Creighton University
Butler
Softball Carries Three-Game Winning Streak Into BIG EAST Home Series Against Butler
4/18/2019 12:15:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays and Bulldogs will play twice on Friday and once on Saturday
Up Next
Creighton hosts Butler for its penultimate home series of the season. The Bluejays and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader on Friday before playing once on Saturday.Â
Game Schedule
Games #34 & #35 • Friday, April 19 • Butler (14-25, 2-6 BIG EAST) at Creighton (15-18, 3-9 BIG EAST) • 12 p.m. (DH)
Game #36 • Saturday, April 20 • Butler at Creighton • 11 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
Follow The Games
Video streams with commentary will be available for all three games via GoCreighton.com/Watch.
Live stats will be available for the game via StatBroadcast.com.
Links to the live stats and video can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
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Scouting Creighton (15-18, 3-9 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays enter the weekend with wins in four out of their last five games, including a BIG EAST series victory at Villanova and midweek wins against Nebraska and UNO.
Lead-off hitter and center fielder Ashley Cantu leads the Bluejays with a .366 batting average (5th in BIG EAST) and .475 on-base percentage (4th in BIG EAST). The junior paces the Bluejays in hits (37), runs (22) and walks (21). Cantu has reached base in 21 straight games and is on a Bluejay season-best 13-game hitting streak. She is hitting .375 (15 hits) and owns a .500 on-base percentage during 12 league games.Â
Kiara Mills holds the team-lead in home runs (7 -- 6th in BIG EAST), RBIs (23) and slugging percentage (.705 -- 3rd in BIG EAST). The freshman ranks second on the team with a .346 average and 27 hits. Mills is hitting .308 with three homers and eight RBIs during league play.
Mileah McKelvy ranks second on the team in home runs (6) and RBIs (22) while hitting .304. She has also been hit by the pitch a BIG EAST-high nine times and claims a .433 on-base
percentage. The junior paces the Bluejays with four homers (T-2nd in BIG EAST) and 10 RBIs (6th in BIG EAST) during 12 BIG EAST play.
Kaitlynn Hunt leads the BIG EAST with 10 sacrifice bunts, including five during league play, and ranks fourth nationally with 0.32 sacrifice bunts per game.
Creighton owns a .272 team-batting average and averages 5.03 runs per game.Â
Logan Black paces the Bluejay pitching staff with 86.0 innings pitched (18 appearances, 14 starts) and owns a 3.89 ERA with a team-high 71 strikeouts.
Laura Roecker leads Creighton with 20 appearances, including 11 times in relief (70.0 innings pitched), and is the team-leader with a 3.20 ERA, including a 0.98 mark during her last four starts. The senior owns a BIG EAST-low 1.21 ERA in 34.2 innings of work during league games.Â
Kiele Miller ranks eighth nationally with 10.1 strikeouts per seven innings (67 in 46.1 innings).
The Creighton pitching staff claims a 3.88 ERA with 178 strikeouts and holds the opposition to a .244 batting average.Â
Head coach Brent Vigness, Creighton's winningest coach across all sports, is in his 26th season at the helm of the Bluejays.
Scouting Butler (14-25, 2-6 BIG EAST)
Butler heads to Omaha on a three-game losing streak, which includes two losses last weekend at home against Georgetown.
The Bulldogs own a pair of BIG EAST victories, an 8-1 home win against DePaul during the opening weekend of league play (March 24) and a 4-3 extra-inning win at Seton Hall (April 7).
Freshman Lauren Fey leads the team with a .330 batting average, including a .480 clip during BIG EAST play (12-for-25). She is also tied for the team lead with five RBIs during league games.
Senior Jenna Foreman paces Butler in hits (42) and runs scored (22). Foreman leads the BIG EAST with 28 stolen bases and ranks eighth nationally with 0.80 steals per game.Â
The Bulldogs are hitting .254 as a team and average 3.49 runs per game. Butler is hitting .302 during league play but has scored only 29 runs in eight games (3.63 per game).
Butler ranks second in the league with 45 stolen bases (45-of-58), but has also given up a BIG EAST worst 79 steals (89 attempts).Â
Left-handed pitcher Alyssa Graves leads the pitching staff with 117.0 innings pitched and a 3.11 ERA. She ranks second in the BIG EAST with 138 strikeouts but has also walked 71.Â
Freshman Karli Ricketts owns a 3.60 ERA during 83.2 innings of work with 66 strikeouts and 29 walks.
The Bulldogs own a 3.64 team-ERA, but a 6.00 ERA during BIG EAST play.
Head coach Scott Hall is in his ninth season at the helm of Butler.
Series History Against Bulldogs
The Bluejays lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs, 9-6.Â
Creighton won two out of three games last season in Indianapolis.
The Bluejays are 3-3 at home against Butler.Â
Cantu Streaking
Junior lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu has reached safely in 21 consecutive games and holds a 13-game hitting streak.Â
Cantu's streak of reaching base is the longest by a Creighton player since 2013 when Amy Baker reached in 37 straight.Â
The junior's 13-game hitting streak matches Jayci Foster's 2018 season-high hitting streak.
Liz Dike held a 14-game hitting streak in 2015, but no Bluejay has hit in 15 straight since 2008 when current assistant coach Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman tallied a 17-game hitting streak.Â
Since 1999, Sinkler-O'Gorman's 17-game hitting steak is the longest by a Bluejay.Â
Below is a list of Creighton's top hitting streaks since 1999.
Hit Streak Player Year
17 Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman 2008
17 Jamie Reiss 2007
14 Liz Dike 2015
14 Marie Gieron 2001
13 Ashley Cantu 2019
13 Jayci Foster 2018
13 Ellen Homan 2012
Roecker Makes BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Senior Laura Roecker earned a spot on this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. She did not allow an earned run during 12.0 innings of work for a pair of complete-game victories against Villanova (April 13 and 14) and allowed only one during 5.0 innings against Nebraska (April 9).
Roecker, a transfer from UNO, is 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA during her last four starts. She has allowed five runs (three earned), struck out 12, walked four and held the opposition to a .205 batting average over 21.1 innings in those starts.
During her first five starts of the season, Roecker posted a 2-3 record with a 5.49 ERA. The senior recorded 21.2 innings during those five starts and allowed 29 runs (17 earned) and a .306 opponents' average, while posting 15 strikeouts and 14 walks.Â
Overall, Roecker leads the Bluejays with a 3.20 ERA and seven victories (7-8) during a team-high 20 appearances (nine starts). In BIG EAST play, Roecker owns a BIG EAST-best 1.21 ERA during 34.2 innings of work (eight
appearances, four starts).
Roecker In Relief
In addition to her late surge as a starter, Laura Roecker leads Creighton with 11 relief appearances. She owns a 3.11 ERA during 27.0 innings of relief work and holds the opposition to a .208 batting average.Â
The senior pitched 7.1 innings of relief during Creighton's extra-inning loss against Providence on March 30. She posted five consecutive scoreless innings before the Friars tallied the winning run during the 12th inning.Â
Roecker faced only 16 batters while not allowing a hit or run during 5.0 innings of relief during Creighton's trip to Carbondale, Illinois (Feb. 22-24).Â
She hit one batter but did not allow a hit or run and left three runners stranded in 2.0 frames while earning the victory against Saint Louis (Feb. 22).
The UNO transfer also walked one and struck out two while not allowing a hit or run during 3.0 innings against Southern Illinois (Feb. 24) to earn her first save as a Bluejay.
Bluejays Snap Losing Skids
Creighton snapped a six-game losing streak (all BIG EAST games) with a 9-1 five-inning win against in-state rival Nebraska on April 9. The victory marked the Bluejays' first against the Cornhuskers since 2012.Â
Creighton blasted four home runs, including three during the first inning and scored nine unanswered runs.Â
The Bluejays also snapped a nine-game BIG EAST losing streak by winning the final two games of this past weekend's series against Villanova. The Bluejays outscored the Wildcats 16-2 during the pair of victories.Â
Creighton has won four out of its last five games.Â
Creighton Sweeps UNO and Nebraska
The Bluejays defeated Nebraska 9-1 in five innings last week in Omaha and earned a 5-2 win against UNO on Tuesday.Â
This year is the first time since 1995 in which Creighton defeated both the Cornhuskers and Mavericks during the same season.Â
CU Sports Complex Turns Into Launching Pad
Creighton and South Dakota combined for seven home runs during the Bluejays' home-opener on March 27, St. John's and Creighton combined for nine homers during a three-game series in Omaha (April 6-7) and the Bluejays hit four homers against Nebraska on April 9 at the Creighton Sports Complex.
The Bluejays own 11 home runs through five games played at home, compared to only 18 during 28 contests played away from Omaha.
A total of 47 home runs were hit during 19 Creighton games played at the Creighton Sports Complex in 2018, which is the most during the past 10 seasons. The Bluejays hit 25, while
opponents had 22.
Creighton hit a program-record six home runs against UMKC at home on April 17, and the two teams combined for 10 homers.
During the past 10 seasons, the most home runs Creighton has hit during a single season at home is 26 (2010).
During the 2015 season, 41 home runs were hit during the span of 13 games, but 25 of those were hit by the opposition, which is the most during the past 10 seasons.Â
Below is a list of the home run totals at the CU Sports Complex during the past 10 years:
HRs (CU HRs) Number of Games Year
20 (11) 5 2019
47 (25) 19 2018
29 (13) 12 2017
26 (9) 15 2016
41 (16) 13 2015
29 (17) 15 2014
20 (13) 14 2013
34 (20) 16 2012
26 (12) 14 2011
42 (26) 19 2010
Creighton hit 37 home runs overall last season, the most since the team hit 42 in 2014. The program record for home runs in a season is 66, which was set during 2010. The Bluejays have hit more than 30 home runs 13 different times in program history (each time since 2001).
RPI Update
Creighton is ranked No. 186 in the latest RPI, released by the NCAA on Monday (297 Division I schools ranked).Â
The Bluejays own the sixth-best RPI among BIG EAST teams.
BIG EAST Teams in Division I RPI
77. DePaul
105. St. John's
126. Providence
162. Villanova
184. Seton Hall
186. Creighton
221. ButlerÂ
224. GeorgetownÂ
Creighton's Close Contests
Since March 17, Creighton has played eight games decided by two or less runs including seven during BIG EAST play. The Bluejays are 1-7 during those contests with all seven losses coming in league games.
Creighton is 3-9 overall (0-7 in BIG EAST play) during games decided by two runs or less this season.Â
The Bluejays' last victory during a game decided by two runs or less came on March 17, a 1-0 win against South Dakota State.Â
Recent Power Surge
Creighton hit only four home runs during the first 18 games of the season, but the Bluejays have launched 25 homers during their past 15 games, including 14 during 12 BIG EAST games.Â
Kiara Mills leads the team with seven, while Mileah McKelvy has six, including a team-best four during league play.
Kelli Finan has four, while Mikaela Pechar and Ashley Cantu each have three. Two of Cantu's round-trippers have been inside-the-park home runs.Â
Creighton Ties Program Record For Homers
The Bluejays hit six home runs on March 27 against South Dakota to tie a program record.Â
Creighton set its single-game record for homers in a game with six last season against UMKC (April 17).
Kiara Mills hit two long balls on against the Coyotes, Ashley Cantu tallied an inside-the-park homer and Mileah McKelvy, Kelli Finan and Mikaela Pechar each launched one.
McKelvy Moves Into Top 10 on HBP List
Junior Mileah McKelvy earned a pair of free passes being hit by the pitch this past weekend against Villanova and now has been hit nine times this season to lead the Bluejays, which is tied for sixth-most in a single season at Creighton.Â
McKelvy currently ranks eighth on Creighton's career record list for times hit by pitch with 17.Â
The junior was hit by the pitch three times in Kansas City (March 15-17) including twice with the bases loaded.
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. Mileah McKelvy, 17 (2016-Present)
9. Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman, 16 (2007-10)
10. Tash Coffiel, 13 (2015-18)Â
