Softball Finishes Unblemished During Trip To Texas
2/25/2018 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Kelli Finan totals six RBIs during two games; Bryana Clark and Logan Black combine to no-hit Grambling State
The Bluejays downed the Lady Panthers 9-5 before shutting out the Tigers 11-0 in five innings.
Creighton moved to 7-2 overall for the program's best start since 2012.
Kelli Finan drove in four runs and Ashley Cantu scored four times as the Bluejays defeated Prairie View A&M 9-5 during the first game of the day before Bryana Clark and Logan Black combined for a no-hitter and allowed only one base runner in the second game against Grambling State.
Creighton put the pressure on the Lady Panthers early as Cantu led off the top of the first inning with a single and Courtney Sandell followed with a hit of her own. After a fielder's choice and strikeout, the Bluejays drew three consecutive walks to drive home two runs without a hit and take a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Panthers cut the deficit to a single run with a run-scoring single during the bottom of the first.
Creighton regained a two-run advantage when Finan plated Cantu with an RBI ground out to third base during the Bluejays' half of the second.
Prairie View A&M answered and tied the game with two runs on three hits during the home half of the second inning.
Neither team scored during the third before Finan tallied her second RBI of the game with a ground out to second base to drive in Cantu in the fourth frame, and Creighton's Kiele Miller recorded her first 1-2-3 inning during the bottom of the fourth to preserve the one-run lead.
In the fifth, a hit by pitch, stolen base, ground out and walk put runners at first and third for pinch hitter Mileah McKelvy. McKelvy singled through the middle and Kristin Fry scored to give Creighton a 5-3 lead in the middle of the fifth.
Prairie View's Laurisa Hernandez needed one swing of the bat to trim Bluejay lead back to one. Hernandez's lead-off home run made it 5-4 Creighton after five innings.
Creighton countered with a home run of its owns during the sixth. After a lead-off single from Sandell, Finan launched her third home run of the season over the left field wall to give the Bluejays a 7-4 lead. Nikki McNeil added to the lead with a single through the middle and helped the Creighton build a four-run edge.
The Lady Panthers did not go down without a fight as a two-out RBI triple gave Prairie View its fifth run of the game, but Miller stranded the runner at third base with her eighth strikeout of the afternoon.
The Bluejays scored their ninth run of the game on a single by Mikaela Pechar as Cantu crossed home plate for the fourth time to push Creighton's advantage to 9-5 during the top of the seventh inning.
Clark entered in relief for the final inning and allowed two runners to reach before ending the game with a ground out.
Miller recorded her team-leading third victory and struck out eight while walking only one during six innings of work for Creighton.
Four Bluejays recorded at least two RBIs and five players scored twice during Creighton's 11-0 five-inning shutout of Grambling State.
The Jays did not score in the first inning but scored five during the second frame and six during third.
Sandell, Finan, McKevly and Hope Moreno each recorded RBIs as Creighton scored five runs on three hits and one error in the second.
Kaitlynn Hunt walked and Victoria Alvarez singled to set the stage for senior Sam Crowley during the third inning. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native, blasted her second home run of the year to quickly extend the Bluejay lead to 8-0. Creighton continued to build its lead as Cantu walked for the third time against the Tigers, Sandell singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Hope Moreno and Hunt delivered during her second at-bat of the inning with an RBI-single up the middle to drive in the Bluejays' 11th and final run of the game.
After Clark retired all nine hitters she faced during three innings of work, Black recorded a pair of quick outs during the top of the fourth. Black tallied her second strikeout of the inning to the third batter she went against, but the ball scooted away from home plate and allowed Grambling State to record its first and only base runner of the afternoon.
Finan followed her four-RBI game against Prairie View A&M with two hits, two runs scored and two-RBIs against the Tigers. Sandell finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs; Crowley claimed a 2-for-3 showing with two runs and three RBIs; and Moreno drove in a pair of runs. Cantu also walked three times and scored twice and Alvarez crossed home on two different occasions.
Clark and Black combined to hold a Bluejay opponent to zero hits for the first time since April 2, 2016 when current assistant coach Micaela Whitney struck out 11 and no-hit the Seton Hall Pirates.
Creighton is back in action on Friday at the Mizzou Tournament in Columbia, Missouri. The Bluejays wil play Southeastern Louisiana on Friday before playing four other games during the weekend tournament.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Kiele (3-1)
L: Ashley Higgins (0-4)

Batting:
2B: Cantu, Ashley 1
HR: Finan, Kelli 1
RBI: Finan, Kelli 4 ; Pechar, Mikaela 1 ; McNeil, Nikki 2 ; Foster, Jayci 1 ; McKelvy, Mileah 1
SH: Sandell, Courtney 1 ; Alvarez, Victoria 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cantu, Ashley 4 ; Sandell, Courtney 1 ; Finan, Kelli 2 ; Pechar, Mikaela 1 ; Fry, Kristin 1
SB: Cantu, Ashley 1 ; Sandell, Courtney 1 ; Fry, Kristin 1 ; Alvarez, Victoria 1
HBP: Pechar, Mikaela 1 ; Moreno, Hope 1

Batting:
2B: Kiara Ross 1
3B: Shelby Williams 1
HR: Laurisa Hernandez 1
RBI: Shelby Williams 2 ; Keona Hunter 1 ; Laurisa Hernandez 1 ; Destinee Williams 1
SH: Keona Hunter 1 ; Kiara Ross 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shelby Williams 1 ; Laurisa Hernandez 1 ; Alyssa Garcia 1 ; Kiara Ross 1 ; Samantha Martinez 1
SB: Destinee Williams 1
HBP: Laurisa Hernandez 1 ; Samantha Martinez 1