Softball Continues Early Portion Of Schedule With Mizzou Tournament

Download PDF of Notes

Up Next
Creighton heads to Columbia, Missouri for five games in three days at the Mizzou Tournament.

Game Schedule
Game #10 • Friday, March 2 • Creighton vs. Southeastern Louisiana • 12:30 p.m.
Game #11 • Saturday, March 3 • Creighton at Missouri • 2:00 p.m.
Game #12 • Saturday, March 3 • Creighton vs. Drake • 5:30 p.m.
Game #13 • Sunday, March 4 • Creighton vs. Drake • 10:00 a.m.
Game #14 • Sunday, March 4 • Creighton at Missouri • 12:30 p.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time

Follow The Games
All five of Creighton's games in Missouri will have live stats. Links to the stats are available at GoCreighton.com.

Sunday's game against Missouri will be featured on the SEC Network+, which can be found on the Watch ESPN app and at ESPN.com/watch. Nate Gatter will handle play-by-play duties, while Beau Baehman will provide color commentary.

Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.

Scouting Creighton (7-2)
The Bluejays own a four-game winning streak heading into this weekend's tournament.

Creighton went 4-0 at the Schutt Invitational in Denton, Texas last weekend and outscored the opposition 35-5.

The Bluejays' posted a .426 batting average and a 1.50 ERA (three shutouts).

Overall, Creighton is hitting .359 with 71 runs scored (7.9 runs per game) and 21 extra-base hits.

Senior transfer Hope Moreno leads the team with 13 hits (13-for-26, .500 average) and is tied for the team-lead with 12 RBIs.

Ashley Cantu owns a team-best 12 runs scored and paces the squad with seven walks.

Freshman Courtney Sandell is 9-for-16 for a team-best .563 batting average with eight runs scored, six RBIs and has walked four times.

Junior transfer Kelli Finan leads the Bluejays with a .875 slugging percentage from three home runs and two doubles. She also owns 12 RBIs, which is tied for the team high.

The Jays hold a 3.11 team-ERA through the first nine games of the season.

Freshman Kiele Miller paces the pitching staff with 22.2 innings pitched and a team-best 26 strikeouts, while senior Bryana Clark owns a 2.53 ERA during 21.1 innings pitched and freshman Logan Black has allowed only one earned run during 11.0 innings (0.82 ERA) and has yet to walk a batter.

Only two Bluejays have started each game this season (Hope Moreno, Ashley Cantu), and a total of 15 players (2 pitchers) have started at least three games.

Creighton's 7-2 start is its best since 2012 when the team went 7-0 to start the year.

Scouting Southeastern Louisiana (9-5)
The Lady Lions went 2-3 this past weekend at the Ragin' Cajun Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Maddie Edmonston leads the Lady Lions with a .394 batting average and .474 on-base percentage.

Mahalia Gibson paces the team with 17 hits, four doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs.

As a team, Southeastern Louisiana is hitting .261 with 75 runs scored through 14 games (5.4 runs per game).

The Lady Lions own a 2.25 ERA as a staff, led by Tanner Wright who has yet to give up an earned run during 17.0 innings of work.

Rachel Hayes has logged a team-high 35.1 innings and holds a 2.97 ERA during seven starts.

Series History Against Lady Lions
Friday's meeting between Creighton and Southeastern Louisiana will be the first between the two schools.

Scouting Missouri (10-7)
The Tigers have faced five ranked opponents, including two last weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California. Missouri went 4-2 in California, including victories against Wisconsin, North Carolina and BYU.

Amanda Sanchez leads the Tiger offense with a .528 batting average, five doubles, five home runs and 15 RBIs.

Missouri is hitting .321 with 20 doubles and 20 home runs, and averaging 5.8 runs per game.

Lauren Rice leads the Tigers' pitching staff in innings pitched (39.0) and strikeouts (31), while Madi Norman holds a 2.69 ERA during 26.0 innings pitched and Naliani Scates owns a 2.27 ERA in 12.1 logged innings.

Series History Against Tigers
Missouri leads the all-time series against Creighton 14-10.

The last time the two teams met was during the 2014 season. No. 13 Missouri defeated Creighton 11-6 and 2-1 during a doubleheader on April 29, 2014.

Scouting Drake (10-4)
Senior Kailee Smith earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors and freshman Nicole Timmons claimed Pitcher of the Week accolades after the Bulldogs went 4-1 at the USF Tournament in Tampa, Florida this past weekend.

Smith finished the weekend 6-for-13 with four extra-base hits and eight RBIs at the plate and compiled a 0.60 ERA and notched two saves during 11.2 innings of work.

Smith is hitting .333 with a team-best 10 RBIs this season, while posting a 1.18 ERA during 29.2 innings of work in the circle.

Timmons went 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in Tampa, and struck out 27 hitters during 16.1 innings pitched. The freshman holds a 1.28 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched through her first eight appearances (seven starts) as a Bulldog.

Drake is hitting .288 as a team and averages 5.1 runs per game, but the Bulldogs have been dominant in the circle.

The Bulldog pitching staff owns a microscopic 0.98 ERA (13 earned runs in 93.0 innings) with seven shutouts. Smith, Timmons and Nicole Newman have also combined for 118 strikeouts and only 34 walks.

Series History Against Bulldogs
Creighton leads the all-time series against Drake 59-31.

The Bluejays defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 during Creighton's home-opener last season.

Creighton and Drake met annually from 1993 to 2013 as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Cantu and Clark Sweep BIG EAST Honors
The Creighton softball team swept this week's BIG EAST Softball honors, the league announced on Monday afternoon. Sophomore outfielder Ashley Cantu earned Player of the Week acclaim, while senior Bryana Clark nabbed Pitcher of the Week status.

Playing in her home state, Cantu finished the weekend 8-for-11, scored eight runs and walked four times as Creighton went 4-0 at the Schutt Invitational in Denton, Texas.

The Frisco, Texas native started the weekend with a perfect 4-for-4 showing against Prairie View A&M on Saturday afternoon. She also recorded a double and stole a base during the opening game.

On Sunday, Cantu tied a program record (since 1995) for runs scored in a single game when she crossed home plate four times during Creighton's 9-5 victory against Prairie View A&M.

She concluded the weekend by walking three times – the most in a single-game by a Creighton player since April 16, 2016 -- and scoring twice as the Bluejays defeated Grambling State 11-0 in five innings.

Cantu also reached base six times during seven opportunities leading off an inning this past weekend, posted a .800 on-base percentage and stole two bases in two attempts.

Clark pitched in three games, including two starts, and did not allow a run during 11.0 innings of work. The senior opened the weekend with a six-hit shutout of Prairie View A&M. She also struck out three and walked two in the complete-game effort.

On Sunday, Clark pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief to help the Bluejays defeat Prairie View 9-5. She closed the weekend with three perfect innings and struck out six of the nine batters she faced to start Creighton's final game on Sunday against Grambling State.

Offense Shines in Texas
Creighton outscored the opposition 35-5 over the course of 24 innings during four games at the Schutt Invitational.

The Bluejays hit .426 (43-of-101) as a team with 12 extra-base hits.

Five different players hit better than .500 and three scored five or more times.

Ashley Cantu paced the offense with eight hits and eight runs scored, while Kelli Finan had two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs.

The Jays also walked 17 times, recorded five sacrifice hits, two sac flies and stole eight bases.

Creighton has scored 71 runs and posted a .359 batting average through the first nine games of the season.

The Bluejays did not score their 71st run last season until the 24th game of the year.

Bluejay Pitchers Command As Well
Bryana Clark, Kiele Miller and Logan Black combined to allow only four earned runs during Creighton's four games in Denton, Texas (1.50 ERA), including three shutouts.

The Bluejay pitching staff also struck out 26 batters and walked only four. Miller led the way with 11 strikeouts during 8.0 innings of work.

During nine games this season, Creighton owns a 3.11 ERA, and 48 strikeouts to only 13 walks in 55.0 innings pitched. The Bluejays three shutouts (all this past weekend) matches the total amount of shutouts the team had during the entire 2017 season.

Clark and Black Combine For No-Hitter
Senior Bryana Clark and freshman Logan Black combined for a five-inning no-hitter on Sunday during Creighton 11-0 victory against Grambling State.

Clark struck out six and did not allow a base runner during three innings of work, while Black recorded five strikeouts and allowed only one to reach base.

The lone Grambling State player to reach base became the third to strike out against Black, but managed to reach first base on a dropped third strike.

Sunday's combined no-hitter marked the 23rd no-hitter since Brent Vigness took over in 1994, and the first since April 2, 2016 when current assistant Micaela Whitney held Seton Hall to zero hits.

Creighton Off To Hot Start
Creighton's 7-2 record is its best start since the 2012 season when the team also started 7-2 after winning the first seven games of the year.

The Bluejays have lost at least three games during the first 10 games of the season each year since 2008 when the team started 9-2.

Creighton's best 10-game stretch in school history to start the year was in 1987 when the team went a perfect 10-0.

Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays' have had at least four losses by their 10th game of the season, with its best start coming in 2015 (6-4). That season also marked the last time Creighton achieved 10 wins before the 15th game of the year (10-4).

Weather Plays Havoc During February
Creighton softball canceled its trip to North Carolina (Feb. 15-18) because of fog which caused flights to be canceled.

The Bluejays were also scheduled to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, but heavy rain forecasted for the Denton area forced games to be canceled on Feb. 23 and push back the start of games until 3 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Creighton escaped bad weather during each of the past two seasons and were able to play in three separate tournaments (14 games played during each season) before the calendar turned to March.

In 2015, Creighton had two different tournaments canceled, which resulted in the Bluejays playing only seven games during the month of February.

Scoring All The Runs
Creighton scored 15 runs against Utah Valley (2/10) during their second game of the season.

The Bluejays' run total marked their most in a single-game since April 9, 2016 against Georgetown (15-2 W).

Creighton's 14-run victory (15-1) also matched their largest margin of victory since a 16-2 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb 23, 2013.

The Bluejays have already scored 10 or more runs three times this season through the first nine games and is averaging 7.9 runs per contest.

By comparison, Creighton scored more than 10 runs only six times last season (50 total games) and ended the year averaging 3.9 runs per game.

Moreno Makes BIG EAST Honor Roll
Senior transfer Hope Moreno earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 12) after she led the Bluejays' offense during the opening weekend of the season.

Moreno ended the weekend 10-for-19 with nine RBIs, two doubles and three runs scored. She posted back-to-back 4-for-4 performances with four RBIs against Utah Valley and North Dakota State.

She started all five games at first base and did not commit an error during 28 chances.

The senior first baseman spent three season at UTEP before transferring to Creighton.

Hit Parade
The Bluejays recorded 14 hits during two consecutive games against Utah Valley and North Dakota State (both on Feb. 10), matching the team's season-high for hits in a single contest from last year.

The Creighton record for hits in a single game is 22 which has happened twice (March 4, 2012 vs. Howard & April 9, 2002 at Drake). The most hits the Bluejays have recorded since joining the BIG EAST (2014) is 16 in a game against Providence during the 2016 season (March 23, 2016).

Freshmen Impress During Debuts
Freshmen Kiele Miller and Logan Black each recorded victories during their first career starts in the circle for the Bluejays.

Miller went 5.0 innings and struck out seven while allowing three hits and one run during Creighton's 15-1 victory against Utah Valley (Feb. 9).

Black gave up one run and five hits during 6.0 innings of work in the Bluejays' 9-1 win over Southern Utah (Feb. 10).

Victoria Alvarez and Courtney Sandell also had impressive starts to their respective careers.

Alvarez went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored with her first career start at shortstop against Utah Valley, and Sandell finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks while starting in left field for the first time in her Bluejays career.

Creighton Picked Fifth In BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton softball team received 23 points and ranked fifth in the 2018 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference announced on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Defending BIG EAST regular-season champion St. John's edged out defending conference-tournament champion DePaul for the top spot. Both the Red Storm and Blue Demons received four first-place votes, but the Johnnies claimed 46 points overall and DePaul earned 45.

Butler (34 points) and Villanova (29) ranked higher than the Bluejays, while Seton Hall (22), Providence (18) and Georgetown (7) rounded out the poll.

Creighton returns 12 letterwinners, including four position players that started at least 50 percent of last season's schedule. All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Ashley Cantu returns after leading the Bluejays in batting average (.346) and runs scored (30) during her first season with the Bluejays.

Senior infielder Tash Coffiel led Creighton with a .410 on-base percentage and enters her fourth season in Omaha with 128 career games played (126 starts) as a Bluejay.

Head coach Brent Vigness also welcomed 11 newcomers for the 2018 squad, which includes seven freshmen and four transfers.

Softball Continues Early Portion Of Schedule With Mizzou Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Victoria Alvarez

Logan Black

Ashley Cantu

Bryana Clark

Tash Coffiel

Kelli Finan

Kiele Miller

Hope Moreno

Courtney Sandell