Softball Heads To Nation's Capital To Battle Georgetown In Pivotal BIG EAST Series

Games #40-42: Creighton Bluejays (17-22, 3-9 BIG EAST) at Georgetown Hoyas (11-24, 5-7 BIG EAST)
Friday, April 14, 2023 • 2 p.m. • Saturday, April 15, 2023 • 2 p.m. • Sunday, April 16, 2023 • 11 a.m.
Washington, D.C. • Washington Nationals Youth Academy
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTES

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Creighton (17-22, 3-9 BIG EAST) heads to the nation's capital for a pivotal three-game BIG EAST series against Georgetown (11-24, 5-7 BE)

The Bluejays and Hoyas kick off the series with a single game on Friday at 2 p.m. The two teams will then battle on Saturday at 3 p.m. before wrapping up the series on Sunday at 11 a.m. All three games will be played at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy in Washington, D.C.

Follow The Games

This weekend's series against Georgetown will feature both live video and live stats.

Live video will be provided through HoyaVison, while live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast.

Links to the video and live stats can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page on GoCreighton.com.

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 (17-22, 3-9 BE)

Winners in four of their last five games, Creighton enters this weekend's pivotal three-game series at Georgetown sporting a 17-22 overall record and a 3-9 record in league play after securing a 5-3 victory over Omaha on Tuesday night.

The Bluejays continue to be one of the top offensive teams in the BIG EAST, ranking second with a .290 batting average. The Bluejays, however, lead the way in hits (295), home runs (32) and slugging percentage (.441), while ranking second in runs scored (179), doubles (55) and RBI (170).

Junior leadoff hitter Cayla Nielsen leads four Bluejays with a batting average over .300 with a BIG EAST-best .387 average. She ranks tied for third in the BIG EAST with 41 hits, while her 28 runs scored are the third most in the league.

Freshman Lily West has continued her hot hitting ranking second on the team with a .341 batting average. The Choctaw, Okla. native leads the BIG EAST with 43 base knocks and eight sacrifice hits, including six sac bunts.

Senior Saren Croker and junior Madeline Vejvoda have also provided a significant help at the plate with .357 and .308 batting averages respectfully, while senior Kailey Wilson holds a batting average of .287 and leads the team with 10 doubles and 28 RBI, while ranking second with eight home runs. Junior Alyssa Gappa paces the team with a .642 slugging percentage with a team-high nine home runs and 10 doubles.

In the circle, Creighton owns a 3.55 ERA, while ranking fourth in strikeouts with 197 in 246.1 innings of work.

Freshman Natalia Puchino (10-10) and junior Payton Akers (5-5) have been the driving force in the circle for the Bluejays this season. Puchino paces the pitching staff with a 3.14 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 111.1 innings of work, while Akers follows closely behind with a 3.30 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched.

The Bluejays return 12 letterwinners from last year's squad, while 10 newcomers enter the program with first year head coach Krista Wood.

Scouting Georgetown (11-24, 5-7 BE)

Georgetown heads into the pivotal weekend in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings with a 5-7 record in league play, after stealing two from Providence last weekend. Overall, the Hoyas own a 11-24 overall record and are coming off a 1-0 win over Coppin State on Tuesday.

Cameron Kondo leads Georgetown offensively with a .306 batting average with a team-high tying 30 hits, including 10 home runs, four doubles and a BIG EAST-best 32 RBI.

Graduate student Mae Forshey owns a team-best 30 hits this season on a .286 batting average, while classmate Morgan Zamora ranks second on the team with a .289 batting average on 28 hits.

As a team, the Hoyas are hitting .235 with 47 doubles, 24 home runs, and 134 runs score for an average of 3.94 runs per game. In the circle, Georgetown holds a 4.91 ERA while ranking third in the BIG EAST with 198 total strikeouts in 224 innings of work.

Brooke Plonka and Julia Parker have split the duties in the circle for the Hoyas this season. Plonka owns a team-best 3.74 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 84.1 innings of work, while Parker holds a 5.23 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched this season.

Head coach Pat Conlan is in her 17th season as the head coach at Georgetown. The Hoyas were picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST preseason poll.

Series History Against Hoyas

Creighton leads the all-time series against Georgetown, 9-8.

The Hoyas have won the last three meetings, including an extra-innings win over the Bluejays in Omaha last season. Creighton's last win in the series was a 14-5 win on March 23, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

Bluejays Capture Programs 1,400 Win

With the Bluejays' 5-3 victory over Omaha on Tuesday, Creighton surpassed 1,400 wins in program history.

The Bluejays currently hold a 1,400-957-3 all-time record and have outscored the opposition 9,475 - 6,953 in 2,360 all-time games in program history.

Below is a list of every game Creighton surpassed any 100 win milestone.

Win # Date Opp. Score

100 3/11/81 vs. Wyoming 3-1

200 4/13/83 Drake 10-0

300 4/11/86 vs. Georgia State 5-3

400 3/19/89 vs. Utah State 4-3

500 4/18/91 Southern Utah 5-1

600 3/15/95 Omaha 4-3

700 5/2/98 Evansville 8-2

800 2/23/02 vs. Oakland 1-0

900 2/25/05 vs. #18 Oregon 4-1

1,000 5/11/07 vs. Wichita State 3-1

1,100 4/15/10 Kansas 8-0

1,200 2/7/14 vs. Western Michigan 9-0

1,300 2/25/18 vs. Grambling State 11-0

1,400 4/11/23 Omaha 5-3

Magic Number 5

Creighton is 13-4 this season when scoring five runs or more, outscoring their opponents 137-48 during those 17 games.

In the last 21 seasons, Creighton is 347-50 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 229-384-3 when scoring four runs or fever.

Creighton is also 135-32 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

In that same time frame the Bluejays are 77-4 when scoring eight or more runs, including a perfect 8-0 this season.

Vejvoda Rediscovers Long Ball

Earlier this season Madeline Vejvoda blasted the third home run of her career in the Bluejays' 10-1 win over Kansas City, snapping an 81-game drought without a home run.

The junior ended a much shorter drought with a three-run home run during Creighton's 5-3 win on Tuesday over Omaha.

It was exactly 81 games in between her second and third career home runs, but just 16 games between her third and fourth.

Vejvoda's second career home run was all the way back on March 20, 2021, against Connecticut, while her first career home run was on March 5, 2021, against Illinois-Chicago.

Mowing Them Down

Natalia Puchino struck out a career-high tying 10 batters in the Bluejays' 5-3 victory over Omaha on April 11, which included a pair of innings in which Puchino struck out the side.

It was the second time in her last three starts that she has recorded 10 strikeouts, also doing so against DePaul on April 7 in Chicago.

Overall, Puchino leads the Bluejays with 83 strikeouts this season, a number that ranks tied for fourth most in the BIG EAST.

Puchino Nearing 100 Strikeouts As Freshman

Freshman Natalia Puchino enters this weekend's three-game series with Georgetown with 83 strikeouts during 111.1 innings pitched.

She is on the verge of becoming one of only the fifth pitcher in Creighton softball history to record more than 100
strikeouts during their freshman season.

Strikeouts Pitcher Year

212 Tara Oltman 2007

175 Becca Changstrom 2011

138 Kiele Miller 2018

116 Marcia Jacobsen 1981

98 Cassidy Nee 2006

98 Shelli Mellegaard 1999

83 Natalia Puchino 2023

Nielsen Earns Spot On BIG EAST Honor Roll

Junior Cayla Nielsen led Creighton this week, batting .500 (6-for-12) with six runs batted in, four runs scored, and a home run. The Blair, Nebraska native was essential to the Bluejays' 3-2 series-opening come-from-behind victory over BIG EAST rival DePaul, contributing to all three Bluejay runs.

She followed that performance by driving in three runs on a pair of singles. She also stole two bases while scoring a pair of runs in Creighton's 14-3 run-rule victory over the Blue Demons in game two on Friday, before closing out the three-game series with another two hits, including a solo home run in Saturday's finale. To date, Nielsen leads all BIG EAST batters with a .398 average.

Nielsen's On-Base Streak Ends at 17-Games

Junior Cayla Nielsen had reached base safely in 17 straight games between March 8 and April 8 before having her streak come to an end in thee Bluejays win over Omaha on March 11.

Nielsen's 17-game on-base streak was Creighton's longest streak this season and the longest by a Bluejay since Kailey Wilson reached base safely in 19 consecutive contest last season.

Nielsen logged the seventh longest on-base streak since 2010, as five different Bluejays had reached safely in 20 or more consecutive games. Amy Baker reached base safely in 37 straight contests during the 2013 season.

Player # of Games on Base (Year)

Amy Baker 37 (2013)

Alexis Cantu 28 (2012)

Ashley Cantu 21 (2019)

Anna O'Gorman 20 (2017)

Kelsey Allender 20 (2015)

Kailey Wilson 19 (2022)

Cayla Nielsen 17 (2023)

During Nielsen's 17-game on-base streak, she hit .442 (23-of-52) with three doubles, four home runs, nine walks, 16 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Creighton Puts Up Seven Runs in First

The Bluejays scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning during the series finale against Butler on April 2. The seven run first was the most runs scored in an inning by a Creighton team since thee Bluejays scored 10 runs in the first inning against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 28, 2020, in Carbondale, Ill.

It was the sixth time this season that the Bluejays had scored five or more runs in an inning. It was also the fourth time this season that Creighton has scored five or more runs in the first inning of a game.

Bluejays Snap Losing Skid

Creighton snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Butler on April 2.

The Bluejays blasted three home runs, including two in the first innings, as the Bluejays opened the game with a seven run first.

The 10-game losing streak was tied for the second longest losing streak in Creighton history and the longest since the Bluejays dropped 14 straight contests last season.

Wilson's Among The BIG EAST Best

Not only is graduate student Kailey Wilson one of the most dynamic hitters in Creighton softball history, but she is also one of the greatest hitters in BIG EAST history.

Entering this week, Wilson ranks sixth all-time in BIG EAST history with a .429 career batting average in BIG EAST games.

Over the course of 67 career games, Wilson owns 82 hits (82-of-191), including 17 doubles, 17 home runs, 32 walks and 49 RBI.

BATTING?AVERAGE (minimum 50 at-bats)

No. Avg. Name Years

1. .518 Meghan Murray, ND 1996-97

2. .443 Amber Patton, DPU 2007-09

3. .440 Shari Blackman, UConn 1992-94

4. .437 Lacy Wood, UL 2006

5. .435 Juliette Brooks, RU 1996-99

6. .429 Kailey Wilson, CU 2019-Pr.

7. .427 Stephanie Brown, ND 2004-07

8. .427 Katie Marten, ND 1996-97

9. .420 Ricci Lugo, VU 2003-04

10. .418 Melissa Roth, VU 2009-10

The Bluejays are Always On Base

This season four different Bluejays have posted on-base streaks of 11 consecutive games or more. Junior Cayla Nielsen leads the way having reached base safely in 33 of the Bluejays 39 games this season. She recently had reached base in career long 17 straight contests, before having her streak snapped during the Bluejay's 5-3 win over Omaha on April 11. Earlier this season, Nielsen also had a 13-game on-base streak from Feb. 12 - March 4.

Additionally, Nielsen had recorded at least one hit in 10 consecutive games before going hitless against Drake on March 29. During Nielsen's 10-game hit streak, she racked up a .516 (16-of-31) batting average with two doubles, three home runs and nine runs batted in.

Her 10-game hit streak was also a career-long hit streak, surpassing a nine-game hit streak she had from Feb. 18 to March 4th earlier this season.

Senior Kailey Wilson is had a 13-game on-base streak snapped during the first game of the Bluejays series against DePaul while junior Madeline Vejvoda had an on-base streak snapped in March after reaching safely in 11 straight contests. Classmate Alyssa Gappa also had her 13-game on-base streak snapped during the series against Butler.

Freshman Phenom Delivering

Freshman Lily West has been dominant at the plate during her first season as a Bluejay. The Choctaw, Okla. native leads Creighton with 43 hits and holds the third-best batting average on the team at .341.

West has produced 13 multi-hit games this season, becoming the eighth freshman since 2003 to record at least 10 multi-hit games in a season. Allie Mathewson recorded 18 multi-hit games during her freshman season in 2012, the most in the past 20 seasons by a freshman.

Below is a list of Freshman with at least 10 multi-hit games in a season.

Name Year Multi-Hit Games

Allie Mathewson 2012 18

Ellen Homan 2011 15

Lily West 2023 13

Kiara Mills 2019 13

Sam Dellinger 2017 13

Ashley Cantu 2017 13

Amy Baker 2010 12

Dawson Bailey 2006 11

Walk This Way

With a BIG EAST-best 22 walks this season, senior Kailey Wilson etched her name on Creighton's all-time top-10 list for career walks.

Wilson recorded a pair of walks in the series opener against Butler on March 31, moving into the top-5 all-time with 84 career walks.

Kailey led the 2022 squad with 24 walks, while a total of four other players earned double-digit walks a season ago.

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. Kailey Wilson 84 2019-pr.

6. Renae Sinkler 81 2007-10

7. Jen Daro 80 2014-17

8. Jody Schwartz 78 1985-88

9. Ashley Cantu 70 2017-21

10. Karla Hughes 69 1979-82

On The Double

With 10 doubles this season, senior Kailey Wilson has entered the top-10 for career doubles. The Aurora, Colorado native ranked tied for 10th with 33 career doubles and is just three doubles away from entering the top-5 all-time.

In the opening weekend of the season, Wilson hit .500 on six hits, including four doubles, a home run and five RBI.

Her four doubles were the most by a Bluejay in the opening weekend of a season since Amy Baker hits four doubles in a four-game series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to open the 2012 season.

The four doubles also ranked tied for third nationally, behind Clemson's Valerie Cagle's five doubles and Wichita State's Lauren Lucas' six doubles during opening weekend.

DOUBLES

No. Name 2B Years

1. Christy Lunceford 51 1994-97

2. Frenchy Nix 47 1998-01

3. Stacey Rybar 43 2001-04 4. Kelly Brookhart 40 1988-91

5. Abby Johnson 36 2002-05

Jody Schwartz 36 1985-88

7. Bailey Dawson 35 2006-09

8. Erin Fraser 34 1995-98 Dede Pendleton 34 1991-95

10. Kailey Wilson 33 2019-pr.

Wendy Moon 33 1991-94

Wilson's Rewriting Record Book

Senior Kailey Wilson entered her fifth year with the Bluejays as one of the most dominant hitters in school history.

Wilson currently ranks fifth in Bluejay history with a .349 career batting average, while ranking sixth in home runs with 34, tied for fifth in walks with 83, seventh in RBI with 114 and tied for 10th with 33 career doubles.

BATTING?AVERAGE (minimum 250 at-bats)

No. Avg. Name H-AB Years

1. .404 Anne Timmermann 116-287 1977-79

2. .382 Ashley Cantu 218-570 2017-21

3. .379 Christy Lunceford 245-646 1994-97

4. .358 Heidi Geier 243-678 1996-99

5. .349 Kailey Wilson 152-435 2019-pr.

6. .336 Renae Sinkler 201-599 2007-10

7. .331 Kiara Mills 123-372 2019-22

8. .328 Melanie Dorsey 198-604 2002-05

9. .326 Christine Fukumoto 110-337 2004-05

10. .325 Mary Yori 176-542 1980-82

HOME?RUNS

No. Name HR Years

1. Amy Baker 58 2010-13

2. Renae Sinkler 50 2007-10

3. Liz Dike 39 2012-15

4. Lauren Cisneros 37 2003-06

Stacey Rybar 37 2001-04

6. Kailey Wilson 34 2019-pr.

7. Alexis Cantu 33 2012-14

8. Bailey?Dawson 30 2006-09

Abby Johnson 30 2002-05

10. Michelle Graner 27 2007-10

TJ?Eadus 27 2007-08

RUNS?BATTED?IN

No. Name RBI Years

1. Amy Baker 167 2010-13

2. Renae Sinkler 146 2007-10

3. Abby Johnson 144 2002-05

4. Bailey?Dawson 121 2006-09

Stacey Rybar 121 2001-04

6. Liz Dike 119 2012-15

7. Kailey Wilson 114 2019-pr.

8. Jody Schwartz 113 1985-88

9. Christy Lunceford 110 1994-97

10. Lauren Cisneros 107 2003-06

Softball Heads To Nation's Capital To Battle Georgetown In Pivotal BIG EAST Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Payton Akers

Ashley Cantu

Saren Croker

Alyssa Gappa

Kiara Mills

Cayla Nielsen

Natalia Puchino

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Kailey Wilson

Softball Heads To Nation's Capital To Battle Georgetown In Pivotal BIG EAST Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Payton Akers

Ashley Cantu

Saren Croker

Alyssa Gappa

Kiara Mills

Cayla Nielsen

Natalia Puchino

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Kailey Wilson

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