Creighton University
Connecticut
Softball Returns Home For Three-Game Series Against Connecticut
4/20/2023 10:06:00 AM | Softball
Game #43-45: Connecticut Huskies (28-11, 15-3 BIG EAST) at Creighton Bluejays (18-24, 4-11 BIG EAST)
Friday, April 21, 2023 • 4 p.m. • Saturday, April 22, 2023 • 1 p.m. • Sunday, April 23, 2023 • 12 p.m.Â
Omaha, Neb. • Creighton Sports ComplexÂ
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTES | UCONN NOTES
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Creighton (18-24, 4-11 BIG EAST) continues BIG EAST play this weekend with a three-game home series against first-place Connecticut (28-11, 15-3 BIG EAST) beginning on Friday, April 21.
The series opens on Friday with a 4 p.m. contest, while Saturday's battle is scheduled for 1 p.m. The three-game set will conclude on Sunday afternoon with a 12 p.m. start at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Follow The Games
This weekend's three-game series against Connecticut will feature live video and live stats.
Live video will be provided through FloSports while live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast. Friday and Saturday's broadcast team will feature Jon Schriner and Ana Bellinghausen, while Sunday's contest will be called by Jake Ryan and Ana Bellinghausen.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 (18-24, 4-11 BE)
The Bluejays enter this weekend's matchup with Connecticut sporting a 18-24 overall record and a 4-11 mark in conference play after claiming a picking up one win at Georgetown last weekend.
Offensively, Creighton is hitting .286 with 61 doubles, 34 home runs and 190 runs scored. Junior leadoff hitter Cayla Nielsen leads six Bluejays with a batting average over .300 with a .353 average. She ranks second on the team with 41 hits, while her 29 runs scored pace the Bluejays.Â
Freshman Lily West has continued her hot hitting ranking second on the team with a .338 batting average. The Choctaw, Okla. native leads the team with 46 base knocks and eight sacrifice hits, including six sac bunts.Â
Senior Saren Croker and junior Madeline Vejvoda have also provided a significant help at the plate with .337 and .317 batting averages respectfully, while senior Kailey Wilson holds a .310 average at the plate. Wilson leads the Bluejays with 30 RBI, while ranking second on the team with 11 doubles and nine home runs this season. Junior Alyssa Gappa continues to pace the team with a .670 slugging percentage with a team-high 10 home runs and 11 doubles.Â
In the circle, Creighton owns a 3.73 ERA with 205 strikeouts in 264.2 innings of work.Â
Freshman Natalia Puchino (11-11) and junior Payton Akers (5-6) have been the driving force in the circle for the Bluejays this season. Puchino paces the pitching staff with a 3.24 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 125.1 innings of work, while Akers follows closely behind with a 3.65 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched.Â
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 Connecticut (28-11, 15-3 BIG EAST)
Sitting in first place in the BIG EAST standings, Connecticut enters this weekend's three game series with a 28-11 overall record and a 15-3 mark in league play.Â
The Huskies have won 11 of their last 12 game coming into the weekend, which includes BIG EAST sweeps of Butler, St. John's, and Villanova.Â
Offensively, Connecticut ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .300 batting average as six Huskies own a .300 batting average or better, led by sophomore Lexi Hastings with a .358 average. Hastings also paces the team and the BIG EAST with 35 runs scored while drawing a team-high 23 walks.Â
Graduate student Aziah James follows closely behind with a .355 batting average on a team-high 43 hits. Makenzie Mason and Haley Coupal own .333 batting averages respectfully, while Grace Jenkins (.330 BA) paces the team with 11 doubles and 32 RBI.Â
Aggressive on the base paths, Connecticut leads the BIG EAST with 95 stolen bases, 24 more stolen bases than the rest of the BIG EAST. James paces the league with 28 stolen bags, while Hastings ranks second with 27 bases stolen.Â
In the circle, Connecticut holds a 3.56 ERA, the second-best ERA in the BIG EAST, with 234 strikeouts in 252.2 innings of work.Â
Junior Payton Kinney and freshman Hope Jenkins have split the duties in the circle for the Huskies this season. Kinney owns a team-best 2.53 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 81.2 innings pitched, while Jenkins holds a 3.64 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 106.1 innings of work this season. Senior Meghan O'Neil has also provided extra support with 4.53 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 55.2 innings this season.
Head coach Laura Valentino is in her fourth season at the helm of Connecticut. Â
Series History Against Connecticut
Creighton and Connecticut have met seven times previously, with the Huskies holding a 5-2 edge in the all-time series.Â
The Bluejays won the first two meetings in the series but have dropped the last five contests to the Huskies.
The Bluejays last win in the series came on March 20, 2021, when Cayla Nielsen delivered an RBI ground-rule double to right to secure a 2-1 win for the Bluejays .
Puchino Nearing 100 Strikeouts As Freshman
Freshman Natalia Puchino enters this weekend's series with Connecticut with 91 strikeouts during 125.1 innings pitched this season.
She is on the verge of becoming only the fifth pitcher in Creighton softball history to record more than 100 strikeouts during their freshman season.Â
Strikeouts      Pitcher            Year  Â
212   Tara Oltman   2007
175   Becca Changstrom   2011
138   Kiele Miller   2018
116   Marcia Jacobsen   1981
98      Cassidy Nee   2006
98      Shelli Mellegaard   1999
91      Natalia Puchino   2023
Gappa Eyes Spot on Single-Season Doubles and Hit-by-Pitch Top 10 List
Junior Alyssa Gappa has hit 12 doubles and has been hit by a pitch eight times this season. Her 12 doubles are the second most by a Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, trailing only Sam Dellinger's 13 doubles in 2017.Â
Gappa's eight hit-by-pitches are also the most by a Bluejays since Mileah McKelvy was hit by nine pitches in the 2019 season.Â
Gappa enters the Connecticut series one double and one hit-by-pitch shy of entering the Bluejays single-season top-10 list in both categories.Â
DOUBLES
   No.   Name   2B   Year
   1.   Frenchy Nix   23   1999
   2.   Christy Lunceford   19   1997
   3.   Temple Windhorst   17   1999
   4.   Renae Sinkler   15   2008
      Julie Woodley   15   1993
      Kelly Brookhart   15   1991
   7.   Stacey Rybar   14   2004
      DeAnn Kaster    14   2002
      Jody Ream   14   1989
   10.   Sam Dellinger   13   2017
      Amy Baker   13   2010
      Abby Johnson   13   2005
      Sami Herbster   13   2001          Christy Lunceford   13   1996
      Erin Fraser   13   1995
      Karyn Rice   13   1990
   --   Alyssa Gappa   12   2023
HIT?BY?PITCH
   No.   Name   HBP   Year
   1.   Alexis Cantu   15   2013      2.   Jen Daro   12   2014      3.   Jen Daro   10   2017
      Jen Daro   10   2015          Michelle Graner   10   2008
   6.   Mileah McKelvy   9   2019
      Sam Crowley   9   2018
      Michelle Graner   9   2010
      Renae Sinkler   9   2010
      Michelle Graner   9   2009
      Michelle Koch   9   2008
      Lauren Cisneros   9   2004
   --   Alyssa Gappa   8   2023
On The Double
Through the first 42 games of the season, Creighton has hit 61 total doubles. That figure currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks 10th all-time on Creighton's single-season double list.Â
The Bluejays 61 doubles this season are the most by a Creighton team since the Bluejays hit 62 doubles in the 2008 season.Â
Doubles
1.      79   1993
2.      74   2001
   3.   73   1999
4.      71   2004
   5.   65   1997
      65   1989
7.      64   2005
8.      63   1994
9.      62   2008
10.   61   2023
Magic Number 5
Creighton is 14-4 this season when scoring five runs or more, outscoring their opponents 144-52 during those 18 games.
In the last 21 seasons, Creighton is 348-50 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 229-386-3 when scoring four runs or fever.Â
Creighton is also 136-32 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.Â
In that same time frame the Bluejays are 77-4 when scoring eight or more runs, including a perfect 8-0 this season.Â
Gappa's Grand Day
Junior Alyssa Gappa powered the Bluejays to a 7-4 victory over Georgetown on April 16 with a grand slam home run to deep center field.Â
It was the first grand slam of Gappa's career and the second grand slam of the season for the Bluejays. Junior Emma Rosonke also hit a grand slam in the Bluejays' 11-2 win over Bethune-Cookman on March 4.Â
Bluejays Capture Programs 1,400 Win
With the Bluejays' 5-3 victory over Omaha on Tuesday, Creighton surpassed 1,400 wins in program history.Â
The Bluejays currently hold a 1,401-959-3 all-time record and have outscored the opposition 9,486 - 6,970 in 2,363 all-time games in program history.Â
Below is a list of every game Creighton surpassed any 100 win milestone.Â
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
