Creighton University
Seton Hall
Softball Travels To East Coast To Face Seton Hall
3/16/2022 5:33:00 PM | Softball
The Bluejays and Pirates will play a three-game series beginning on Friday
Up Next
Creighton (10-8, 0-1 BIG EAST) continues BIG EAST play with a trip to New Jersey for a three-game series against Seton Hall.
The Bluejays and Pirates will open play with a doubleheader on Friday with game one starting at 1 p.m. Creighton and Seton Hall will wrapping up the weekend with a single game on Sunday starting at 11 am.Â
The three-game series will be played on Essex Country Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J.
Game Schedule
Game #1 • Friday, March 18 • Creighton at Seton Hall •  1 p.m.
Game #2 • Friday, March 18 • Creighton at Seton Hall • 3 p.m.
Game #3 • Sunday, March 20 • Creighton at Seton Hall • 11 a.m.
*All times listed are Central Standard Time
Follow The Games
This weekends three-game series at Seton Hall will feature live video and live stats.
Live video will be provided through FloSports while live stats will be provided via SIDEARM Sports.
Links to live video and live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page on GoCreighton.com.Â
A subscription is required to view the event on FloSports. More information can be found at GoCreighton.com/FloSports.
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (10-8, 0-1 BE)
The Bluejays take a 10-8 overall record on the road for their first BIG EAST road trip of the season. Creighton dropped the conference opener last weekend to Georgetown 6-4 in extra-innings.Â
The Bluejays currently lead the BIG EAST in batting average (.311), on-base percentage (.400), runs scored (102), RBI (94 and triples (4), while also ranking second in slugging percentage (.472) and hit by pitches (18).
Creighton has six batters hitting over .300 lead by sophomore's Cayla Nielsen and Emma Rosonke.Â
Nielsen leads the Bluejays with a .379 batting average, which ranks sixth best in the league. She also has scored a conference-high 23 runs on a team-high 22 hits including five doubles, two triples and three home runs.Â
Rosonke follows suit with a .375 average on 15 hits including three doubles and a team-high tying four home runs. She paces the team in RBI (18), while junior Kailey Wilson is close behind with 16 RBI.Â
Wilson raised her batting average to .367 after going 2-for-2 with a home run and a double against Georgetown last weekend. Wilson has launched four home runs on 18 hits this season.Â
Kiara Mills (.345), Brittney Manthie (.311) and Madeline Vejvoda are also hitting over .300, while Saren Croker (.292), Alyssa Gappa (.282), Sam Alm (.280) and Shayna Dahlen (.261) are not far behind.
The Bluejays pitching staff owns a 4.09 ERA with 95 strikeouts while allowing 66 earned runs on 121 hits.
Mikayla Santa Cruz leads the Jays with 49 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched and a 3.43 ERA, while Alexis Wiggins has also tossed 37.0 innings and struck out 33 batters for a 3.97 ERA.
Head coach Brent Vigness is in his 29th season at the helm with 814 victories, the most of any coach across all sports in Creighton athletics history.
Scouting Seton Hall (8-9, 1-2)
The Pirates enter the second weekend of conference play with a 8-9 overall record after opening BIG EAST play with a 1-2 showing against Providence last week.
Seton Hall run-ruled the Friars 8-0 in the conference opener, but dropped the final two games, 3-1 and 2-1 in a doubleheader last Friday.
Centerfielder Abby Wingo leads the Pirates and ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .389 batting average. The junior paces Seton Hall with 21 hits, six doubles, and 15 runs scored while Lauren Caye leads the team and and the BIG EAST with a 1.034 slugging percentage. Nine of Caye's 11 hits have been extra-base hits as she has smacked a team-high five home runs and four doubles.
Baylee Allender is also a .300 hitter for the Pirates. She holds a .311 batting average and is tied for second with Janae Barracato with five doubles this season.Â
As a team, Seton Hall is hitting .296, second best in the BIG EAST behind the Bluejays, with 135 hits, a league-best .500 slugging percentage on 33 doubles and 18 home runs.Â
Shelby Smith and Sydney Babik anchor the Pirates in the circle. Smith holds a team-best 3.37 ERA with 43 strikes in 54.0 innings of work, while Babik has posted a 3.88 ERA with 26 strikeout in 43.1 innings of work.
The Pirates pitching staff has a combined 4.24 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 103.2 innings in the circle.Â
Head coach Angie Churchill is in her first season at the helm of Seton Hall.Â
Series History Against Pirates
Creighton leads the all-time series against Seton Hall, 13-7.
The Bluejays swept the Pirates in a three-game series last season in Omaha. Creighton claimed 9-4 and 5-2 wins in a doubleheader on April 2, before capturing a 6-5 win in walk-off fashion.Â
The Bluejays are 5-3 in game played in South Orange, N.J. The last meeting between the Bluejays and Pirates in N.J. was in 2018 when Creighton swept Seton Hall with 2-1, 12-4 and 5-3 victories.Â
Last Time Out
The Bluejays dropped the BIG EAST Conference opener to Georgetown, 6-4, in eight innings on March 13 at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Georgetown grabbed an early 2-0 lead on a two-run, two-out single to left by Kayla Dunn in the top of the first inning.
The Bluejays answered was a pair of runs of their own in the bottom half of the first as Madeline Vejvoda drew a lead-off walk and advance to second on a wild pitch. Following a strikeout by the Hoyas, Kailey Wilson smacked a ground-rule double into right center field, allowing Vejvoda to coast in for the Bluejays first run of the game. Kate Mason, who was pinch running for Wilson, advanced to third on the Hoyas second wild pitch of the inning before Kiara Mills drove her in with a ground ball to the second baseman to even thins up at 2-2.
The two teams then went scoreless until the bottom of the third, when Wilson blasted her fourth home run of the season into the baseball field beyond the left field wall to give the Jays a 3-2 lead.Â
Georgetown's Savannah Jones launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Hoyas an 4-3 edge in the top of the fourth. Georgetown's lead didn't last long as Emma Rosonke drew a two-out bases loaded walk to knot things up at 4-4. Wilson got things rolling with a two-out walk, before Mills lined a single back up the middle and Sam Alm was hit by a pitch to set up Rosonke with bases loaded.
With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh and runners on first and second, Alm laced a liner right back up the middle. Freshman Josey Marquette rounded third and slid around the tag at the plate but miss home as Georgetown's centerfielder Cameron Kondo fired a strike to catcher Mae Forshey to throw out Marquette at the plate to keep things knotted at 4-4.Â
The Hoyas plated two runs on three straight hits with two outs to grab a 6-4 lead in the top of the eight before Julia Parker retired the Bluejays in order to claim the win for the Hoyas.
Nielsen Named BIG EAST Player of the Week
Sophomore Cayla Nielsen earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday, March 7. The Blair, Nebraska native hit 9-of-18 (.500) from the plate with four RBI, two doubles and one home run to help the Bluejays to a 3-2 record at the Evansville Softball Invitational on March 4-6.
Nielsen led the BIG EAST in runs scored and tied for the BIG EAST lead in hits with nine, while extending her on-base streak out to 13-games.Â
The sophomore started all five games in centerfield for Creighton, and scored the Bluejays lone run in the Evansville Softball Invitational opener against Bowling Green when she launched her third home run of the season over the left field wall.Â
She finished the opening day of the tournament by going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored to help Creighton to a 11-2 win over Green Bay. She then went 2-for-5 and scored three runs in the Jays 14-6 triumph over Oakland on Saturday afternoon, before capping off the second day of competition by going 3-for-3 from the plate with three runs scored as the Bluejays run-ruled Green Bay 8-0 in five innings.
Nielsen has started all 18 games this season and currently leads the Bluejays in multiple offensive categories. The Nebraska native paces the team with a .379 batting average, while also leading the Bluejays with 22 hits, 23 runs, five doubles and two triples.
League-Opener History
Creighton is 5-3 in BIG EAST openers and has won 12 of its last 16 conference opening-games , including wins in the final seven Missouri Valley Conference lid-lifters.Â
The last time Creighton opened conference play at home was in 2016 when they hosted Providence for a three-game set. The Bluejays won two games as the third was cancelled due to inclement weather in the Omaha area.
The Bluejays are 23-13 all-time in their first conference game of the season during stints in the HCAC (2-3), WAC (1-1), MVC (15-6) and BIG EAST (5-3).
Nielsen's On-Base Streak Reached 13
Sophomore Cayla Nielsen reached base in 13 consecutive games entering last weekends game against Evansville, which is the longest since Ashley Cantu reached base safely in 21 consecutive games in 2019.
During her 13-game on-base streak, Nielsen was hitting .457 (19-for-42) with four doubles, two triples, three home runs, 12 RBI and scored 19 runs.
Nielsen also had a seven game hit streak that was snapped this past weekend against South Dakota State.Â
The Nebraska native has started all 18 games in center field this season and owns a team-high 22 hits, 23 runs scored, eight walks and three stolen base, while collecting a team-best 40 total bases.
Offensive Outburst
The Creighton offense produced 11 runs on 13 hits during a six-inning victory over Green Bay (March 4).
Cayla Nielsen, Sam Alm and Emma Rosonke each scored a pair of runs, as Nielsen and Rosonke each went 3-for-4 from the plate.Â
Rosonke set new career-highs with three hits while also collecting four of the Bluejays 10 RBI.
Creighton followed their performance against Green Bay up with a slug-fest against Oakland on March 5.Â
The Bluejays set season-highs in hits (15), runs (14), RBI (13), doubles (5) and total bases (23).
Nielsen and Kiara Mills each crossed the plate three times, while Alm and Kailey Wilson each scored two runs.Â
Nine different Bluejays posted at least one hit while Mills and Shayna Dahlen led the Bluejays offense with three hits apeice.Â
Mills drove in a season-high three runs while launching her third home run of the season.
The Bluejays' output against the Golden Grizzles marked the most runs scored in a single game since February 8, 2020 when Creighton set the single-game record with 24 runs scored against Toledo. Â
Hit Parade
Creighton's 15 hits against Oakland (March 5) marked a new season-high and was the most hits in a single game by the Bluejays since February 8, 2020 when the Jays had 18 in their 24-1 win over Toledo.
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, Creighton has recorded 15 or more hits in a single game just four times.Â
Date    Opponent   Hits
3/5/22   vs. Oakland   15
2/8/20   vs. Toledo   18
4/17/18   Kansas City   15
3/23/16   Providence   16
Creighton At Home
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 52-47 record 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 owned a 1.037 slugging percentage which includes four home runs and two doubles, as well as 11 RBI. The Colorado native also walked 10 times and had a .658 on-base percentage during 10 games played at home last season.
Kiara Mills launched a team-best six home runs at home a season ago, 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.
Year-by-year home records since 2014:
2022: 0-3
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
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HRs Hit At CU Sports Complex By Year
HRs (CU HRs) Number of Games   Year  Â
10 (1)Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 2022
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
Playing At Home In February
Creighton was originally scheduled to open play at home on March 11 against Georgetown, but due to inclement weather in Texas the Bluejays had to adjust their plans.
Those plans and above average temperatures in Omaha, brought South Dakota State to the CU Sports Complex for a rare February home contest for the Bluejays.
It was just the fourth time in Creighton softball history that the Bluejays played a home game in February.Â
Last Sunday's doubleheader with South Dakota State was also the first February home game since the Bluejays hosted Nebraska on February 24, 1996 in the season opener.Â
Creighton is 4-6 all-time in home games played in February.Â
Home Opener History
Creighton is 12-3 during its last 15 home-openers, and 17-11 overall under head coach Brent Vigness.
Creighton owns a 30-15 record (.667) in home openers, including wins in 12 of the last 16 years (includes 2020 when Creighton did not play a home game).
The Bluejays are slated to play 11 more home games this season, including BIG EAST series against, Providence, Villanova and DePaul.
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, while 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 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).
Manthie 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 (Feb. 13).
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.
Junior Sam Alm added another walk-off hit on March 5 in the Bluejays 14-6 run-rule victory over Oakland at the Evansville Softball Invitational.Â
Alm laced a single into right field, which allowed Cayla Nielsen to score from third as the Bluejays captured the victory and their second walk-off win of the season.
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 and 2022 season.
Score   Play (player)   Date
14-6 (6) vs. Oakland   RBI-Single (Alm)   3/5/22Â
9-1 (5) vs Abilene Christian   3-RBI HR (Rosonke)   2/13/22
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
*Bold Indicates happened this year.
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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 Feb. 11.
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 at the UTEP Invitational 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 814-613-4 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.
Coach, Sport     Wins (as of 3/15/22)
Brent Vigness, Softball   814*
Ed Servais, Baseball    593*
Mary Higgins, Softball    564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis    491*
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..
Villanova, the reigning BIG EAST champions, earned the top spot in the poll with 62 points, including six first-place votes. DePaul received 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.
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
