Creighton University
Georgetown
Softball Begins BIG EAST Play With Three in D.C. Against Georgetown
3/21/2019 1:45:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays finished 3-2 last weekend in Kansas City during final nonconference weekend
Up Next
Creighton opens BIG EAST Conference play with three games in Washington, D.C. against Georgetown.
Games #19 & #20 • Saturday, March 23 • Creighton (9-9) at Georgetown (7-21) • 11 a.m. (DH)
Game #21 • Sunday, March 24 • Creighton vs. Georgetown • 10 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
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Follow The Games
Live stats will be available for each of the games.
Links to live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided throughout the weekend via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
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Scouting Creighton (9-9)
The Bluejays start BIG EAST play following a 3-2 weekend in Kansas City. Creighton took two out of three from UMKC and split a pair of games against South Dakota State.
Junior lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu leads the Bluejay offense with 18 hits and 11 walks for a .360 batting average and .475 on-base percentage, both team bests among players with at least 20 plate appearances this season.
She also owns 13 runs scored and six RBIs.
Cantu is one of five Bluejays with 10 or more hits through the first 18 games of the season as the team is hitting .259.
Freshman Sam Alm is the lone Creighton player to start each game and has started games at three different positions (10 at 1B, 7 in LF, 1 at 2B). Alm ranks second on the team in hits (16) and RBIs (10).Â
Freshman Kiara Mills paces the team with four extra-base hits (two doubles, two triples) while four different players each have one homer and seven have at least two doubles. Courtney Sandell owns three doubles to lead the Bluejays despite playing only eight games (6-for-15 overall hitting).
Logan Black claims a team-best 3.91 ERA during a team-high 43.0 innings of work in the circle.Â
Kiele Miller leads the team with 50 strikeouts (T-5th in BIG EAST) in 36.1 innings of work. and holds the opposition to a .209 batting average (1st in BIG EAST).Â
The Bluejay pitching staff owns a 4.49 team-ERA. After allowing 43 earned runs during the first weekend of the season (five games), Creighton has allowed only 29 earned runs during its past 13 games (2.36 ERA).Â
Head coach Brent Vigness, Creighton's winningest coach across all sports, is in his 26th season at the helm of the Bluejays.
Scouting Georgetown (7-21)
The Hoyas carry a four-game losing streak into the first weekend of BIG EAST play.
Noelle Holiday leads Georgetown with a .342 batting average and also paces the team in doubles (8), home runs (5) and RBIs (24).
Savannah Jones and Mae Forshey each own a team-best 26 hits during 28 starts. Jones leads the Hoyas with 15 walks in addition to her 26 hits for a .444 on-base percentage.
Georgetown is hitting .255 as a team and claims 29 stolen bases (41 attempts).
The Hoyas rank last in the BIG EAST with a 6.25 team-ERA. Anna Pacha Brooks, a 2018 All-BIG EAST selection, leads the team with 35 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and a 4.03 ERA.Â
London Diller paces Georgetown with 64.2 innings of work (18 appearances, 10 starts) and claims a 6.06 ERA.Â
Head coach Pat Conlon is in her 14th year at Georgetown.
Series History Against Hoyas
Creighton leads the all-time series against Georgetown, 8-5.
The Bluejays took two out of the three games from the Hoyas last season in Omaha and two out of three games in Washington, D.C. during the 2017 season.Â
Miller Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Sophomore Kiele Miller earned this week's BIG EAST Softball Pitcher of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
The accolade marks Miller's second conference Pitcher of the Week award this season. She earned similar recognition on Feb. 18.
The Bluejay sophomore allowed only one earned run in 14 innings of work and struck out 16 batters during a pair of complete-game victories this past weekend in Kansas City. She also held the opposition to a .106 batting average (five hits allowed), including a .045 average (1-for-22) with runners on base.Â
Miller capped the weekend with a one-hitter against South Dakota State on Sunday. The Dripping Springs, Texas native recorded nine strikeouts and walked two while needing only 98 pitches for the shutout of the Jackrabbits.
Through her first eight appearances (seven starts) of the season, Miller paces the Bluejays with 50 strikeouts during 36.1 innings of work and ranks 19th nationally with 9.6 strikeouts per seven innings. The sophomore also leads the BIG EAST in hits allowed per seven innings (5.39) and opponents batting average (.209).
Miller allowed 13 hits and 16 earned runs during her first three appearances of the season (6.1 innings) but has turned the tides during her last five starts. Miller owns a 1.40 ERA and a .144 opposing batting average (15 hits) with 39 strikeouts in her most recent 30.0 innings of work.Â
McKelvy Moves Into Top 10 on HBP List
Junior Mileah McKelvy was hit by the pitch three times this past weekend in Kansas City including twice with the bases loaded.
McKelvy now ranks ninth on Creighton's career record list for times hit by pitch with 14.
Creighton Career Hit By Pitch List
1. Jen Daro, 39 (2014-17)
2. Michelle Graner, 34 (2007-10)
3. Alexis Cantu, 29 (2012-14)
4. Michelle Koch, 25 (2007-10)
Lauren Cisneros, 25 (2003-06)
6. Sami Herbster, 21 (2000-03)
7. Liz McKewon, 18 (2008-11)
8. Renae Sinkler, 16 (2007-10)
9. Mileah McKelvy, 14 (2016-Present)
10. Tash Coffiel, 13 (2015-18)Â
Creighton Postpones Midweek UNO Matchup
Creighton's game against UNO scheduled for Wednesday at Westside Field at Westbrook has been postponed because of unplayable field conditions at the Mavericks' home facility.Â
The two teams are currently working to find an alternative date to reschedule the game.
The Bluejays have had 17 games adjusted because of weather this season.
Initial RPI Ranking
Creighton is ranked No. 175 in the initial RPI, released by the NCAA on Monday (297 Division I schools ranked).
The Bluejays own the fifth-best RPI among BIG EAST teams.
Georgetown is No. 226 in the initial rankings.
BIG EAST Teams in Division I RPI
111. DePaul
130. St. John's
160. Villanova
167. Providence
175. Creighton
209. Seton Hall
226. Georgetown
239. Butler
Creighton Picked To Win BIG EAST
After ending last season in the title game of the BIG EAST Championship, the Creighton softball team was 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.Â
Creighton is seeking its first regular-season conference title since 2013 when the Bluejays won the Missouri Valley during their final year in the league.
Creighton was at 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.Â
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
