Saturday, February 11
Chicago, Ill.
9:30 A.M.
Creighton University
1-0
4
vs
3
Detroit Mercy
0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Detroit Mercy
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
7
1
Creighton
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
4
12
0
Wilson and Wiggins Shine as Softball Opens Season With Pair of Victories at the DePaul Dome Tournament
2/11/2023 3:13:00 PM | Softball
Head Coach Krista Wood secured her first win as a Bluejay in the season opener.
Rosemont, Ill. -- The Creighton softball team rode the performance of senior slugger Kailey Wilson as well as strong pitching from freshman Natalia Puchino and sophomore Alexis Wiggins to secure a pair of victories at the DePaul Dome Tournament on Saturday in Rosemont, Ill.Â
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Wilson went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI as the Bluejays opened the season with a dramatic 4-3 win over Detroit Mercy on a walk-off bunt from junior Alyssa Gappa. Wiggins then delivered a career-high 11 strikeouts in the Jays' 6-1 victory over St. Thomas to move to 2-0 on the season. The games were the first in the dugout for head coach Krista Wood, as she moves to 13-4 all-time in season-openers as a head coach.
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In the opener, Detroit Mercy scored twice in the first inning on three hits to snag an early 2-0 lead. The Bluejays responded with a run of their own as sophomore Sydra Seville led off the game with an infield single. Junior Emma Rosonke then delivered an RBI double to center cutting the deficit 2-1.
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The Titans regained their two-run advantage in the top of the second inning as Jordan Hazel hit a ground-rule double and later scored on an RBI single to right by Renee Trotman.Â
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Down 3-1 entering the fifth inning, Creighton went to work building their comeback. Seville led off the inning by beating out an infield single and moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Lily West. Following a flyout, Wilson delivered an RBI single back up the middle scoring Seville from third making the score 3-2.Â
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Still trailing in the bottom of the sixth inning, Creighton used back-to-back singles from juniors Madeline Vejvoda and Cayla Nielsen to put runner on the corners. The duo then perfected a double steal, evening the game at 3-3.
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After retiring the side in the top of the seventh, the Bluejays went back to work with the bats. Rosonke got things started drawing a walk, before advancing to third on the second ground-rule double of the game by Wilson. Gappa then delivered the walk-off bunt as pinch runner Ella Dalton beat the throw at the plate, giving Creighton the 4-3 win and Wood's first win as a Bluejays.
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Wilson led the Bluejays in game one, going 3-4 with two doubles and an RBI, while Seville and Croker each finished with two hits apiece. Puchino recorded her first win as a Bluejay with a complete game, allowing seven hits and striking out four batters.Â
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In game two, both team both teams struggled to find their footing through the first three inning before exploding in the fourth.Â
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St. Thomas struck first with a leadoff home run from All-Summit League performer Brooke Ellestad in the top of the fourth inning.Â
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The Bluejays responded in a big way, plating three runs on three hits to grab a 3-1 lead. Wilson led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk before pinch runner Megan Miklesh advanced to second on a wild pitch. Vejvoda then delivered an RBI single down the right field line to even the game at 1-1. Following a fly out, Croker continued her hot hitting with a single to right, scoring Vejvoda all the way from first to give Creighton a 2-1 advantage. Freshman Maddox Boston followed that up with her first hit as a Bluejay, beating out a bunt and bringing Croker home for the third run of the inning.Â
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Creighton added to its lead in the fifth inning as Rosonke blasted her first home run of the season over the right field wall. Wilson followed Rosonke with her third ground-rule double of the day. She would advance to third as Vejvoda reached on an error before coming home on a sacrifice fly by Gappa.Â
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Leading 5-1 entering the sixth, Creighton used an RBI single from freshman Ella Dalton, her first as a Bluejays, to secure a 6-1 victory for the Bluejays.Â
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Wiggins recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on the way to earning her first win in the circle this season. Croker led the Bluejays with a pair of hits, while seven other Bluejays recorded a hit.Â
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The Bluejays will return to action tomorrow morning when they take on Eastern Kentucky at 9 a.m. followed by a rematch against St. Thomas at 11:30 a.m. from The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill.
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Wilson went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI as the Bluejays opened the season with a dramatic 4-3 win over Detroit Mercy on a walk-off bunt from junior Alyssa Gappa. Wiggins then delivered a career-high 11 strikeouts in the Jays' 6-1 victory over St. Thomas to move to 2-0 on the season. The games were the first in the dugout for head coach Krista Wood, as she moves to 13-4 all-time in season-openers as a head coach.
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In the opener, Detroit Mercy scored twice in the first inning on three hits to snag an early 2-0 lead. The Bluejays responded with a run of their own as sophomore Sydra Seville led off the game with an infield single. Junior Emma Rosonke then delivered an RBI double to center cutting the deficit 2-1.
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The Titans regained their two-run advantage in the top of the second inning as Jordan Hazel hit a ground-rule double and later scored on an RBI single to right by Renee Trotman.Â
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Down 3-1 entering the fifth inning, Creighton went to work building their comeback. Seville led off the inning by beating out an infield single and moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Lily West. Following a flyout, Wilson delivered an RBI single back up the middle scoring Seville from third making the score 3-2.Â
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Still trailing in the bottom of the sixth inning, Creighton used back-to-back singles from juniors Madeline Vejvoda and Cayla Nielsen to put runner on the corners. The duo then perfected a double steal, evening the game at 3-3.
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After retiring the side in the top of the seventh, the Bluejays went back to work with the bats. Rosonke got things started drawing a walk, before advancing to third on the second ground-rule double of the game by Wilson. Gappa then delivered the walk-off bunt as pinch runner Ella Dalton beat the throw at the plate, giving Creighton the 4-3 win and Wood's first win as a Bluejays.
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Wilson led the Bluejays in game one, going 3-4 with two doubles and an RBI, while Seville and Croker each finished with two hits apiece. Puchino recorded her first win as a Bluejay with a complete game, allowing seven hits and striking out four batters.Â
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In game two, both team both teams struggled to find their footing through the first three inning before exploding in the fourth.Â
Â
St. Thomas struck first with a leadoff home run from All-Summit League performer Brooke Ellestad in the top of the fourth inning.Â
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The Bluejays responded in a big way, plating three runs on three hits to grab a 3-1 lead. Wilson led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk before pinch runner Megan Miklesh advanced to second on a wild pitch. Vejvoda then delivered an RBI single down the right field line to even the game at 1-1. Following a fly out, Croker continued her hot hitting with a single to right, scoring Vejvoda all the way from first to give Creighton a 2-1 advantage. Freshman Maddox Boston followed that up with her first hit as a Bluejay, beating out a bunt and bringing Croker home for the third run of the inning.Â
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Creighton added to its lead in the fifth inning as Rosonke blasted her first home run of the season over the right field wall. Wilson followed Rosonke with her third ground-rule double of the day. She would advance to third as Vejvoda reached on an error before coming home on a sacrifice fly by Gappa.Â
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Leading 5-1 entering the sixth, Creighton used an RBI single from freshman Ella Dalton, her first as a Bluejays, to secure a 6-1 victory for the Bluejays.Â
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Wiggins recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on the way to earning her first win in the circle this season. Croker led the Bluejays with a pair of hits, while seven other Bluejays recorded a hit.Â
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The Bluejays will return to action tomorrow morning when they take on Eastern Kentucky at 9 a.m. followed by a rematch against St. Thomas at 11:30 a.m. from The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wiggins, Alexis (1-0)
L: K. Murphy (0-1)
Batting:
HR: B. Ellestad 1
RBI: B. Ellestad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: B. Ellestad 1
SB: K. Goelz 1 ; C. Jacobson 1
CS: K. Goelz 1
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Kailey 1
HR: Rosonke, Emma 1
RBI: Rosonke, Emma 1 ; Dalton, Ella 1 ; Vejvoda, Madeline 1 ; Gappa, Alyssa 1 ; Boston, Maddox 1
SF: Gappa, Alyssa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rosonke, Emma 1 ; Wilson, Kailey 1 ; Miklesh, Megan 1 ; Vejvoda, Madeline 1 ; Croker, Saren 1 ; Chairez, Mikayla 1
SB: Dalton, Ella 1 ; Gappa, Alyssa 1
CS: West, Lily 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
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