Creighton University
Seton Hall
Softball Continues BIG EAST Play At Home Against Seton Hall
3/23/2023 3:03:00 PM | Softball
Game #29-31: Seton Hall Pirates (12-10, 3-3 BIG EAST) at Creighton Bluejays (13-15, 0-3 BIG EAST)
Friday, March 24, 2023 • 3:30 p.m. • Saturday, March 25, 2023 • 1 p.m. • Sunday, March 26, 2023 • 11 a.m.Â
Omaha, Neb. • Creighton Sports ComplexÂ
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTES (PDF)
Follow The Games
This weekend's three-game series against Seton Hall will feature live video and live stats.Â
Live video will be provided through FloSports while live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast. Friday's broadcast team features Jake Ryan, while Saturday and Sunday's broadcast will feature Jake Ryan and Josh Peterson.Â
Links to the video and live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page on GoCreighton.com.Â
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Bluejays not Blue Jays
Creighton's mascot is the Bluejays or Bluejay, one word. Conversely the MLB Toronto team is the Blue Jays.
Scouting Creighton (13-15, 0-3 BE)
The Bluejays enter their first home BIG EAST series sporting an 13-15 overall record and a 0-3 mark in BIG EAST play after dropping all three games to Villanova last weekend and a 2-1 decision to Omaha on Wednesday.
Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .290 team batting average but leads the way in slugging percentage (.444), doubles (42), home runs (22), runs scored (133) and fielding percentage (.967).
Junior lead-off hitter Cayla Nielsen paces the Bluejays and the BIG EAST with a .423 batting average while ranking third with 28 total hits. Her eight doubles this season ranks second on the team and second in the BIG EAST behind fellow classmate Alyssa Gappa.Â
Gappa leads the league and ranks 19th nationally with 10 doubles, while pacing the BIG EAST with seven home runs. She is one of five Bluejays to hold a batting average over .330, ranking fourth on the team with a .329 average.Â
Freshman Lily West owns a team-best 31 hits this season, which ranks second in the BIG EAST, while also leading the way with seven sacrifice hits. West also holds the third best batting average on the team with a .348 average, while senior Saren Croker has compiled a .362 average this season.Â
Junior Madeline Vejvoda also owns a .326 batting average while ranking third on the team with 28 hits and limiting her strikeouts to just three on the season. Vejvoda ranks 48th nationally as one of the toughest to strikeout. She also has scored a team-high 19 runs this season.Â
Junior Payton Akers (4-4) and freshman Natalia Puchino (7-4) have been a force in the circle for the Bluejays this season. Akers paces the pitching staff with a 2.10 ERA and a team-high 49 strikeouts in 43.1 innings, while Puchino, the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, follows closely behind with a 2.32 ERA in 69.1 innings of work with 46 strikeouts. Sophomore Alexis Wiggins (2-4) has also provided depth, holding a 3.52 ERA with 42 K's in 47.2 innings of work this season.
As a staff, Creighton holds a 2.84 ERA, the second-best ERA in the BIG EAST, with a BIG EAST best 143 strikeouts in 177.1 innings of work.
The Bluejays return 12 letterwinners from last year's squad, while 10 newcomers enter the program with first year head coach Krista Wood.Â
Scouting Seton Hall (12-10, 3-3 BE)
The Pirates enter the third weekend of conference play with a 12-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in BIG EAST play after a 2-1 showing in their BIG EAST home opener against Georgetown last weekend.Â
Center fielder Abby Wingo leads the Pirates offensively with a .365 batting average, while pacing Seton Hall with 23 hits, five doubles and 13 runs scored.Â
Sophomore Taylor Hill is the only other Pirate sporting a batting average over .300 as she carried a .324 average with a team-high .603 slugging percentage on five doubles, one triple and four home runs.Â
As a team, Seton Hall is hitting .273 with 155 hits, 30 doubles, 13 home runs and 91 runs scored for a 4.14 runs per game average.
Kelsey Carr and Shelby Smith have anchored the Pirates in the circle this season. Carr holds a BIG EAST-best 2.17 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 54 innings of work, while Smith has posted a 3.42 ERA with a team-best 53 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.Â
The Pirate's pitching staff has combined for a BIG EAST leading 3.48 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 143.2 innings of work.Â
Seton Hall was picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll as head coach Angie Churchill is in her second season with the Pirates.
Series History Against Pirates
Creighton leads the all-time series against Seton Hall, 14-9.
The Pirates took two of the three meetings with the Bluejays last season in New Jersey. Seton Hall claimed a pair of wins during the twinbill on March 19, 2022, before responding with a 4-2 extra-inning's win on March 22.Â
Head Coach Krista Wood is 1-0 all-time against Seton Hall.Â
Krista vs. The BIG EAST
Throughout her career at South Dakota State, head coach Krista Wood's teams were at their best against BIG EAST competition.Â
In her eight seasons with the Jackrabbits, Wood's compiled a 21-5 overall record against the BIG EAST, including a 17-1 mark in the past six seasons that has featured an 11 straight victories.Â
Below is a breakdown of Wood's record against every BIG EAST team.
Opponent   SDSU   CU
Butler   3-0   0-0
Creighton   10-4   0-0
DePaul   2-0   0-0
Georgetown   0-0   0-0
Providence   2-1   0-0
Seton Hall   1-0   0-0
St. John's   1-0   0-0
Connecticut   0-0   0-0
Villanova   2-0   0-3
Totals   21-5   0-3
The Bluejays are Always On Base
This season four different Bluejays have posted on-base streaks of nine consecutive game or more. Junior Cayla Nielsen leads the way having reached base safely in 23 of the Bluejays 28 games this season. She has currently reached base in seven straight contests but had a career-long 13-game on-base streak earlier this season.Â
Additionally, Nielsen has recorded at least one hit in each of the past seven games, racking up a .600 (12-of-20) batting average with two doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in.Â
Nielsen also recorded a career-long hit streak of nine straight game earlier this season from Feb. 18 to March 4.Â
Junior Madeline Vejvoda also had an on-base streak snapped earlier this month after reaching safely in 11 straight contests, while classmate Alyssa Gappa has currently reached base safely in nine consecutive games.Â
Senior Kailey Wilson had a nine-game on-base streak earlier this season and is currently on another six-game on-base streak.Â
Walk This Way
With 18 walks this season, senior Kailey Wilson etched her name on Creighton's all-time top-10 list for career walks. Â
Wilson currently sits tied for sixth on the career walks list with 80 walks and is two walks away from climbing into the top-5 all-time.Â
Wilson currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks tied for 48th nationally with 18 walks this season.
Kailey led the 2022 squad with 24 walks, while a total of four other players earned double-digit walks a season ago.Â
WALKS
   No.   Name   BB   Years
   1.   Michelle Graner   111   2007-10
   2.   Alexis Cantu   110   2012-14
   3.   Amy Baker   104   2010-13
   4.   Abby Johnson   85   2002-05
   5.   Renae Sinkler   81   2007-10
   6.   Kailey Wilson   80   2019-pr.
   6.   Jen Daro   80   2014-17
   8.   Jody Schwartz   78   1985-88
   9.   Ashley Cantu   70   2017-21
   10.   Karla Hughes   69   1979-82
Creighton At Home
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 55-53 record at home.
Creighton opened the 2023 home schedule with a pair of victories against Kansas City as Natalia Puchino tossed a no-hitter and the Bluejays launched six home runs in the two games.
The Bluejays finished 3-10 at home last season, which included a pair of wins over Providence and a win against DePaul.Â
Last season, Creighton hit .280 at home with 17 doubles, two triples and 19 home runs. Senior Kailey Wilson paced the Bluejays offense with a .544 batting average with four doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI, while Emma Rosonke (.333) led the team with 18 runs batted in.Â
A total of 41 home runs (19 by CU, 22 by opponents) were hit during 87 innings of action.Â
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:
2023: 2-0
2022: 3-10
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
HRs Hit At CU Sports Complex By Year
HRs (CU HRs) Number of Games   Year  Â
7 (6)Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 2023
41 (19)Â Â Â 13Â 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
