Saturday, February 10
Las Vegas, Nev.
1:15 PM
Creighton University
2-1
7
vs
4
North Dakota State
1-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Creighton
1
0
1
0
2
1
2
7
14
1
North Dakota State
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
4
8
2
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Two Freshmen Pitchers Help Softball Record Pair Of Wins At SportCo Kick Off Classic
2/10/2018 7:40:00 PM | Softball
Kiele Miller pitched three scoreless innings of relief against North Dakota State, Logan Black allowed one during complete game against Southern Utah
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Creighton softball team rode the performances of two freshmen pitchers for a pair of victories at the SportCo Kick Off Classic on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Freshman Kiele Miller pitched three innings of scoreless relief and recorded the victory during Creighton's 7-4 win over North Dakota State, and classmate Logan Black gave up one run during a complete game effort as the Bluejays downed Southern Utah 9-1 in six innings.
Creighton improved to 3-1 after the first two days of the 2018 season, and is off to its best start since opening the 2012 campaign 7-0.Â
After a five-RBI day during her first action as a Bluejay, senior Hope Moreno started Saturday's game against North Dakota State with her first double of the season to drive in Ashley Cantu for the first run of the game.
Creighton's lead proved to be short lived as the Bison scored twice during the bottom of the second inning.
Moreno delivered during her second at-bat with a single to center field that plated Cantu and tied the game at 2-2.Â
In the top of the fifth, Moreno doubled down the left-field line to drive in Tash Coffiel and Courtney Sandell to give the Bluejays a two-run lead.Â
North Dakota State responded by scoring twice during the bottom of the fifth, but Miller struck out two batters to leave the bases loaded and end the threat during her first inning of work.
Jordyn Sturgeon singled down the right-field line to drive in Kelli Finan as Creighton regained a one-run lead during the top of the sixth inning.
Miller allowed the first Bison to reach base during the bottom of the sixth, but retired the next three to preserve the slight advantage.
The Bluejays used the long ball to seal the victory. Senior Sam Crowley hit Creighton's first home run of the year to give the Jays a two-run lead before Nikki McNeil's pinch-hit single drove in Moreno for the seventh run of the game.Â
Miller sat down the Bison in order during the bottom of the seventh to record her second victory of the season. She allowed only one hit and struck out six during 3.0 innings of relief.Â
Moreno led Creighton at the plate with a 4-for-4 performance with four RBIs, two doubles and a run scored. Sturgeon also went 4-for-4 with one RBI as the Jays ended the game with 14 hits.Â
"Hope and Jordyn each had big performances for us against a solid North Dakota State team," head coach Brent Vigness said.
During the Bluejays' second game of the day, Southern Utah scored a run during the top of the first before Creighton countered with nine unanswered runs to tally an eight-run victory over the Thunderbirds.Â
Black retired the 11 of the final 12 hitters she faced and allowed only two hits during her final five innings of work after allowing one run and three hits during a shaky first inning.Â
Southern Utah advanced a runner to third base with a single, ground out and wild pitch before driving home the first run of the game with a double to left-center field. The Thunderbirds put runners at second and third with two outs before Black forced a foul out to end the opening frame.Â
"Logan was solid throughout the game, but I'm sure she just felt some nerves during the first inning of her debut," Vigness said.Â
After being held out of the scoring column during the first inning, Kelli Finan hit her first home run as a Bluejay to tie the game at one during the bottom of the second.
"The wind was blowing in at about 25 miles per hour, so that game-tying homer really took the pressure off our hitters," Vigness said.Â
Creighton also went scoreless during the third before scoring multiple runs during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
During the fourth frame, Sturgeon led off the inning with a double and Finan walked to put two on for Mikaela Pechar. Pechar singled up the middle to drive in one and move Finan to third. Victoria Alvarez grounded out to second for the Bluejays' third run of the game and Sandell produced a sacrifice fly to right for the third run of the inning.
Creighton scored three runs without a hit during the fifth. Alvarez and Sandell each walked with the bases loaded to drive in runs, while Coffiel was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded to force home the seventh Bluejay run of the night.
In the sixth inning, Crowley reached on an error and both Moreno and Finan walked to lead the bases. After a pop out, pinch-hitter Mileah McKelvy singled to center and drove in the eighth and ninth Creighton runs of the game to end the contest because of the eight-run rule.
Three Bluejays had multiple RBIs, and five scored at least once during the nightcap against Southern Utah.Â
"It's great to see production from up and down our lineup," Vigness said. "The depth of our team is something I'm looking forward to this season because we have more than one or two kids that can produce and have opportunities like we did tonight to bring someone off the bench for a game-ending hit."Â
Creighton concludes play at the SportCo Kick Off Classic on Sunday morning against No. 16 Minnesota. First pitch for tomorrow's contest between the Bluejays and Gophers is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central.
Freshman Kiele Miller pitched three innings of scoreless relief and recorded the victory during Creighton's 7-4 win over North Dakota State, and classmate Logan Black gave up one run during a complete game effort as the Bluejays downed Southern Utah 9-1 in six innings.
Creighton improved to 3-1 after the first two days of the 2018 season, and is off to its best start since opening the 2012 campaign 7-0.Â
After a five-RBI day during her first action as a Bluejay, senior Hope Moreno started Saturday's game against North Dakota State with her first double of the season to drive in Ashley Cantu for the first run of the game.
Creighton's lead proved to be short lived as the Bison scored twice during the bottom of the second inning.
Moreno delivered during her second at-bat with a single to center field that plated Cantu and tied the game at 2-2.Â
In the top of the fifth, Moreno doubled down the left-field line to drive in Tash Coffiel and Courtney Sandell to give the Bluejays a two-run lead.Â
North Dakota State responded by scoring twice during the bottom of the fifth, but Miller struck out two batters to leave the bases loaded and end the threat during her first inning of work.
Jordyn Sturgeon singled down the right-field line to drive in Kelli Finan as Creighton regained a one-run lead during the top of the sixth inning.
Miller allowed the first Bison to reach base during the bottom of the sixth, but retired the next three to preserve the slight advantage.
The Bluejays used the long ball to seal the victory. Senior Sam Crowley hit Creighton's first home run of the year to give the Jays a two-run lead before Nikki McNeil's pinch-hit single drove in Moreno for the seventh run of the game.Â
Miller sat down the Bison in order during the bottom of the seventh to record her second victory of the season. She allowed only one hit and struck out six during 3.0 innings of relief.Â
Moreno led Creighton at the plate with a 4-for-4 performance with four RBIs, two doubles and a run scored. Sturgeon also went 4-for-4 with one RBI as the Jays ended the game with 14 hits.Â
"Hope and Jordyn each had big performances for us against a solid North Dakota State team," head coach Brent Vigness said.
During the Bluejays' second game of the day, Southern Utah scored a run during the top of the first before Creighton countered with nine unanswered runs to tally an eight-run victory over the Thunderbirds.Â
Black retired the 11 of the final 12 hitters she faced and allowed only two hits during her final five innings of work after allowing one run and three hits during a shaky first inning.Â
Southern Utah advanced a runner to third base with a single, ground out and wild pitch before driving home the first run of the game with a double to left-center field. The Thunderbirds put runners at second and third with two outs before Black forced a foul out to end the opening frame.Â
"Logan was solid throughout the game, but I'm sure she just felt some nerves during the first inning of her debut," Vigness said.Â
After being held out of the scoring column during the first inning, Kelli Finan hit her first home run as a Bluejay to tie the game at one during the bottom of the second.
"The wind was blowing in at about 25 miles per hour, so that game-tying homer really took the pressure off our hitters," Vigness said.Â
Creighton also went scoreless during the third before scoring multiple runs during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
During the fourth frame, Sturgeon led off the inning with a double and Finan walked to put two on for Mikaela Pechar. Pechar singled up the middle to drive in one and move Finan to third. Victoria Alvarez grounded out to second for the Bluejays' third run of the game and Sandell produced a sacrifice fly to right for the third run of the inning.
Creighton scored three runs without a hit during the fifth. Alvarez and Sandell each walked with the bases loaded to drive in runs, while Coffiel was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded to force home the seventh Bluejay run of the night.
In the sixth inning, Crowley reached on an error and both Moreno and Finan walked to lead the bases. After a pop out, pinch-hitter Mileah McKelvy singled to center and drove in the eighth and ninth Creighton runs of the game to end the contest because of the eight-run rule.
Three Bluejays had multiple RBIs, and five scored at least once during the nightcap against Southern Utah.Â
"It's great to see production from up and down our lineup," Vigness said. "The depth of our team is something I'm looking forward to this season because we have more than one or two kids that can produce and have opportunities like we did tonight to bring someone off the bench for a game-ending hit."Â
Creighton concludes play at the SportCo Kick Off Classic on Sunday morning against No. 16 Minnesota. First pitch for tomorrow's contest between the Bluejays and Gophers is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Kiele (2-0)
L: KK Leddy (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Moreno, Hope 2
HR: Crowley, Sam 1
RBI: Crowley, Sam 1 ; Moreno, Hope 4 ; McNeil, Nikki 1 ; Sturgeon, Jordyn 1
SH: McKelvy, Mileah 1 ; Foster, Jayci 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cantu, Ashley 2 ; Crowley, Sam 1 ; Moreno, Hope 1 ; Finan, Kelli 1 ; Sandell, Courtney 1 ; Coffiel, Tash 1
HBP: Crowley, Sam 1
Batting:
2B: Stephanie Soriano 1
RBI: Katie Shoultz 1 ; Stephanie Soriano 1 ; Bre Beatty 1 ; Maddie Hansen 1
SF: Stephanie Soriano 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stephanie Soriano 1 ; Bre Beatty 1 ; Maddie Hansen 1 ; Lauren Reimers 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
4
RBI
4
AB
4
R
0
H
4
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
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