Creighton University
Nebraska-Omaha
Softball Matches Up With UNO At Connie Claussen Field On Wednesday
4/20/2021 2:45:00 PM | Softball
Bluejays defeated the Mavericks 4-2 last week at the Creighton Sports Complex
Up Next
Creighton faces crosstown foe UNO for the second consecutive Wednesday as the Bluejays head to Connie Claussen Field, the new home field of the Mavericks.
Game Schedule
Wednesday, April 21 • Creighton (13-11) at UNO (9-23) • 4 p.m.Â
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Follow The Game
Live video and live stats will be available for Wednesday's contest.
Video and live stats will be provided by OMavs.com.
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 (13-11)
The Bluejays enter Wednesday's game after being swept by DePaul in Chicago.
Creighton played 10 consecutive home games from March 20-April 14 and finished 7-3 (6-3 BIG EAST) before going 0-3 at DePaul.
Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .294 team batting average.
Fifth-year senior and lead-off hitter Ashley Cantu paces the BIG EAST with a .450 batting average and ranks fourth in the league with 36 hits. Cantu also leads the Bluejays with 16 runs scored.
Sophomore Kailey Wilson leads the conference in slugging percentage (.775). She is also third in the league for batting average (.423), tied fourth for on-base percentage (.500) and tied second for home runs (7) and tied third in RBIs (24).
Kiara Mills ranks second on the team and fifth in the conference with a .656 slugging percentage with six home runs and three doubles. The sophomore first baseman is also second on the team with 14 RBIs, while posting a .311 batting average with 19 hits and .425 on-base percentage (10 walks, 2 HBP).
Mikayla Santa Cruz owns a 4.54 ERA during 49 1/3 innings of work, while Parker Boyd leads the Creighton pitching staff with 77 1/3 innings of work and owns a 4.89 ERA. The graduate transfer has 75 strikeouts (4th in BIG EAST) including 28 looking, which leads the conference.
Bluejay pitchers have combined for a 4.62 ERA and 130 strikeouts.
Head coach Brent Vigness is in his 28th season at the helm of the Bluejays and owns 803 wins at Creighton, the most by any head coach across all of Creighton athletics.
Scouting UNO (9-23)
The Mavericks head into Wednesday's tilt after a split during a weekend home series against Western Illinois.
UNO's 4-3 win during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader ended an eight-game losing streak.
Emily Klosterman earned Summit League Player of the Week honors after posting a .727 batting average with eight hits, two doubles, a triple, four RBI and two stolen bases during a four-game weekend series against Western Illinois.
Klosterman also went 1-for-3 with an RBI against Creighton last week and owns an eight-game hitting streak heading into Wednesday's matchup.
She leads the Mavericks with a .306 batting average and 14 RBIs.
Lexi Burkhardt leads the team with 26 hits and owns a .289 batting average, while lead-off hitter Lynsey Tucker is hitting .275 with 22 hits and 14 runs scored.
Kamryn Meyer paces the UNO pitching staff with 109 strikeouts in 75 innings of work. Meyer recorded six strikeouts, walked four and did not allow a hit during 2 2/3 innings of relief against Creighton last week.
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, 29-9.
The Bluejays defeated the Mavericks 4-2 last week at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Jena Lawrence pitched her first career complete game, while Kiara Mills hit a game-winning two-run homer.
Wednesday's game will be the third attempt by Creighton and UNO to play at Connie Claussen Field.
A contest scheduled for March 17 was postponed because of weather and the March 24 make-up date was canceled because of COVID protocols.
Last Time Out
The Bluejays were outscored 20-3 during three losses against BIG EAST-leader DePaul.
Creighton fell 6-0 and 4-1 in a doubleheader on Saturday before dropping a 10-2 contest in five innings on Sunday.
Ashley Cantu and Kiara Mills each had three hits to pace the Bluejays. Mills recorded a double for Creighton's lone extra-base hit of the weekend.
DePaul hit five home runs during the series sweep, including a grand slam in the series finale.
Manthie's Recent On-Base Streak
Left fielder Brittney Manthie has reached base in nine consecutive games entering Wednesday, which is Creighton's longest active streak.
During the past nine games, Manthie is hitting .438 (7-of-16) with seven hits, six walks, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
The Minnesota native has played in all 24 games this season (19 starts) and owns 13 hits, 10 runs scored, six walks and three stolen bases. She has also reached base because of an error a team-high four times.
Home Runs Tell The Tale
Creighton is 7-0 this season when not allowing a home run, but just 2-7 when allowing two or more long balls.
The Bluejays are also 10-4 when hitting at least one home run and 3-7 when not hitting a homer.
During Creighton's 13 wins this season, the Bluejays have hit 16 home runs and allowed nine.
Comparatively, Creighton has allowed 28 home runs during its 11 losses this season.
