Creighton University
UConn
Softball Hosts UConn For First Home Games Since May Of 2019
3/18/2021 1:58:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays and Huskies will meet as conference opponents for the first time
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Creighton opens its home schedule with a three-game BIG EAST series against UConn.
The Bluejays' doubleheader on Saturday will be the first home contests at the Creighton Sports Complex since May 5, 2019.
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Game Schedule
Games #1 & 2 • Saturday, March 20 • UConn (7-9, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Creighton (6-5, 2-1 BIG EAST) • 12 p.m. (DH)
Game #3 • Sunday, March 21 • UConn at Creighton • 10:30 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
Follow The Games
Live video will be provided on YouTube.com/GoCreighton and live stats will be provided on StatBroadcast.
Links to the video and live stats will be available on the Creighton softball schedule page.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (6-5, 2-1 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays head back to Omaha after a 2-1 start to league play last weekend.
Creighton swept Providence with a pair of shutouts during the first day of the series before falling by a single run in the finale against the Friars.
The Bluejays rank at the top of the BIG EAST with a .304 team batting average and has scored 4.18 runs per game.
Fifth-year senior Ashley Cantu leads the conference with a .514 batting average and ranks third with a .538 on-base percentage.
The Bluejays' lead-off hitter also ranks second in the league with 19 hits and has already recorded six multiple-hit games.
Sophomore designated player Kailey Wilson ranks second on the team and 10th in the BIG EAST with a .368 batting average. Wilson enters Saturday with a 10-game hitting streak and leads Creighton with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
Mikayla Santa Cruz paces the Bluejays and ranks fourth in the league with a 2.67 ERA during 18 1/3 innings pitched, while Parker Boyd owns a team-high 29 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings of work. Boyd ranks second in the BIG EAST by striking out 12 batters looking.
The Bluejay pitching staff owns a 4.07 ERA through the first 11 games of the season.
Creighton returned 17 letterwinners from 2020 and welcomed six newcomers, including five freshman and one graduate transfer.
Head coach Brent Vigness is in his 28th season at the helm of the Bluejays and owns 796 wins at Creighton, the most by any head coach across all of Creighton athletics.
Scouting UConn (7-9, 0-0 BIG EAST)
The Huskies own a 7-9 record through the first month of the season, highlighted by a 7-3 victory at Baylor on Feb. 27.
UConn endured three extra-inning losses at the UNC Tournament in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (March 5-7) and most recently earned a 10-7 win on Wednesday at Rhode Island.
The Huskies have already had seven games cancelled this season.
Lead-off hitter Reese Guevarra leads the team with 19 hits, while Briana Marcelino paces UConn with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
The Huskies are hitting .249 as a team and scoring 3.7 runs per contest.
UConn is also 43-of-50 in stolen bases, as Aziah James has 12 steals and Hollis Wivell owns nine.
Comparatively, Creighton has attempted only eight steals this season (6-of-8).
UConn has used only two pitchers during 2021.
Freshman Payton Kinney owns a 2.93 ERA in 59 2/3 innings, and Meghan O'Neil has pitched 53 innings with a 3.04 ERA. Kinney, a right-handed pitcher is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 58 strikeouts, while O'Neil, a south paw, has only 19 Ks this season.
The right-lefty duo has combined to limiting opposing hitters to a .248 average.
The Huskies rejoined the BIG EAST Conference prior to the 2021 season after spending the 2014-20 seasons in the American Conference. UConn played in the BIG EAST from 1992-2013 before its seven year stint in the AAC.
The Huskies' last regular-season BIG EAST game came on May 5, 2013 against Seton Hall.
Head coach Laura Valentino is in her second season at the helm of the Huskies after leading the team to a 16-5 record during a shortened 2020 season.
Series History Against Huskies
The Bluejays and Huskies have met once previously.
Creighton defeated Connecticut 5-1 on March 13, 1991. The Bluejays set a program record with nine stolen bases during the only previous matchup between the Bluejays and Huskies.
Last Weekend Recap
The Bluejays opened their conference schedule with a 2-1 showing at Providence.
Creighton posted a pair of shutouts during a Friday afternoon doubleheader before falling by one run on Saturday.
Ashley Cantu led the Bluejays with five hits and four runs scored, while Kailey Wilson drove in three runs.
Creighton pitching limited the Friars to a .174 batting average and three runs.
Cantu Reaches 200-Hit Plateau
Fifth-year senior outfielder Ashley Cantu reached the 200-hit plateau on Friday against Providence.
The Frisco, Texas native recorded her 200th hit with an infield single during the top of the seventh inning in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Friars.
Cantu became the ninth player in program history to record 200 or more hits.
She earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor after leading the Bluejays with five hits and four runs scored against Providence.
Wilson Streaking
Sophomore Kailey Wilson currently owns a 10-game hitting streak.
The Aurora, Colorado native did not record a hit in the Bluejays' season opener but has at least one hit in each of the other games this year.
Wilson leads Creighton with five extra-base hits (three home runs, two doubles) and 12 RBIs.
The Bluejays' longest hitting streak last year was eight games by Mileah McKelvy.
Wilson's previous high for a hit-streak was seven in 2019.
Creighton At Home
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 44-41 record at home.
Creighton's last home game was on May 5, 2019 against Seton Hall to close out the 2019 season. The Bluejays did not play a home game last season because of the season ending on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creighton posted 13 wins at home in 2018, the most in a single season since claiming 19 home victories in 2008.
The Bluejays are scheduled to play 16 games at the Creighton Sports Complex this season.
Year-by-year home records since 2014:
2019: 5-6
2018: 13-6
2017: 6-6
2016: 7-8
2015: 4-9
2014: 9-6
Long Time Since Last BIG EAST Game
Friday's game against Providence was Creighton's first BIG EAST game since May 5, 2019 (9-7 win vs. SHU).
March 12 marked exactly one year since the abrupt cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creighton did not play a game against a league opponent or at home last season.
