Creighton University
Wichita State
Softball Leads Off 2021 Season At Wichita State
2/25/2021 12:50:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays will be playing their first game since March 12, 2020
Up Next
Creighton heads to Wichita, Kansas for a three-game series against Wichita State to open the 2021 season.
Game Schedule
Games #1 & 2 • Saturday, Feb. 27 • Creighton (0-0) at Wichita State (2-2) • 1 p.m. (DH)
Game #3 • Sunday, Feb. 28 • Creighton at Wichita State • 12 p.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
Follow The Games
All three games this weekend will feature live stats through StatBroadcast.
A live video stream will not be available.
Links to live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (0-0)
The Bluejays will head back to the diamond for their first game since March 12, 2021 (352 days between games).
Creighton returns 17 letterwinners from 2020 and welcomes six newcomers, which includes five freshman and one graduate transfer.
Fifth-year senior Ashley Cantu returns after hitting .427 during the shortened 2020 season. The two-time All-BIG EAST outfielder paced the Bluejays last year with 32 hits and is tied for second in program history with a .379 batting average (181 hits) and owns 113 runs scored during 147 games played as a Bluejay.
Mikayla Santa Cruz is the leading returning pitcher after logging 61 1/3 innings with a 2.74 ERA in 2020.
Head coach Brent Vigness enters his 28th season at the helm of the Bluejays and owns 790 wins at Creighton, the most by any head coach across all of Creighton athletics.
Scouting Wichita State (2-2)
The Shockers enter the weekend following a 2-2 performance at the Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge last weekend.
Both Neleigh Herring and Bailey Lange earned spots on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
Herring recorded six hits, including a home run, four doubles, four runs scored and six RBIs during four games.
Lange tallied 12 strikeouts and did not walk a batter during 9 2/3 innings of work.
Lauren Mills set a Wichita State school record with three home runs and posted six RBIs during the Shockers' 19-0 win over Lamar (Feb. 20).
Wichita State returned 16 letterwinners and welcomed eight newcomers for the 2021 season.
Head coach Kristi Bredbenner is in her 10th season at the helm of the Shockers.
Series History Against Shockers
Creighton leads the all-time series against Wichita State, 51-29.
The Bluejays and Shockers competed as Missouri Valley Conference foes from 1993 to 2013.
The two teams have met three times in Omaha since Creighton departed the MVC and joined the BIG EAST in 2014.
The last three-game series in Wichita between the Bluejays and Shockers was April 6-7, 2012.
Creighton has won seven of the last nine meetings dating back to 2012 and is 6-0 in its previous two trips to Wichita (2012 and 2010).
2021 Creighton Season Preview
The 2021 Creighton softball team will look to make a return to the field after the 2020 season ended in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creighton posted a 13-12 record last season but did not play a home game or a contest against a BIG EAST opponent.
The Bluejays return seven field players who started at least 20 games of last season's 25-game shortened schedule, including 2019 All-BIG EAST selections Ashley Cantu and
Kiara Mills.
Cantu and catcher Mikaela Pechar each decided to return for fifth years because the NCAA Division I council voted to grant an extra year of eligibility to all student-athletes in spring sports whose seasons were canceled because of the pandemic.
Mikayla Santa Cruz is the only returning pitcher to log significant innings in 2020.
Creighton welcomes six newcomers, which includes five true freshmen and one graduate transfer.
Head coach Brent Vigness enters his 28th at the helm of Creighton with 790 victories, the most of any coach across all sports in Creighton athletics history.
The Bluejays earned the fifth position in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Pitching
After posting a 3.13 ERA in 25 games last season, Creighton returns only two pitchers with experience in a Bluejay uniform.
Santa Cruz logged 61 1/3 innings with a 2.74 ERA in 2020, while Kate Mullally appeared in six games and pitched 8 1/3 innings.
Newcomers Parker Boyd and Jena Lawrence should each contribute this season.
Boyd competed in four seasons at Lehigh and decided to use her extra year of eligibility to play at Creighton where she already enrolled in occupational therapy graduate school.
Boyd earned 2020 Preseason Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honors before posting a team-best 51 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA during 61 1/3 innings. Overall, the Battle Ground, Washington native pitched 476 1/3 innings and compiled 427 strikeouts with a 3.32 ERA at Lehigh. She claimed 2018 All-Patriot League Second Team honors with a 1.66 ERA during league action.
Lawrence will seek to contribute for the Bluejays after leading Albia to the Iowa Class 3A State Championship during the summer of 2020. She ended her high school career with 941 strikeouts during five seasons of varsity action.
Infield
Following All-BIG EAST Second Team honors in 2019, Mills played in all 25 games during 2020 and led the Bluejays with 15 runs scored. She also tied for the team-lead for home runs (3) and doubles (7).
Mills started 33 games at first base as a freshman in 2019. She paced the Bluejays with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs, while posting a team-best .732 slugging percentage, the best by a Creighton player since 2015 (Liz Dike).
Sam Alm and Victoria Alvarez also return after playing significant roles around the diamond during the shortened season of 2020.
Alm started 19 games at second base in 2020, while Alvarez earned 20 starts at third base and five at shortstop.
Alm posted a .340 average with 18 hits, 11 runs scored and nine RBIs, while leading the BIG EAST with 13 sacrifice bunts. Alvarez was one of only two Bluejays to start all 25 games and recorded 16 hits, 10 runs, nine RBIs offensively and paced Creighton with 39 defensive assists.
Returners Madeline Vejvoda, Ryann Glenn and Mikayla Paulson, as well as newcomers Alyssa Gappa and Kate Mason will each compete for playing time at the infield positions.
Outfield
Cantu, a two-time All-BIG EAST performer, will once again lead the Bluejays' outfield. Last season, Cantu paced Creighton with 32 hits (.427 average) during 21 games played. The fifth-year senior started 42 games in center field during 2019 and led the Bluejays in multiple offensive categories. Cantu is tied for second in program history with a .379 batting average (181 hits) and owns 113 runs scored during 147 games played as a Bluejay.
Cayla Nielsen started 23 games in center field during her first year a season ago and ranked second on the team with 14 runs scored.
Courtney Sandell owns 38 starts during three seasons as a Bluejay and has appeared in a total of 86 games, primarily as a pinch runner or pinch hitter.
Returning letterwinners Katie Clark, Jacey Sawyer, Brittney Manthie, Alm, Glenn and Paulson will each push for a spot in the outfield.
Newcomers Emma Rosonke and Elly Beeson are each expected to be in the mix for playing time.
Rosonke, a two-time All-Nebraska First Team selection, posted a .506 career batting average, which included a .483 mark as a senior in the fall of 2019, while Beeson helped lead Skutt Catholic to the 2018 and 2019 Nebraska Class B State Championship.
Catcher/Designated Player
Pechar is back for the Bluejays after starting 21 games last season behind the plate.
In 2019, the Omaha native started 33 games at the catcher position and tallied six multiple-hit games and six multiple-RBI games. Defensively, Pechar threw out three
runners trying to steal last season and six in 2019.
Saren Croker and Beeson will each provide depth at catcher.
Kailey Wilson seems poised to control the designated player position after making 20 starts in 2020 at that slot. Wilson hit four doubles and two home runs while driving in 13 RBIs.
Gappa will push for playing time after setting the Nebraska Class A state record with .712 average as a senior and boasting a .535 career mark with 40 home runs.
Cantu Etching Name In CU Record Books
Senior Ashley Cantu moved into the top 10 of Creighton's career runs after scoring 10 times in 2020 and is tied for second in program history with a .379 batting average.
In 2018, Cantu scored 45 times, which ranks fourth on Creighton's single-season charts.
She also ranks near the top 10 in her career for hits and walks.
Creighton Career Batting Average
(minimum 250 ABs)
No. Avg. Name H-AB Years
1. .404 Anne Timmerman 116-287 1977-79
2. .379 Christy Lunceford 245-646 1994-97
.379 Ashley Cantu 181-478 2017-Pr.
4. .358 Heidi Geier 243-678 1996-99
5. .336 Renae Sinkler 201-599 2007-10
6. .328 Melanie Dorsey 198-604 2002-05
7. .326 Christine Fukumoto 110-337 2004-05
8. .325 Mary Yori 176-542 1980-82
9. .323 Amy Baker 191-591 2010-13
10. .323 Marie Gieron 166-514 1997-01
Creighton Career Runs Scored
No. Name R Years
1. Stacey Rybar 132 2001-04
2. Jean Tierney 130 1980-83
3. Heidi Geier 129 1996-99
4. Sue Frederick 128 1986-89
5. Christy Lunceford 122 1994-97
6. Renae Sinkler 120 2007-10
7. Bailey Dawson 119 2006-09
8. Liz Dike 118 2012-15
9. Lauren Cisneros 113 2003-06
Ashley Cantu 113 2017-Pr.
Creighton Career Hits
No. Name H Years
1. Christy Lunceford 245 1994-97
2. Heidi Geier 243 1996-99
3. Kelly Brookhart 218 1988-91
4. Sue Frederick 209 1986-89
5. Ellen Homan 203 2011-14
Wendy Moon 203 1991-94
7. Renae Sinkler 201 2007-10
Jean Tierney 201 1980-83
9. Melanie Dorsey 198 2002-05
10. Stacey Rybar 194 2001-04
----
Ashley Cantu 181 2017-Pr.
Creighton Career Walks
No. Name BB Years
1. Michelle Graner 111 2007-10
2. Alexis Cantu 110 2012-14
3. Amy Baker 104 2010-13
4. Abby Johnson 85 2002-05
5. Renae Sinkler 81 2007-10
6. Jen Daro 80 2014-17
7. Jody Schwartz 78 1985-88
8. Karla Hughes 69 1979-82
9. Stacey Rybar 67 2001-04
10. Traci Fitsimones 65 1983-86
11. Ashley Cantu 64 2017-Pr.
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Bluejays Picked 5th In Preseason Poll
The Creighton softball team earned the fifth position in the 2021 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced on Feb. 8. The Bluejays received 40 points, just three points behind a tie for third between St. John's, the 2019 regular-season champion, and UConn, which is returning to the conference after a seven-season absence.
Villanova earned the top spot in the poll with 62 points, including six first-place votes. DePaul received the remaining three first-place votes and ranked second with 55 points. The Wildcats and Blue Demons competed in the 2019 BIG EAST Softball Championship game as DePaul rallied for its third consecutive BIG EAST title. The 2020 BIG EAST schedule did not start because the league canceled all spring sports competitions on March 12.
Behind St. John's, UConn and Creighton at three through five, Butler (30), Seton Hall (26), Providence (17) and Georgetown (8) rounded out the bottom half of the 2021 edition of the preseason coaches' poll.
Creighton returns seven position players who started at least 20 games last season and one pitcher who logged more than 10 innings in a Bluejay uniform.
The Bluejays' last conference game occurred May 5, 2019 to close out the 2019 season. Creighton defeated Seton Hall, 9-7, in Omaha to push its final conference record to 9-13 and place sixth.
The 2021 BIG EAST schedule is slated to consist of 24 games, which includes three-game weekend series against each of the other eight league teams.
2021 BIG EAST Softball
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Villanova     62 (6 first-place votes)
2. DePaul       55 (3)
3. St. John's    43    Â
  UConn       43    Â
5. Creighton    40    Â
6. Butler        30    Â
7. Seton Hall    26    Â
8. Providence   17    Â
9. Georgetown  8
