Creighton University
8-4
St. Peter's
0-1
Softball Sweeps a Pair of Contests in Florida
3/10/2015 6:20:00 PM | Softball
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Creighton softball team won both of its games on day three of the Rebel Spring Games by overwhelming Saint Peter's 9-2 and toppling Fairfield 4-1 in Winter Haven on Tuesday afternoon.
Creighton (9-4) has allowed just two scores during its current five-game win streak. The Bluejays jumped out front early on Saint Peter's (0-1) and rolled to victory. CU got behind early against Fairfield (0-4) but quickly tied it up and moved ahead in the middle of the game to earn its second decision against a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) squad on the day.
Senior Liz Dike posted impressive offensive numbers to lead the Jays' offense. The shortstop went 5-for-7 (.714) at the plate with three extra-base hits including a pair of solo homers against Saint Peter's and an RBI double against Fairfield. Dike finished the day with an incredible 1.71 slugging percentage at the plate.
Fellow senior Bri McMahon went 3-for-7 (.429) at the plate with two extra-base hits. The catcher hit her first home run of the season against Fairfield; the solo shot evened the score at 1-1. She later hit a two-RBI double to give the Jays the lead for good which led to a 1.00 slugging percentage.
Creighton also received strong offensive numbers from junior Kelsey Allender who also hit .429 at the dish through both games and sophomore Anna O'Gorman who registered her first two career hits as a Bluejay.
The Bluejay pitchers only allowed two earned runs and nine hits on the day. In game one, sophomore Jen Daro pitched a complete game to earn her first career victory in the circle for the Jays in her second appearance. Later junior Micaela Whitney struck out six in another convincing complete-game victory in the second contest.
Daro started game one for CU against Saint Peter's.
The Bluejays scored in each of the first four innings against the Peacocks. Dike opened the scoring with her first home run to center field to give the Jays a 1-0 lead after the first frame.
Creighton utilized its base-running skills to score three unorthodox runs in the bottom of the second inning. Daro and O'Gorman both were hit by pitches and were on first and second with one out. Daro scored after an errant throw by the Peacocks and O'Gorman moved to third base.
With a 2-0 lead freshman Paige Nekola came in to pinch run at third base. Classmate Tash Coffiel-Nelson reached on a fielder's choice but the Saint Peter's made a throwing error on the attempt to throw out Nekola at home.
Holding a 3-0 advantage, CU's Coffiel-Nelson moved to second on a ground out. She later scored on a wild pitch from the Peacocks to put Creighton up 4-0 after two.
The Bluejays exploded for four more runs on five hits and a Saint Peter's error in the bottom of the third.
Junior Blake Ringle connected on an infield single to open the inning. Junior Erin McGonigal then entered as a pinch runner at first. McMahon singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with no outs.
Sophomore Allie Reinhart knocked in a run with a double through the left side for a 5-0 lead and placed runners in scoring position. O'Gorman hit a two-RBI single down the left field line to score two more runs but was picked off between first and second.
Up 7-0, CU's Coffiel-Nelson reached on an error by Saint Peter's and advanced to second on the throw. Next up, Allender came through with an RBI single up the middle to push the Creighton lead to 8-0 after three innings.
A walk and a home run helped the Peacocks cut the Bluejay lead to 8-2 in the top of the fourth.
Dike drilled her second solo homer of the day in the bottom of the fourth to finish the scoring.
With the help of the CU defense, Daro allowed Saint Peter's just two base runners the rest of the way en route to her first career win at Creighton to improve to 1-1 on the year.
Whitney started game two for the Bluejays against Fairfield.
Creighton opened game two with an error on each of the Stags' first three at-bats . A fielding error, stolen base and a throwing error allowed by the Jays' helped Fairfield score its leadoff hitter and take a quick 1-0 lead.
With no outs and the bases loaded Creighton converted a rarely seen 5-2-3 double play to post the first two outs of the inning. Whitney then recorded a strikeout to end the inning down just 1-0.
McMahon then stepped up to the plate to open the second inning and blasted her first home run of the season down the left field line to knot the game at 1-1.
After a scoreless third frame, Creighton extended its lead in the fourth.
Dike singled to open the inning. Ringle reached on a fielder's choice as Dike made it safely to second base. Nekola then came into the game to pinch run for Ringle. McMahon then ripped a double to right center to score both base runners and give the Jays a 3-1 advantage.
Creighton finished the scoring in the top of the fifth. Allender hit a one-out single. Junior Michelle Trulin reached on a fielder's choice. With two outs Dike connected on an RBI double to right center to score Trulin from first and yield the final score of 4-1.
Whitney and the Jays' defense allowed just two base runners the rest of the way. Whitney improved to 6-2 on the year with the victory.
Creighton returns to the diamond to face two MAAC teams again on Thursday in Kissimmee. The Bluejays take on Niagara in game one before a rematch with St. Peter's in game two at the Rebel Spring Games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Daro, Jen (1-1)
L: Tori Feorenzo (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Samantha Storms 1
RBI: Samantha Storms 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirsten Kelly 1 ; Samantha Storms 1
SB: Stacey Klempel 3
CS: Francesca D'Amato 1
Batting:
2B: Ringle, Blake 1 ; Reinhart, Allie 1
HR: Dike, Liz 2
RBI: Allender, Kelsey 1 ; Dike, Liz 2 ; Reinhart, Allie 1
SH: Ringle, Blake 1 ; Reinhart, Allie 1 ; Coffiel, Tash 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dike, Liz 2 ; McMahon, Bri 1 ; Daro, Jen 1 ; Reinhart, Allie 1 ; Nekola, Paige 1 ; Coffiel, Tash 2 ; McGonigal, Erin 1
SB: Daro, Jen 1
CS: Trulin, Michelle 1
HBP: Daro, Jen 2 ; O'Gorman, Anna 1
