Softball Prepares For Home-Opening Series Against Southeast Missouri

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Creighton hosts Southeast Missouri for its home-opening series of the 2018 season.

The Bluejays and Redhawks will play a doubleheader on Friday before playing a single game on Saturday.

Game Schedule
Games #15 & 16 • Friday, March 9 • Southeast Missouri at Creighton • 12:00 p.m. (DH)
Game #17 • Saturday, March 10 • Southeast Missouri at Creighton • 12:00 p.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time

Follow The Games
All three games between the Bluejays and Redhawks will feature live stats. Links to the stats are available at GoCreighton.com.

Additionally, each contest will be streamed on Jays Video at GoCreighton.com/Watch, free of charge.

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

Scouting Creighton (8-6)
The Bluejays open their home schedule following a tough weekend at the Mizzou Tournament in Columbia, Missouri.

Creighton finished the three-day event 1-4 and scored a total nine runs while playing three one-run contests and being eight-run ruled twice.

Freshman Courtney Sandell leads the Bluejays in batting average (.385) and on-base percentage (.485), while sophomore Ashley Cantu paces the team with 15 hits and 14 runs. and is hitting .357 from the lead-off position.

Creighton leads the BIG EAST and ranks 52nd nationally with a .302 batting average and also paces the league and is 26th in Division I with a .402 on-base percentage.

Kelli Finan and Sam Crowley each have three home runs, and Jayci McGill owns five doubles as the Bluejays have a total of eight home runs and 17 doubles through the first 14 games of the season.

Senior Bryana Clark leads the pitching staff with nine appearances (six starts) and claims a 2.10 ERA during 34.1 innings pitched.

Freshman Kiele Miller has logged a team-high 39.0 innings and tallied 38 strikeouts, as the entire staff has struck out 68, walked 27 and boasts a 3.65 ERA in 86.1 innings pitched.

Scouting Southeast Missouri (8-7)
The Redhawks went 1-3 this past weekend at the John Cropp Classic in Lexington, Kentucky. Southeast Missouri scored seven runs during the weekend.

Mykael Arellanes leads the team with a .475 batting average and 19 hits. The Redhawks lead-off hitter has reached base in 10 straight games and owns seven multi-hit games.

Abby Tillotson and Sarah Messex each have 10 RBIs to lead the team, while Ashley Ellis and Addison Barnouski each pace the squad with three home runs.

Southeast Missouri is hitting .261 and averaging 4.6 runs per game.

Haley Thogmartin leads the team with a 2.86 ERA during 22.0 innings pitched and a team-high nine appearances.

Madeline Krumrey has logged a Redhawk-best 34.1 innings. As a staff, SEMO posts a 3.99 ERA.

Head coach Mark Redburn is in his fourth season at Southeast Missouri.

Series History Against Redhawks
Creighton leads the all-time series against Southeast Missouri 5-2.

The Bluejays and Redhawks most recently played on March 5, 2000 during the Southeast Classic in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Creighton claimed a 1-0 victory during that game.

Creighton and Southeast Missouri have never played each other in Omaha.

Home-Opener History
Creighton is 8-2 during its last 10 home-openers, and 14-10 overall under Brent Vigness.

In program history, the Bluejays are 28-13 in home-opening games.

Last season, the Buejays defeated Drake 4-3 during the 2017 home-opener.

Creighton is scheduled to play 22 home games this season, which would be the most for the program in a single-season since 2007 (15-6-1 mark during 22 games).

The Bluejays played only 12 home games during the 2017 season, the fewest since the 1994 season when it played only 10.

Jays Keeping It Close
Creighton did not play any one-run games during the first three weeks of the season before playing three this past weekend in Columbia at the Mizzou Tournament. The Bluejays defeated Drake 2-1, and lost to Southeastern Louisiana 4-3 and Drake 2-1.

Creighton played in 14 one-run games in 2017, and went 7-7 during those games.

The Jays also finished 4-1 during one-run BIG EAST contests.

The Bluejays owned two walk-off one-run victories.

Small-ball Bluejays
Creighton owns 16 sacrifice bunts (2nd in BIG EAST) and four sac flies through the first 14 games of the season.

Sam Crowley leads the team with four sacrifice bunts and Victoria Alvarez has three.

The Bluejays had a total of seven sacrifice flies and 44 sac bunts during 2017. Creighton led the BIG EAST in sacrifice bunts for the second consecutive season.

The Jays finished with five sacrifice flies and led the league with 48 sacrifice bunts during the 2016 season, including 15 from senior Kelsey Allender.

Bluejays Set To Host Creighton Tourney
Creighton will host an in-season tournament for the first time since 1997 when it welcomes Iowa and Wichita State for a two-day event on March 16 and 17.

A total of five games will be played at the Creighton Sports Complex during the tourney.

The last time Creighton hosted a regular-season tournament was April 22-23, 1997, when the team hosted the Lady Jay Classic. The Bluejays also hosted the MVC Tournament four times, most recently during the team's final season in the conference in 2013.

Below is the schedule for this year's event.

2017 Creighton Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 16
Iowa vs. Wichita State       1 pm
Wichita State at Creighton   3:30 pm

Saturday, March 17
Wichita State vs. Iowa       11 am
Iowa at Creighton       1:30 pm
Wichita State at Creighton   4 pm

Cantu and Clark Sweep BIG EAST Honors
The Creighton softball team swept this week's BIG EAST Softball honors, the league announced on Monday, Feb. 26. 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 (Feb. 24-25).

The Frisco, Texas native started the weekend with a perfect 4-for-4 showing against Prairie View A&M (Feb. 24). She also recorded a double and stole a base during the opening game.

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 on Feb. 25.

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.

Clark pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief to help the Bluejays defeat Prairie View 9-5 (Feb. 25). She closed the weekend with three perfect innings and struck out six of the nine batters she faced to start Creighton's final game 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 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.

The Bluejays three shutouts at the Schutt Invitional (Feb. 24-25) matched 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 Feb. 25 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.

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 seperate 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 14 games and is averaging 5.7 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.

Whitney Welcomed Back As Assistant
Head coach Brent Vigness announced the hiring of former pitcher Micaela Whitney as an assistant coach for Bluejay softball program on Oct. 9, 2017.

Whitney will primarily work with Bluejay pitchers, while helping in other areas as needed.

The former Creighton right-hander (2015-16) served as an assistant coach and pitching coach for the varsity softball team at Lewis Central High School (Council Bluffs, Iowa) for three seasons (2014-16), and helped guide the Titans to a 2.12 team-ERA during the summer of 2016.

She also assisted as the pitching coach at Papillion-La Vista South High School during the fall of 2016, and has given private pitching lessons in the Omaha area.

Whitney spent this past summer playing professionally for Terrasvogels in Haarlem, Netherlands, and helped the team finish runner-up at the European Cup. She earned acclaim as the International Baseball Community's Top Softball Pitcher Overseas for the 2017 summer season.

The Omaha, Nebraska, native, led the BIG EAST in strikeouts with 86 during league play as a senior at Creighton in 2016. She ended her two-year Bluejay career with a 3.24 ERA in 257.0 innings of work with 234 strikeouts, 17 victories, seven shutouts and two saves. Whitney also recorded two no-hitters during 41 starts, including one during her first start as a Bluejay on Feb. 5, 2015.

Prior to playing at Creighton, Whitney spent two seasons at the University of Iowa and led the Hawkeyes with a 2.89 ERA during her freshman year (2013).

Whitney graduated from Creighton with a bachelor's degree in psychology in December of 2016.

Softball Prepares For Home-Opening Series Against Southeast Missouri

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Alvarez

Logan Black

Ashley Cantu

Bryana Clark

Tash Coffiel

Sam Crowley

Kelli Finan

Jayci Foster

Kiele Miller

Hope Moreno

Courtney Sandell