Softball Leads Off 2019 Season In New Mexico

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Creighton opens the 2019 season on Friday at the NM State Invitational in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The Bluejays are scheduled to play five games in three days, including two contests against the defending WAC champion and host New Mexico State Aggies.

Game Schedule
Game #1 • Friday, Feb. 8 • Creighton vs. UTEP • 12 p.m.
Game #2 • Friday, Feb. 8 • Creighton at New Mexico State • 5 p.m.
Game #3 • Saturday, Feb. 9 • Creighton vs. New Mexico • 11 a.m.
Game #4 • Saturday, Feb. 9 • Creighton vs. UTEP • 1:30 p.m.
Game #5 • Sunday, Feb. 10 • Creighton at New Mexico State • 11:00 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time

Follow The Games
Live stats for the two contests between Creighton and New Mexico State and the game between Creighton and New Mexico will be provided via Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.

The two games featuring Creighton against UTEP will have live stats via Sidearm Sports.

A webcast will be available on the WAC Digital Network for the two games between Creighton and New Mexico State (Feb. 8 at 12 p.m., Feb. 10 at 11 a.m.).

Links to live stats and video can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.

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

Scouting Creighton (2018: 28-15, 12-3 BE)
The 2019 Creighton softball team enters the new year following its best finish since joining the BIG EAST.

The Bluejays ended 2018 with 15 victories during their final 19 games, including a stretch of six consecutive wins before falling during the BIG EAST Championship game in Rosemont, Illinois.

Last season's squad claimed 12 victories during the BIG EAST regular-season schedule, the most since joining the league in 2014 and achieved its best winning percentage in conference action (.800, 12-3) since 2008.

The Bluejays set program bests for team slugging percentage (.477) and on-base percentage (.409), while achieving a .316 batting average, the best mark in head coach Brent Vigness' tenure at Creighton and second-best in school history. The Bluejays earned 28 victories, the most since 2014.

Creighton returns five position players that started at least half of last season's games, including junior Ashley Cantu who became just the eighth player in program history to finish the season with a batting average better than .400 (.401, 57 hits) while starting each game as the Bluejays' lead-off hitter.

The squad also returns two pitchers that started a combined 32 games. Kiele Miller will anchor the pitching staff after leading the BIG EAST with a 1.42 ERA during league action and recording 147 strikeouts overall to rank third in the league.

The Bluejays received five first-place votes and 43 points for the top position in the 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Vigness enters his 26th season as Creighton's winningest coach across the school's entire athletics department.

Scouting UTEP (2018: 21-33, 10-14 C-USA)
The Miners enter the season following a 9th place finish (of 12) in the Conference USA.

Ariana Valles, a C-USA All-Freshman team selection, returns for UTEP after ranking third on the team with 24 RBIs, while starting all 54 games at shortstop and pacing the team with 104 assists last year.

Julia Wright and Kira McKechnie each return in the circle after starting 24 and 23 games, respectively, in 2018.

The Miners were picked 10th in the preseason coaches' poll.

Head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk is in her sixth season at the helm of UTEP.

Series History Against Miners
Creighton and UTEP will match up for the first time during the season opener.

Scouting NM State (2018: 29-24, 11-4 WAC)
The Aggies were picked as the preseason favorite in the WAC after capturing the league's title last season. NM State ended 2018 at the Tempe Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Two-time WAC Player of the Year Kelsey Horton enters her senior season as the league coaches' favorite to repeat for a third time after hitting a school record 25 home runs in 2018. Horton also tallied a .402 batting
average and recorded 64 RBIs to go along with 36 extra-base hits.

Senior Kayla Green is the WAC preseason pitcher of the year after she earned First Team All-WAC honors a season ago. Green led the Aggies with a 3.72 ERA during 135.1 innings.

Head coach Kathy Rodolph is in her 16th year at the helm of NM State.

Series History Against Aggies
Creighton leads the all-time series against New Mexico State 13-10.

The Bluejays and Aggies last met in 2016 at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces. New Mexico State earned a 9-0 win.

Creighton's last win during the series came on March 4, 1992 at New Mexico State.

The two teams played annually from 1896-1990 as members of the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC).

Scouting New Mexico (2018: 14-39, 7-17 MWC)
New Mexico returns six players that started at least half of last season's games and welcomes nine newcomers, including three pitchers.

Of the newcomers, left-handed pitcher Bailey Klitzke transferred to the Lobos' program from Wichita State. Klitzke pitched against Creighton last season (March 17) and allowed four hits, four runs, walked three and struck out two while facing a total of 14 hitters during 2.2 innings of work.

Andrea Howard and Cameryn O'Grady each return after each hit over .300 a season ago. O'Grady led New Mexico in on-base percentage (.444), runs scored (31), walks (32), doubles (12), triples (4) and ranked second in hits (43), RBIs (26) and total bases (75).

The Lobos were picked ninth (of nine) in the Mountain West Conference preseason coaches' poll.

Head coach Dr. Paula Congleton is in her second season at the helm of New Mexico.

Series History Against Lobos
Creighton leads the all-time series against New Mexico 14-12.

The last meeting between the two teams came during the 2013 season-opener at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona as the Bluejays secured a 5-1 victory.

Creighton and New Mexico were both members of the HCAC from 1986-1990 before each moved to the WAC for the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

Breaking Down The Bluejays Position-By-Position
Pitching
Kiele Miller returns poised to lead the Bluejay pitching staff after pacing the team with 135.2 innings pitched as a freshman.

The All-BIG EAST Second Team selection posted 147 strikeouts and led the BIG EAST with a 1.42 ERA during league action (59.0 IP).

Logan Black contributed 55.1 innings in the circle during her freshman campaign last year. Black started one game during each conference series and ranked second on the team in overall starts (12) and wins (8).

The Bluejays added Laura Roecker for the new season. Roecker spent three seasons at Nebraska-Omaha and earned Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2016.

Kate Mullally joins the Creighton program from Seward, Nebraska. Mullally helped lead Seward to a runner-up finish at the 2017 Nebraska Class B State Tournament while posting a 2.28 ERA with 175 strikeouts. She ended her high school career as Seward's career leader in wins (73) and second in strikeouts (614).

Infield
Jayci Foster will anchor the Creighton infield after starting 39 games at second base last season. The Papillion, Nebraska native held Creighton's longest hitting streak at 13 games and ranked second on the team in home runs with six, including a walk-off homer during extra innings against Providence to kick start the Bluejays' best BIG EAST run to date.

Junior Kaitlynn Hunt also returns up the middle after making 32 starts at shortstop. She ranked third on the team with 50 assists (one behind Foster) and did not commit an error during conference play.

The corner infield positions are open as four-year starter Tash Coffiel graduated after starting 165 games, primarily at third base, and Hope Moreno transitioned from playing first base in 2018 during her final year of eligibility to an undergraduate student assistant coach position for the 2019 season.

Returners Victoria Alvarez and Kelli Finan each saw time at infield positions, but neither have a starting spot solidified.

Alvarez started four games at third base and seven at shortstop while recording 17 assists and a .367 on-base percentage at the plate.

Finan primarily played in left field (25 starts), but also saw time at first base (seven starts), second base (four starts) and shortstop (two starts). The Long Beach State transfer made an immediate impact during her first season in the Bluejay lineup by leading the team with 36 RBIs and ranking second in slugging percentage (.579).

Freshmen Kailey Wilson, Sam Alm and Kiara Mills will each fight for a starting nod.

Wilson, the 2017 Colorado High School Athletic Association 5A Player of the Year, owns a powerful bat, and will seek the primary first base position.

Alm begins her Creighton career after posting a Nebraska Class A state record for career batting averge (.534) and setting Millard West's career hit mark with 203. She can play nearly any position across the diamond in both the infield and outfield.

Mills, another utility infielder and former club teammate of Alvarez, helped lead the St. Lucy's Priory Regents to the 2017 CIF South section semifinals.

Outfield
Creighton's outfield will be guided by lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu. The 2017 All-BIG EAST selection and 2018 BIG EAST All-Tournament team honoree is the only Bluejay that started all 43 games last season.

She led the team in multiple offensive categories and became the eighth player in program history to finish the season with a batting average better than .400 (min. 2 AB/game played). Cantu also finished ninth in Division I with 1.05 runs per game and posted Creighton's best individual on-base percentage (.479) since her sister, Alexis, set the school record with a .547 mark in 2012.

After primarily playing in right field each of the past two seasons, Cantu may slide into center for her junior season.

Finan and sophomore Courtney Sandell each started multiple games in the outfield last season for the Bluejays, and fourth-year junior Mileah McKelvy, Southern Utah transfer Nicole Simonson and Alm will each fight for playing time.

Juniors Sydney Jenkins and Kristin Fry and sophomore Jacey Sawyer add depth to the Bluejays outfield, but all three will primarily appear in pinch-running situations. The trio combined for 23 runs as pinch runners in 2018.

Catcher/Designated Player
After spending the past two seasons as Creighton's second catcher, junior Mikaela Pechar will have her chance as the primary backstop this year. Pechar made 11 starts behind the plate and led the squad with 25 pinch-hit plate appearances last season. She ranked fifth on the team with 22 RBIs a year ago and nine of her 19 hits were of the extra-base variety.

Valentina Bertrand, Hope Bonar and Kiahana Scott will each have opportunities for playing time at catcher, while Hunt may see time behind the plate after primarily playing catcher at Nebraska-Omaha in 2017.

Creighton used eight different players as a starting designated player a year ago, and 2019 may feature a similar variety.

Senior Nikki McNeil, the freshman trio of Wilson, Alm and Mills and McKelvy will each likely appear in the offensive specialist position throughout the season.

Creighton Picked To Win BIG EAST
After ending last season in the title game of the BIG EAST Championship, the Creighton softball team is the favorite in the 2019 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced on Jan. 17.

The Bluejays received five first-place votes and 43 overall points to claim the top spot. Villanova, St. John's and DePaul rounded out the top four, respectively, as all three schools earned one first-place vote a piece.

The Bluejays wrapped up the 2018 season at 28-15, including 12-3 in league play for a second place finish in the regular-season standings. The squad went 1-1 at the BIG EAST Championship in Rosemont, Illinois for a runner-up trophy.

Creighton enters 2019 seeking its first regular-season conference title since 2013 when the Bluejays won the Missouri Valley during their final year in the league.

Creighton sits at the top of the BIG EAST preseason poll for the first time since joining the league prior to the 2014 season. The Bluejays were picked fifth each of the past four years, and second preceding its first season in the league. The last time Creighton was picked to win their conference was in 2010 when the program competed in the Missouri Valley.

Since 2000, the Bluejays have been picked to win a conference title five different times and achieved the regular-season crown twice during those years. Overall, Creighton owns seven regular-season conference titles, most recently in 2013.

St. John's claimed the top spot in the preseason coaches' poll each of the previous three seasons, but only ended as regular-season champions in 2017. Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST, DePaul owns three conference titles and St. John's has two. The BIG EAST coaches have correctly picked the conference champion twice (2014, 2017) in the past five seasons.

The Bluejays' BIG EAST conference slate begins the weekend of March 23-24 at Georgetown.

2019 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Creighton (5) 43
2. Villanova (1) 39
3. St. John's (1) 37
4. DePaul (1) 35
5. Butler 30
6. Seton Hall 15
7. Georgetown 14
8. Providence 11

New Faces Around BIG EAST Softball
Of the eight softball programs across the league, Villanova, St. John's, DePaul and Providence each have new head coaches.

Creighton's Brent Vigness enters his 26th season at the helm of the Bluejays and is currently the longest tenured coach in BIG EAST softball.

Below is a list of the current head coaches of the eight BIG EAST softball teams.

Team Coach Yr As HC
Butler Scott Hall 9th
Creighton Brent Vigness 26th
DePaul Tracie Adix-Zins 1st
Georgetown Pat Conlan 14th
Providence Jill Karwoski 1st
Seton Hall Paige Smith 7th
St. John's Bob Guerriero 1st
Villanova Bridget Orchard 1st

Creighton's 2018 Marked Best BIG EAST Finish
Creighton's 12 league wins in 2018 were the most since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2014 season.

The Bluejays second place finish also marked their highest placement since joining the league.

Creighton's best finish in the BIG EAST Conference prior to last season was fourth (10-10) in 2014.

The Jays' league winning percentage of .800 marked the best since 2008 (.875) when the team finished 21-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

One of Nations Most Improved Teams
Creighton was the eighth-most improved team in Division I softball from 2017 to 2018. The Bluejays went 18-32 in 2017 before going 28-15 a year ago.

School (coach) '17 W-L, '18 W-L *Games improved
South Dakota St. (Krista Wood) 19-35, 37-18, 17½
Austin Peay (Rodney DeLong) 17-31, 39-19, 17
Long Beach St. (Kim Sowder) 23-28, 43-14, 17
Drake (Rich Calvert) 28-27, 45-12, 16
Eastern Ky. (Jane Worthington) 27-31, 45-21, 14
Middle Tenn. (Jeff Breeden) 19-30, 39-22, 14
UNCG (Janelle Breneman) 29-24, 46-13, 14
Creighton (Brent Vigness) 18-32, 28-15, 13½
Towson (Lisa Costello) 23-27, 42-19, 13½
Arizona St. (Trisha Ford) 31-22, 48-13, 13
*To determine games improved, add the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses, then divide by two. Ties not counted. This includes postseason play.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Alm

Victoria Alvarez

Valentina Bertrand

Logan Black

Hope Bonar

Ashley Cantu

Tash Coffiel

Kelli Finan

Jayci Foster

Kristin Fry

Kaitlynn Hunt

Sydney Jenkins

Mileah McKelvy

Nikki McNeil

Kiele Miller

Kiara Mills

Hope Moreno

Kate Mullally

Mikaela Pechar

Laura Roecker

Courtney Sandell

Jacey Sawyer

Kiahana Scott

Nicole Simonson

Kailey Wilson