204 (11-54) in the same situations last year ... Of Baker's league-leading 30 RBI, 14 have come with two outs ... Bluejay first basemen are hitting .369 (31-84) with four home runs and 28 RBI this spring after the same position produced just four home runs and 11 RBI, while hitting .196 (18-92) in 2011.
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