Friday, March 17
Villanova, PA
12:00 P.M.
Creighton University
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Villanova
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Creighton
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Villanova
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Photo by: Zach Bolinger
Softball Suffers Pair of Losses During BIG EAST Opening Doubleheader At Villanova
3/17/2023 5:21:00 PM | Softball
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Creighton softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Villanova during the Bluejays BIG EAST opener on Friday. Villanova claimed a pair of come-from-behind victories as the Wildcats earned a 4-3 win in game one and an 8-7 victory in game two.
The pair of losses drops the Bluejays to 13-13 on the year and 0-2 in league play, while Villanova improved to 12-13 overall and 4-1 in league action.
Villanova opened the scoring in game one in the bottom of the second inning. Kelsey White belted a solo home run over the left field wall to put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 early.
The Wildcats would tack on an addition run in the third as back-to-back walks by Tess Cites and Dani Dabroski set runners on first and second with only one out. Chole Smith then delivered a single to right before a throwing error on the Bluejays allowed a run to score, extending the advantage out to 2-0.
After a scoreless fourth, Creighton cut the deficit in half with a single run in the top half of the fifth inning. A pair of singles from Sydra Seville and Cayla Nielsen placed runners on the corners with only one out. Freshman Lily West then drove in the Bluejays first run of the game with a sacrifice fly, her third sacrifice hit of the day, to left as Seville came in to score, cutting the deficit down to 2-1.
In the sixth, junior Alyssa Gappa blasted her team-leading seventh home run of the season over the left center field wall to level the opener at 2-2. The Bluejays threatened to add additional runs as pinch-hitter Erika Perez and Seville lined singles into left, but Creighton was unable to bring them home.
Creighton would overcome the early deficit and take the lead in the top of the seventh as West reached and advanced to second on an error by the Wildcats center fielder. Junior Madeline Vejvoda then delivered an RBI double into the left center field gap to give Creighton a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, junior Payton Akers retired the first two batters of the inning before Smith evened the game at 2-2 with a solo home run to right center. Following the home run, Lily St. Jean drew a six-pitch walk before Ally Jones lined a single into center and White was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ava Franz then delivered a walk-off single to give Villanova a 4-3 win.
Akers dropped to 4-3 on the year with the loss after allowing two runs in 4.1 innings of relief. Nielsen, Gappa and Seville each finished with a pair of hits while Nielsen also reached on a walk in the opener.
In game two, Creighton surged out to a 4-0 lead after four innings as the Bluejays scored one in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth.
Nielsen continued her strong hitting with a double to left center to open the game. West then moved Nielsen to third with a bunt single, before Vejvoda delivered a sacrifice fly to left for the Bluejays first run of the game.
Creighton tacked on two more runs in the top of the third as Nielsen one against reached on a single back up the middle to open the frame. Nielsen came around to score as Vejvoda reached on an error by the Wildcats second baseman. Following a groundout that moved Vevjoda to second, Wilson delivered an RBI single down the left field line to give Creighton a 3-0 lead.
The Bluejays pushed their advantage out to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Rosonke doubled off the center field wall before scoring on an RBI single from West to extent the Bluejays lead.
Villanova would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning as a double and a pair of walks loaded the bases. A wild pitch by sophomore Alexis Wiggins allowed Tess Cites to come in to score, cutting the Bluejays lead down to 4-1.
Creighton would extend its lead out to 7-1 in the top of the sixth as Seville singled to left and freshman Ensley Frame reached on a fielder's choice. Nielsen then launched a three-run home run, her second home run of the season, to give the Bluejays a 7-1 advantage.
Villanova, however, plated seven runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Wildcats first eight batters reached base safely. Villanova took the lead on a two-run double from White and a sacrifice fly from St. Jean to earn the 8-7 victory.
Nielsen led the Bluejays offense, falling a triple shy of a cycle. The junior from Blair went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI while also scoring three runs. As a team, the Bluejays recorded 11 hits, while Villanova scored eight runs on nine hits as Akers also suffered the loss in game two.
Creighton and Villanova will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday with first pitch schedule for 11 a.m. Central Time.
The pair of losses drops the Bluejays to 13-13 on the year and 0-2 in league play, while Villanova improved to 12-13 overall and 4-1 in league action.
Villanova opened the scoring in game one in the bottom of the second inning. Kelsey White belted a solo home run over the left field wall to put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 early.
The Wildcats would tack on an addition run in the third as back-to-back walks by Tess Cites and Dani Dabroski set runners on first and second with only one out. Chole Smith then delivered a single to right before a throwing error on the Bluejays allowed a run to score, extending the advantage out to 2-0.
After a scoreless fourth, Creighton cut the deficit in half with a single run in the top half of the fifth inning. A pair of singles from Sydra Seville and Cayla Nielsen placed runners on the corners with only one out. Freshman Lily West then drove in the Bluejays first run of the game with a sacrifice fly, her third sacrifice hit of the day, to left as Seville came in to score, cutting the deficit down to 2-1.
In the sixth, junior Alyssa Gappa blasted her team-leading seventh home run of the season over the left center field wall to level the opener at 2-2. The Bluejays threatened to add additional runs as pinch-hitter Erika Perez and Seville lined singles into left, but Creighton was unable to bring them home.
Creighton would overcome the early deficit and take the lead in the top of the seventh as West reached and advanced to second on an error by the Wildcats center fielder. Junior Madeline Vejvoda then delivered an RBI double into the left center field gap to give Creighton a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, junior Payton Akers retired the first two batters of the inning before Smith evened the game at 2-2 with a solo home run to right center. Following the home run, Lily St. Jean drew a six-pitch walk before Ally Jones lined a single into center and White was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ava Franz then delivered a walk-off single to give Villanova a 4-3 win.
Akers dropped to 4-3 on the year with the loss after allowing two runs in 4.1 innings of relief. Nielsen, Gappa and Seville each finished with a pair of hits while Nielsen also reached on a walk in the opener.
In game two, Creighton surged out to a 4-0 lead after four innings as the Bluejays scored one in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth.
Nielsen continued her strong hitting with a double to left center to open the game. West then moved Nielsen to third with a bunt single, before Vejvoda delivered a sacrifice fly to left for the Bluejays first run of the game.
Creighton tacked on two more runs in the top of the third as Nielsen one against reached on a single back up the middle to open the frame. Nielsen came around to score as Vejvoda reached on an error by the Wildcats second baseman. Following a groundout that moved Vevjoda to second, Wilson delivered an RBI single down the left field line to give Creighton a 3-0 lead.
The Bluejays pushed their advantage out to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Rosonke doubled off the center field wall before scoring on an RBI single from West to extent the Bluejays lead.
Villanova would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning as a double and a pair of walks loaded the bases. A wild pitch by sophomore Alexis Wiggins allowed Tess Cites to come in to score, cutting the Bluejays lead down to 4-1.
Creighton would extend its lead out to 7-1 in the top of the sixth as Seville singled to left and freshman Ensley Frame reached on a fielder's choice. Nielsen then launched a three-run home run, her second home run of the season, to give the Bluejays a 7-1 advantage.
Villanova, however, plated seven runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Wildcats first eight batters reached base safely. Villanova took the lead on a two-run double from White and a sacrifice fly from St. Jean to earn the 8-7 victory.
Nielsen led the Bluejays offense, falling a triple shy of a cycle. The junior from Blair went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI while also scoring three runs. As a team, the Bluejays recorded 11 hits, while Villanova scored eight runs on nine hits as Akers also suffered the loss in game two.
Creighton and Villanova will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday with first pitch schedule for 11 a.m. Central Time.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: GALLANT, K. (5-3)
L: Akers, Payton (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Vejvoda, Madeline 1
HR: Gappa, Alyssa 1
RBI: West, Lily 1 ; Vejvoda, Madeline 1 ; Gappa, Alyssa 1
SH: West, Lily 2 ; Frame, Ensley 1
SF: West, Lily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: West, Lily 1 ; Gappa, Alyssa 1 ; Seville, Sydra 1
HBP: Gappa, Alyssa 1
Batting:
2B: FRANZ, A. 1
HR: SMITH, C. 1 ; WHITE, K. 1
RBI: SMITH, C. 2 ; WHITE, K. 1 ; FRANZ, A. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CITES, T. 1 ; SMITH, C. 1 ; BURROWS, M. 1 ; WHITE, K. 1
HBP: WHITE, K. 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
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