Creighton University
DePaul
Softball Wraps Up Regular Season Against DePaul in Chicago
5/4/2017 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays currently sit in a tie for fifth place in the BIG EAST standings
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Creighton concludes the regular season with a three-game series at DePaul.Â
Matchup
Saturday, May 6 • Creighton (18-29, 8-10 BIG EAST) at DePaul (24-21, 9-7 BIG EAST) • 12 p.m. (CT) (DH)
Sunday, May 7 • Creighton at DePaul • 11 a.m.Â
Follow the Action
Live stats for this weekend's action can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
A videostream of Saturday's doubleheader will be available on DePaulBlueDemons.com/collegesportslive, but a subscription is required to watch the contests.
Sunday's game will be featured on the BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be found at FoxSportsGo.com or by downloading the FOX Sports Go app.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (18-29, 8-10 BIG EAST)
Creighton enters the weekend on a four-game BIG EAST losing streak, which followed a six-game BIG EAST winning streak.
Tash Coffiel leads the team with a .348 batting average (49 hits) and .411 on-base percentage as the Bluejays are hitting .264 as a team.Â
During BIG EAST play, Coffiel leads the Bluejays with a .400 average, 24 hits and 15 runs scored. Creighton is hitting .308 during 18 league contests.
Sam Dellinger leads the Bluejays' offense in hits (51), doubles (13), home runs (10), RBIs (41), total bases (94), and slugging percentage (.639).Â
Dellinger is hitting .339 with six doubles, six home runs and 26 RBIs during BIG EAST action.
Anna O'Gorman paces the squad with 21 walks and ranks second on the team in on-base percentage (.405), slugging percentage (.459), RBIs (30), doubles (7), home runs (4)Â and total bases (62).
Bryana Clark has logged a team-high 132.2 innings in the circle and holds a team-low 3.48 ERA. Clark also owns 91 strikeouts.
The entire pitching staff owns a 4.58 ERA, including a 4.88 mark in BIG EAST play.Â
Scouting DePaul (24-21, 9-7 BIG EAST)
DePaul returns home after a seven-game road stretch in which the Blue Demons finished 2-5, including three losses against Villanova last weekend.
Micah Fitzgerald leads the DePaul offense with a .353 batting average, 49 hits and .409 on-base percentage. Fitzgerald is hitting a league-best .472 during BIG EAST action.
Nicole Pihl leads the BIG EAST with 13 home runs, while Dylan Christensen is atop the league with 16 doubles.Â
Missy Zoch leads the DePaul pitching staff with a 3.04 ERA in 133.2 innings pitched.
Head coach Eugene Lenti is in his 36th season at DePaul.Â
Series History vs. Blue Demons
DePaul holds a 12-7 lead in the all-time series lead against Creighton.Â
The Blue Demons are 7-2 against the Bluejays during BIG EAST regular-season contests.
Creighton swept a doubleheader in Chicago against DePaul during the 2015 season, and won the weekend series 2-1 during the Blujeays' only trip in program history to the Blue Demons' home field. Â
Last Time Out
The Bluejays dropped three games last weekend against Providence and were outscored 18-5.Â
The Friars won 2-1 and 11-3 on Saturday before winning 5-1 on Sunday.Â
Creighton entered last weekend in fourth place in the league standings but is now tied for fifth with Providence.
BIG EAST Race
Creighton currently sits in a tie for fifth place in the BIG EAST standings.
The top four teams in the final standings qualify for the 2017 BIG EAST Softball Championship (May 12-13 in Rosemont, Ill.).Â
The Bluejays have an opportunity to make the field of four but need help from other teams across the conference.
Creighton can qualify for the conference postseason tournament if...Â
(scenarios assume all three games will be played in each series)
A) Creighton sweeps DePaul  Â
AND
-Butler loses at least one game to Georgetown Â
OR
-Providence loses at least once to Villanova
B) Creighton wins two out of three against DePaul
AND
-Butler and Providence each finish the weekend with one or zero wins
C) Creighton wins once against DePaulÂ
AND
-Butler and Providence each do not win a game
-Seton Hall loses at least once against St. John's
The Bluejays own tiebreakers against Butler and Seton Hall, but do not against Providence.
Hoping For A Repeat Of 2014 Final Weekend
Creighton's only appearance in the BIG EAST postseason tournament came during the 2014 season.Â
The Bluejays also did not have a spot secured into the field of four heading into the final weekend of regular-season play.Â
Creighton needed to win two of three or sweep Providence during the final weekend and receive help from at least two other series.
The Bluejays entered the final weekend in sixth place, one and a half games out of fifth (behind Seton Hall), and two games out of a three-way tie for second place (Georgetown, St. John's and Butler).
Creighton swept Providence, Butler lost twice to league-leading DePaul, and Seton Hall was swept by Georgetown, as the Bluejays finished in a tie for fourth place at 10-10 in league play with Butler. Creighton had defeated the Bulldogs twice during a series in Indianapolis in March, giving the Jays the No. 4 seed in the 2014 BIG EAST Softball Championship.Â
O'Gorman On A Roll
During Creighton's two midweek games last week against Nebraska (April 25)Â and South Dakota (April 27), senior utility player Anna O'Gorman finished 5-for-7 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored.
O'Gorman did not hit her first home run until her 106th game in a Creighton uniform on March 17 against Valparaiso, but hit three homers during her a four-game stretch from April 22-27.
O'Gorman enters this weekend with a streak of reaching base in 19 consecutive games, and a hit in 11 of her last 12 games. She snapped a team-best 11-game hitting streak going 0-for-2 with a walk on Sunday.
The Omaha, Neb. product went 17-for-36 (.472 average) with three home runs, three doubles, and 14 RBIs during the 11-game hit streak, and bumped her overall season batting average from .271 to .323.Â
The senior leads the Bluejays with 21 walks this season. She had only 16 walks during her first two seasons at Creighton.Â
Bluejays Display Power
Creighton launched four home runs on April 27 against South Dakota at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Anna O'Gorman hit a three-run home run, Sam Crowley launched a two-run shot, Sam Dellinger produced a two-run homer and Jayci McGill powered a two-run home run as the Bluejays battled back from an early seven-run deficit to close the final margin to just three.
The Bluejays' four home runs were a season-high, and the fifth-best mark in program history as the team has hit five home runs in a game four different times, most recently on April 13, 2013 against Indiana State.
