Creighton University
South Dakota State University
Softball Hosts South Dakota State in the Home Opening on Sunday
2/25/2022 9:42:00 AM | Softball
Up Next
Creighton opens its home schedule with a doubleheader against South Dakota State on Sunday.
The Bluejays' doubleheader on Sunrday will be the first game played at home in February since February 24, 1996 when the Bluejays took on Nebraska to open the season.Â
The Bluejays and Jackrabbits were scheduled to play in the North Texas invitational but the tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather in the upcoming forecast.Â
Game Schedule
Game #11 • Sunday, Feb. 27 • Creighton vs. South Dakota State • 1 p.m.
Game #12 • Sunday, Feb. 27 • Creighton vs. South Dakota State  • 3:30 p.m.
Â
Follow The Games
Live video will be provided through Flo Sports and Live stats will be provided on StatBroadcast.
Links to the video and live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (7-3)
The Bluejays went 4-1 at the Cardinal Classic in Beaumont, Texas this past weekend.Â
Creighton hit .329 with 10 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 35 runs scored.
Junior Brittney Manthie paces the offense with a .464 batting average as the Bluejays hold a .329 average through ten games this season.
Sam Alm leads the team with 12 RBI, while Emma Rosonke has hit a team-high three home runs and 11 RBI. Kailey Wilson and Cayla Nielsen have each hit two home runs. Nielsen also leads the team with 14 runs scored.
The Bluejays pitching staff owns a 3.61 ERA but allowed 25 earned runs this past weekend during 34 innings (5.15 ERA).
Mikayla Santa Cruz leads the Jays with 32 strikeouts in 32.0 innings pitched and a 2.19 ERA, while Alexis Wiggins has also tossed 21.1 innings and struck out 21 batters for a 3.94 ERA.
Head coach Brent Vigness is in his 29th season at the helm with 807 victories, the most of any coach across all sports in Creighton athletics history.
Scouting South Dakota State (6-4)
The Jackrabbits went 3-2 this past weekend at the Torero Classic in San Diego, California. Â
Rozelyn Carrillo leads the Jackrabbits with a .454 batting average, .645 slugging and .500 on-base percentage.Â
Lindsey Culver paces the team with four doubles and two home runs while Cylie Halvorson had a team-high eight RBI on the season.Â
As a team, South Dakota State is hitting .261 with 77 hits and 40 runs scored through 10 games.
The Jackrabbits own a 3.91 ERA as a staff, led by Tori Kniesche who has posted a 3.24 ERA and 4-1 record over 33.1 innings of work.
Grace Glanzer has also logged 28.2 innings and holds a 4.08 ERA during five appearances.Â
SDSU returns all nine all-Summit players from a season ago, including Player of the Year Halvorson, Pitcher of the Year Kniesche and Freshman of the Year Glanzer.
Head coach Krista Wood is in her eighth season at the helm of South Dakota State.
Series History Against Jackrabbits
Creighton leads the all-time series against South Dakota State, 14-12-1.
The Jackrabbits have won seven of the last eight meetings, including a pair of contests against the Bluejays last spring in Brookings, South Dakota (April 30).
The Bluejays last win over the Jackrabbits was back on March 17, 2019 when the Jays claimed a 1-0 win in Kansas City.
Playing in Omaha in February???
After the cancellation of the North Texas Invitational on Friday, Creighton and South Dakota State agreed to play a rare February series in Omaha.
How rare is it? It is just the fourth time in Creighton softball history that the Bluejays will play a home game in February.Â
Sunday will be the first home game in February since the Bluejays opened the 1996 season on February 24 with a doubleheader against Nebraska.Â
Home Opener History
Creighton owns a 30-14 record (.682) in home openers, including wins in 12 of the last 15 years (includes 2020 when Creighton did not play a home game).Â
In the last 15 years, Creighton has outscored their opponents 55-27 in the Bluejays home openers.Â
Creighton At Home
The Bluejays were 8-3 at home last season, including a stretch of four consecutive wins and seven victories in eight games at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Creighton played 10 straight games at home (March 20-April 14) and posted a 7-3 mark during those contests.
The Bluejays finished the season hitting .301 at home with 31 extra-base hits, including 16 home runs.Â
Kailey Wilson hit .519 with 14 hits and owns a 1.037 slugging percentage which includes four home runs and two doubles, as well as 11 RBIs. The Colorado native also walked 10 times and had a .658 on-base percentage during 10 games played at home.
Kiara Mills launched a team-best six home runs at home this season, while Madeline Vejvoda and Cayla Nielsen each scored a team-high eight times at home last season.
Opponents hit .291 with 18 home runs at the Creighton Sports Complex.Â
A total of 34 home runs (16 by CU, 18 by opponents) were hit during 77 innings of action last season at the Creighton Sports Complex.Â
The Bluejays did not play a home game in 2020 because of the season ending on March 12, 2020 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.
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 52-44 record at home.
Year-by-year home records since 2014:
2021: 8-3
2020: No home games
2019: 5-6
2018: 13-6
2017: 6-6
2016: 7-8
2015: 4-9
2014: 9-6
Â
HRs Hit At CU Sports Complex By Year
HRs (CU HRs) Number of Games   Year  Â
34 (16)Â Â Â 11Â Â Â 2021
--      No home games   2020
33 (15)Â Â Â 11Â Â Â 2019
47Â Â Â (25)Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 2018
29Â Â Â (13)Â Â Â 12Â Â Â 2017
26Â Â Â (9)Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 2016
41Â Â Â (16)Â Â Â 13Â Â Â 2015
29Â Â Â (17)Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 2014
Rosonke Listed on BE Honor Roll
Sophomore Emma Rosonke earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 21 after her performances at the Cardinal Classic.
Rosonke tied for the most RBI in the BIG EAST with eight, while hitting .400 at the Cardinal Classic with two home runs and two doubles while amassing 14 total bases to help Creighton to a 4-1 weekend.Â
She led the Bluejays by going 2-for-4 with four RBI, a double and a towering 2-run home run over the left center field fence in the weekend opener against Ohio.
She followed the opening game performance by delivering an RBI double, a run and a walk in the Jays back-and-forth 8-7 win over host Lamar.
The Omaha native continued her well-rounded performance by going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run to straight away center field during Creighton 9-8 victory over Ohio.
Alm, Manthie, Santa Cruz and Wiggins Make UTEP Invitational All-Tournament Team
Sam Alm, Brittney Manthie, Mikayla Santa Cruz and Alexis Wiggins each earned spots on the UTEP Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Alm led the Bluejays with 10 RBI, while posting a .400 batting average with six hits. She also scored twice and stole a base.Â
Manthie led the Bluejays with nine hits, a .643 batting average and scored seven seven runs.
The junior went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base to lead the Bluejays to a 6-2 win over Idaho State on Feb. 11 before adding a pair of hits and another run scored in the night cap against UTEP to finish opening day with a .833 batting average (5-for-6).
Santa Cruz went 2-1 in the circle, tossing a pair of complete games with 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work.Â
Wiggins also pitched 13.0 innings, posting a 0.69 ERA with 17 strikeouts.Â
The freshman collected her first win as a Bluejays, tossing all five innings in a 9-1 win over Abilene Christian on Feb. 13. Wiggins struck out five while allowing just three total hits in the win.
Santa Cruz Nabs BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Mikayla Santa Cruz was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career, the league announced on Feb. 14.Â
Santa Cruz tossed a pair of complete game to post a 1.15 ERA, while allowed just two earned runs in 15.2 innings of work and struck out 17 batters during three appearances to earn a spot on the UTEP Invitational All-Tournament team in El Paso, Texas.
The Tucson, Arizona native went the distance, allowing an earned run on five hits while notching six strikeouts in a 6-2 win over Idaho State to open the 2022 season.
The Bluejay junior returned to the circle in the afternoon of Feb 12 when she tossed her second complete game of the season. Santa Cruz gave up just one run on six hits and struck out nine as the Jays captured an eight-inning 3-1 victory over Abilene Christian.
Wiggins Secures First BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Honor
Alexis Wiggins captured the first BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award following her performance at the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas.
Wiggins posted a BIG EAST-best 0.69 ERA over 13 innings of work while also striking out 17 batters.
The Nebraska native collected her first win as a Bluejays, tossing all five innings in the 9-1 win over Abilene Christian on Feb. 13. Wiggins struck out five while allowing just three total hits in the win.
She did not allow a run in 3.2 innings of work and struck out eight batters in her first collegiate appearance against UTEP on Feb. 11 before earning her first collegiate start on Feb. 12 against UTEP.
Wiggins struck out four and allowed just one earned run on six hits over 4.1 innings of work, before having to leave the game after taking a liner off her leg in the bottom half of the fifth inning.
Mathie Earns Spot on BIG EAST Honor Roll
Junior Brittney Manthie earned BIG EAST Honor Roll recognition after collecting a BIG EAST-best nine hits on 9-for-14 hitting (.643 batting average) and scoring seven runs to also earn All-Tournament honors at the UTEP Invitational.
The Annandale, Minnesota native started the weekend by going 3-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base to lead the Bluejays to a 6-2 win over Idaho State. Manthie added a pair of hits and another run scored in the night cap to finished opening day with a .833 batting average (5-for-6).
Mathie continued her dominance at the plate by going 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored in a 3-1 win over Abilene Christian on Feb. 12. Manthie went just 1-for-4 in the night cap against UTEP but did draw another walk and added another run to her impressive performance.
She ended the weekend by going 1-for-2 and scored two more times as Creighton run-ruled Abilene Christian, 9-1, on Feb. 13. Manthie also drew her fourth walk of the weekend and reached base on a fielder's choice during her lone plate appearance without a hit.
Walking Off With Victories
The Bluejays ended their time at the UTEP Invitation in walk-off fashion to run-rule Abilene Christian 9-1.Â
Sophomore Emma Rosonke belted her first home run and the Jays first walk-off of the season with a three-run home run over the right centerfield wall to give Creighton a 9-1 win over the Wildcats.
The Bluejays owned five walk-off wins in 2021, including three walk-off home runs. Below is a list of Creighton's walk-off wins during the 2021 season.
Score   Play (player)   Date
10-2 (6) vs. UICÂ Â Â RBI-1B (Gappa)Â Â Â 3/5/21
4-3 vs. Northern Kentucky   2-RBI HR (Wilson)   3/6/21
6-5 vs. Seton Hall   Reach on E (Rosonke)   4/3/21
4-3 vs. St. John's   Solo HR (Mills)   4/10/21
12-9 vs. St. John's   3-RBI HR (Wilson)   4/11/21
Mills and Gappa Hit Back-to-back Triples
Kiara Mills and Alyssa Gappa hit back-to-back triples in the season-opener against Idaho State on last Friday.
It was the first time that two Bluejays hit consecutive triple since at least 1999.
The Bluejays have hit two triples in the same game just 11 times since the 1999 season. During those 11 game, only two other time have both triples came in the same inning.
Below is a list of all the times Creighton has hit two triples in a game since 1999.
No.   Opponent   Date
2* !   vs. Idaho State   2/11/22
2   vs. Niagara   3/11/20
2   vs. Kansas City   4/17/18
2*   vs. Weber State   2/25/17
2   vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff   2/11/12
2   vs. Detroit   2/13/09
2   vs. Alcorn State   2/23/08
2   at Northern Colorado   3/10/07
2   vs. Texas-Arlington   2/22/04
2   at Kansas City   3/31/99
4*   at Bellevue   2/8/99
* - Indicates happened in same inning
! - Indicates happened consecutively
Starting On The Right Foot
Creighton opened the season with a 3-2 record during the opening weekend for the fifth time since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.
The four other years the Jays posted a winning record during the opening weekend were in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Creighton qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament during both the 2014 and 2018 season and were on pace to make their third BIG EAST Tournament before ending their season early due to Covid.
2022: 3-2 in El Paso, Texas
2021: 0-3 at Wichita State
2020: 3-2 in San Antonio, Texas
2019: 1-4 in Las Cruces, N.M.
2018: 3-2 in Las Vegas, Nev.
2017: 1-4 in Tempe, Ariz.
2016: 1-4 in Tempe, Ariz.
2015: 3-2 in Tempe, Ariz.
2014: 3-2 in Tempe, Ariz.
The last time Creighton finished with fewer than two losses in the opening weekend of the season was in 2012 when the Bluejays swept a four game series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Arkansas. Creighton started the 2012 season with seven consecutive
victories.Â
The last time Creighton opened the year with a perfect showing at a tournament was in 2007 when Creighton went 5-0 at the UCA Spring Clash in Conway, Arkansas.
This year marked the fourth time the Bluejays are in Texas for the opening weekend since 2004. Creighton opens the 2022 season with three straight five-game tournaments in Texas, the most tournaments in a single state to start the year in school history.
Vigness Reaches 800 Creighton Wins
Head coach Brent Vigness owns an 811-611-4 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 800th win at Creighton last season with a 6-5 win over Seton Hall on April 3.
Vigness is one of five active Creighton coaches with more than 350 wins as a Bluejay head coach.Â
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.
Â
Coach, Sport     Wins (as of 2/16/22)
Brent Vigness, Softball   811*
Ed Servais, Baseball    587*
Mary Higgins, Softball    564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis    486*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball    414*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball    376*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis    347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball    327
* still active coaching at Creighton
Bluejays Picked 4th In Preseason Poll
The Creighton softball team earned the fourth position with 41 points in the 2022 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced on January 20..
Villinova, the reigning BIG EAST champions, earned the top spot in the poll with 62 points, including six first-place votes. DePaul recieved the remaining three first-place votes and ranked second with 58 points.Â
UConn took the third spot with 48 points while Creighton came in behind the Huskies with 41. Butler (39), St. John's (26), Seton Hall (22), Providence (20) and Georgetown (8) rounded out the bottom half of the 2022 edition of the preseason coaches' poll.
Creighton finished 2021 with an 8-7 record in league play to place fourth (14-14 overall). A bulk of the Bluejays 2021 team, including All-BIG EAST First Team selection Kailey Wilson returns to the lineup this season.
Creighton will also lean heavily on Mikayla Santa Cruz in the circle this season. The junior posted a 5-4 record in 57.2 innings with a 4.73 ERA a season ago.
Five true freshmen, one graduate transfer and a Division II transfer joined the program for the 2022 season.Â
For just the third time since Creighton joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2014 season, this year's conference schedule will include three-day weekend's with one game on each day. The Bluejays' first BIG EAST series is set for March 11-13 as Creighton hosts Georgetown in their home-opener.
2020 BIG EAST SoftballÂ
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Villanova (6) - 62
2. DePaul (3) - 58
3. UConn - 48
4. Creighton - 41
5. Butler - 39
6. St. John's -26
7. Seton Hall - 22
8. Providence - 20
9. Georgetown - 8
() - First-place votes
