Creighton University
Nebraska-Omaha
Softball Hosts UNO For Midweek Clash
4/13/2021 11:41:00 AM | Softball
Bluejays have played nine consecutive games at home
Up Next
Creighton hosts crosstown foe UNOÂ on Wednesday afternoon for a midweek nonconference matchup.
Game Schedule
Wednesday, April 14 • UNO (7-20) at Creighton (12-8) • 4 p.m.Â
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Follow The Game
Live video and live stats will be available for Wednesday's game.
Video will be provided on YouTube.com/GoCreighton and stats will be provided by 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 (12-8)
The Bluejays have won five of their last six games entering Wednesday's midweek contest.
Creighton's last nine games have been played at home and the Bluejays have not played a road game since March 13 at Providence.
The Bluejays are 6-3 and have scored 46 runs in those nine home contests.
Creighton is tied for the BIG EAST lead with a .302 team batting average.
Sophomore Kailey Wilson leads the conference in batting average (.452), slugging percentage (.855) and on-base percentage (.534). She is also tied for second in the league for home runs (7) and RBIs (23).
Fifth-year senior lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu is second in the BIG EAST with a .449 batting average and is tied for fourth in the league with 31 hits. Cantu also paces the team with 15 runs scored.
Kiara Mills ranks sixth in the conference with a .653 slugging percentage and tied for sixth with five homers. The sophomore first baseman is also tied for second on the team with 12 RBIs, while posting a .306 batting average with 15 hits and .443 on-base percentage (10 walks, 2 HBP).
Mikayla Santa Cruz owns a team-low 3.94 ERA during 42 2/3 innings of work.
Parker Boyd leads the Creighton pitching staff with 68 innings of work and owns a 4.43 ERA. The graduate transfer has 64 strikeouts (4th in BIG EAST) including 23 looking, which ranks second the conference.
Bluejay pitchers have combined for a 4.31 ERA and 113 strikeouts during 130 innings of work.
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 802 wins at Creighton, the most by any head coach across all of Creighton athletics.
Scouting UNO (7-20)
The Mavericks enter the week on a six-game losing skid, including a four losses at South Dakota State on Saturday and Sunday.
Lynsey Tucker and Lex Burkhardt lead the team with 20 hits as UNO owns a .243 team batting average.
Allison Helton paces the team with six doubles and is tied for the team lead with two homers and nine RBIs.
The Mavs average 3.1 runs per game and have recorded just 42 extra-base hits through 27 games.
Three pitchers have logged significant innings this season.
Kamryn Meyer leads the team with 65 1/3 innings, while Sydney Hampton paces the staff with a 3.63 ERA in 52 innings and Sydney Nuismer has logged 46 1/3 innings.
Meyer ranks fourth in the Summit League with 93 strikeouts.
Head coach Amanda Eberhart is in her third season at the helm of the Mavericks.
Series History Against Mavericks
Creighton leads the all-time series against UNO, 28-9.
The Bluejays defeated the Mavericks 5-2 in 2019 at Westside Field.
Creighton fell to UNO 8-5 on April 26, 2018 in the last meeting between the two programs at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Last Time Out
Creighton won the final two games of a three-game series at home against St. John's on Saturday and Sunday.
Both victories came via walk-off home runs.
Kiara Mills lifted a solo home run to left-center field on Saturday for a 4-3 victory and Kailey Wilson helped the Bluejays clinch the series with a three-run homer for a 12-9 victory on Sunday.
The Bluejays hit a total of six home runs during the weekend, including three during the series finale. Creighton also walked 16 times over the course of three games, including a season-high seven during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Wilson drew a team-high six walks and posted a .769 on-base percentage against the Red Storm.
Mills Listed on BE Weekly Honor Roll
Kiara Mills earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
During the Bluejays' three-game series against St. John's, Mills hit three home runs, tallied five RBIs and posted a team-best 13 total bases.
She also did not record an error during 21 chances at first base.
Wilson Named BE Player of the Week
Kailey Wilson earned BIG EAST Softball Player of the Week honors, the league announced on April 5. The Aurora, Colorado native hit .778 (7-of-9) with five RBIs and two home runs to help the Bluejays sweep Seton Hall.
Wilson led all BIG EAST hitters this past week in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage (.818) and total bases (14). She also ranked second in the league with a 1.556 slugging percentage.
The sophomore started all three of Creighton's games against Seton Hall as the designed player.
Wilson led the Bluejays by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored during a 9-4 win to start the series.
She followed the opening game performance by hitting two home runs and driving in three during Creighton's 5-2 victory and ended the weekend by going 2-for-3, while walking once in the Bluejays' 6-5 win on April 3.
In addition to Wilson's accolade, Mikayla Santa Cruz earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after posting a pair of wins and a 1.40 ERA during 10 innings of work against Seton Hall. The sophomore did not allow an earned run during a complete-game effort in the second game of a doubleheader on April 2.
Vigness Reaches 800 Creighton Wins
Head coach Brent Vigness owns an 802-604-3 record at the helm of the Bluejays and is the only Creighton coach to reach the 800-win mark during a coaching tenure.
He earned his 700th win at Creighton on March 10, 2016 against South Dakota State.
Vigness is one of five active Creighton coaches with more than 350 wins as a Bluejay head coach.
A Central College (Iowa) grad, Vigness took over for the Bluejays prior to the 1994 season after spending five years as head coach at Assumption College in Worchester, Massachusetts.
Coach, Sport     Wins (as of 4/13/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball 802*
Ed Servais, Baseball 572*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 476*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 383*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 356*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
* still active coaching at Creighton
Cantu Reaches 200-Hit Plateau
Fifth-year senior outfielder Ashley Cantu reached the 200-hit plateau on March 12 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 a 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.
Creighton At Home
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 50-44 record at home.
Creighton's last nine games have been at home, while the team has posted a 6-3 mark during those contests.
A total of 30 home runs (14 by CU, 16 by opponents) have been hit during 63 innings of action this season at the Creighton Sports Complex.
During the 2019 season, 33 home runs were launched during 11 games at the CU Sports Complex, while 47 were hit during 19 games in 2018.
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:
2021: 6-3
2020: No home games
2019: 5-6
2018: 13-6
2017: 6-6
2016: 7-8
2015: 4-9
2014: 9-6
HRs Hit At CU Sports Complex By Year
HRs (CU HRs), Number of Games, Year
30 (14), 9, 2021
-- No home games 2020
33 (15), 11, 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
