Creighton University
UIC
Softball Hits The Road For Saluki Invitational
3/3/2021 3:30:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays will play five games in three days against four different teams
Up Next
Creighton travels to Southern Illinois for five games in three days at the Saluki Invitational.
Game Schedule
Game #1 • Friday, March 5 • Creighton vs. UIC • 10 a.m.
Game #2 • Friday, March 5 • Creighton vs. Saint Louis • 4:45 p.m.
Game #3 • Saturday, March 6 • Creighton vs. Northern Kentucky  • 10 a.m.
Game #4 • Saturday, March 6 • Creighton at Southern Illinois • 12:15 p.m.
Game #5 • Sunday, March 7  • Creighton vs. UIC • 10 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
Follow The Games
At the time of the completion of these notes, live stats and video information had not been finalized.
Links to live stats and/or video streams can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page when they become available.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (0-3)
The Bluejays opened the 2021 season with three losses at Wichita State.
Creighton scored a total of five runs on 12 hits during its first weekend outside since the fall.
Opening day on Feb. 27 marked the Bluejays' first game since March 12, 2020.
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 third in program history with a .377 batting average (183 hits) and owns 113 runs scored during 150 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 UIC (2-3)
The Flames opened the 2021 season with five games at the Winthrop Garnet/Gold Classic.
UIC played three extra-inning contests, including an eight-inning loss to Syracuse, 6-4.
Kayla Wedl earned Horizon League Player of the Week status after hitting .474 with nine hits, eight runs and five RBIs during the opening weekend. Of her nine hits, Wedl posted three home runs, three doubles and a triple.
Wedl, a fifth-year shortstop, earned Horizon League Player of the Year accolades in 2019, claimed a spot on the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List and was selected as a Senior CLASS Award Candidate.
The Flames returned 13 letterwinners from last season, including a pair of pitchers, and welcomed seven newcomers.
UIC earned the top spot in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches Poll. The Flames have won five consecutive regular-season conference titles.
Lynn Curylo is in her fifth season as head coach at UIC.
Series History Against Flames
UIC leads the all-time series, 4-1.
The Bluejays and Flames last met in 2017 in Santa Clara, California with UIC claiming a 3-2 win.
Scouting Saint Louis (0-3)
The Billikens have started the season with three losses during games played in three different locations. SLU lost 5-4 at Bradley (Feb. 22), 8-1 against Ball State in Carbondale (Feb. 26) and 8-5 against DePaul in St. Louis (Feb. 28).
Centerfielder Kat Lane has led the Billiken offense with seven hits (7-for-10) and three runs scored through three games, while Alyssa Chavez posted a home run and four RBIs during their last game against DePaul.
SLU returned 14 players from the 2020 roster, including first baseman Sadie Wise who ranks in the top 10 on the Billikens' career charts for multiple offensive categories.
Chloe Wendling returned in the circle after leading the team in 2020 with 50.1 innings last season and appeared in 15 games as a freshman in 2019.
Saint Louis was picked fifth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
Christy Connoyer is in her 11th season as head coach of the Billikens.
Series History Against Billikens
Creighton is 6-0 all-time against Saint Louis.
The Bluejays defeated the Billikens 5-4 in nine innings during the 2019 season in Carbondale, Illinois.
Scouting Northern Kentucky (0-4)
The Norse opened their season with four games at the Tennessee Invitational.
Northern Kentucky scored 10 runs during its first two games of the weekend before being held off the scoreboard in the final two.
Madi Mulder and Ava Lawson each recorded three hits during the trip to pace the Norse offensively.
Lauren Hicks led the pitching staff with a team-high 11 innings pitched, while fourth other pitchers recorded at least one inning in the circle.
NKU returned 14 players, including six starters from last season's team, and added nine newcomers for the 2021 season.
The Norse were picked third in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Head coach Kathryn Gleason is in her sixth season at Northern Kentucky.
Series History Against Norse
Creighton and Northern Kentucky have met once previously.
The Norse defeated the Bluejays, 7-1, at the Coach B Classic in Carbondale, Illinois.
Scouting Southern Illinois (9-0)
The Salukis have started 2021 with nine consecutive wins and own 18 straight victories dating back to 2020, the second-longest active streak among Division I programs.
SIU's current win streak dates back to the start of the Coach B Classic last season, and Southern's 4-3 win over Creighton on Feb. 29, 2020 marked the third win in the stretch.
The Salukis received 11 votes in this week's NFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
SIU earned victories over Austin Peay, Ball State and DePaul last weekend during the 2021 edition of the Coach B Classic.
Sarah Harness earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after allowing just one earned run and five hits during 11 innings last weekend. The sophomore recorded 12 strikeouts and walked only one while recording a pair of wins. Harness owns a 2.21 ERA and 31 strikeouts to seven walks overall during a team-high 25 1/3 innings.
Maddy Vermejan paces the offense with 10 runs and 10 walks. The fifth-year second baseman is tied for the team lead with eight hits and holds a .421 batting average and .667 on-base percentage.
SIU returned 12 letterwinners from last season, including nine starters. The Salukis also added seven newcomers.
Kerri Blaylock is in her 21st season as head coach of the Salukis.
Series History Against Salukis
Creighton is 36-27 all-time against Southern Illinois.
The Salukis have won two out of three against the Bluejays in Carbondale during the past two seasons.
The first meeting between the two teams was in 1981 at the Missouri State Tournament and the teams met annually from 1993-2012 as both owned membership in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton and Southern Illinois have split four games since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
Last Weekend Recap
Creighton opened its 2021 season with three losses at Wichita State.
The Shockers launched 13 home runs and outscored the Bluejays 31-5.
The weekend started with a pair of run-rule lopsided games (14-2, 13-3) before ending with a 4-0 shutout on Sunday.
Ashley Cantu, Kailey Wilson, Madeline Vejvoda and Brittney Manthie each ended the opening series with two hits to pace the Bluejays who managed only 12 hits in 17 innings of action.
