Creighton University
South Dakota
Softball Closes Out Non-Conference Play With Doubleheader At South Dakota on Tuesday
4/24/2023 1:21:00 PM | Softball
Game #46-47: Creighton Bluejays (18-24, 4-11Â BIG EAST) at South Dakota Coyotes (19-21, 8-6 Summit League)
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 • 2 p.m. • 4 p.m. • Vermillion, S.D. • Nygaard Field
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTESÂ
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Creighton (18-27, 4-14 BIG EAST) closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule as it heads to Vermillion, S.C. for a midweek doubleheader against South Dakota (19-21, 8-6 Summit League) on Tuesday afternoon.
First pitch of game one between the Bluejays and Coyotes is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Nygaard Field. Game two will follow, roughly 30-minutes after the completion of game one.
Follow The Games
A live stream for Tuesday's game will be available via GoYotes.com/Watch, while live stats will be available via SIDEARM Sports.
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 (18-27, 4-14 BE)
Creighton enters their finals non-conference game of the season with an 18-27 overall record after dropping three games to Connecticut this past weekend in Omaha.
Offensively, Creighton is hitting .284 with 64 doubles, 38 home runs and 202 runs scored. Junior leadoff hitter Cayla Nielsen leads six Bluejays with a batting average over .300 with a .367 average. She ranks second on the team with 47 hits, while her 32 runs scored pace the Bluejays.
Freshman Lily West has continued her hot hitting ranking second on the team with a .333 batting average. The Choctaw, Okla. native leads the team with 48 base knocks and nine sacrifice hits, including seven sac bunts.
Senior's Saren Croker and Kailey Wilson follow closely behind with .316 and .309 batting averages respectfully. Wilson leads the Bluejays with 30 RBI, while ranking second on the team with 11 doubles and nine home runs this season.
Junior Madeline Vejvoda has also provided a significant help at the plate with a .304 average, while junior Alyssa Gappa continues to pace the team with a .640 slugging percentage with a team-high 10 home runs and 11 doubles.
In the circle, Creighton owns a 3.97 ERA with 211 strikeouts in 285.2 innings of work.
Freshman Natalia Puchino(11-13) has been the driving force in the circle for the Bluejays this season.Puchinopaces the pitching staff with a 3.36 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 135.1 innings of work. Junior Payton Akers has also pitched significant innings, holding a 3.93 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 62.1 innings pitched.
The Bluejays return 12letterwinnersfrom last year's squad, while 10 newcomers enter the program with first year head coach Krista Wood.
Scouting South Dakota (19-21, 8-6 Summit League)
The Coyotes enter Tuesday's contest sporting a 19-21 overall record after being swept by Omaha this past weekend.
South Dakota has dropped six of their last eight and sits in fourth in the Summit League with two weekends remaining in the regular season.
Graduate Courtney Wilson leads the Coyotes with 46 hits for team-best .362 batting average and 22 runs scored, while cleanup hitter Aleesia Sainz owns a .314 batting average with a team-best six home runs, 27 walks and 30 RBI.
As a team, South Dakota is hitting .256 with 43 doubles, 10 triples and 22 home runs while scoring 156 runs this season.
In the circle, sophomore Clara Edwards paces the Coyotes pitching staff with a 2.59 ERA in 143.1 innings of work. The Kansas native has struck out a team-high 75 batters while allowing 53 earned runs on 145 hits.
Kori Wedeking has also provided significant innings, holding a 4.02 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 87 innings of work.
The South Dakota pitching staff owns a 3.36 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 256 innings of work.
Head coach Robert Wagner is in his seventh season at the helm of South Dakota.Â
Series History Against South Dakota
Creighton leads the all-time series against South Dakota, 17-8.
The Bluejays have won four out of the last five meetings, but dropped last season's matchup, 4-0, as South Dakota's Clara Edwards tossed a two-hit complete game shutout.Â
Creighton's last win in Vermillion came back on April 11, 2018, as the Bluejays took down the Coyotes, 6-3.
Head coach Krista Wood owns an 18-13 record as a head coach against South Dakota.
Nielsen's Driving In All The Runs
In the Bluejays' 10-6 setback to Connecticut on April 23, junior Cayla Nielsen was responsible for driving in all six of the Bluejays runs.
The Blair, Neb. native blasted a pair of three-run home runs, becoming the first Bluejay with two homers in a single game since Kailey Wilson launched two home runs against DePaul on April 30, 2022.
Nielsen's six RBI were tied for the third most in a single game in program history and the most in a single game since Mileah McKelvy drove in six runs against Kansas City on April 17, 2018.
Puchino Becomes Fifth Bluejays Freshman to Reach 100 K'S
With nine strikeouts in the three-game series against Connecticut,  freshman Natalia Puchino became just the fifth Bluejay in program history to record 100 strikeouts in their freshman season.
Puchino's100 strikeouts are the most by a Bluejay freshman since Kiele Miller posted 138 strikeouts during her freshman season in 2018.
Strikeouts Pitcher Year
212 Tara Oltman 2007
175 Becca Changstrom 2011
138 Kiele Miller 2018
116 Marcia Jacobsen 1981
100 Natalia Puchino 2023
98 Cassidy Nee 2006
98 Shelli Mellegaard 1999
Gappa Earns Spot on Single-Season Hit-by-Pitch Top 10 List, While Eyeing Spot on Single-Season Doubles List
With nine hit-by-pitches this season, junior Alyssa Gappa moved into a tie for sixth on Creighton's single season hit-by-pitch record list. Gappa's nine hit-by-pitches are also the most by a Bluejay since Mileah McKelvy was hit by nine pitches in the 2019 season.Â
Gappa has also hit 12 doubles this season, which is the second most by a Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, trailing only Sam Dellinger's 13 doubles in 2017.
Gappa enters Tuesday's midweek contest against South Dakota one double shy of entering the Bluejays single-season top-10 list in doubles.
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 2001Â
 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 2013Â
 2. Jen Daro 12 2014
 3. Jen Daro 10 2017
 Jen Daro 10 2015Â
 Michelle Graner 10 2008
 6. Alyssa Gappa 9 2023
 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
On The Double
Through the first 45 games of the season, Creighton has hit 64 total doubles. That figure currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks 10th all-time on Creighton's single-season double list.
The Bluejays 64 doubles this season are the most by a Creighton team since the Bluejays hit 71 doubles in the 2004 season.
Doubles
1. 79 1993
2. 74 2001
 3. 73 1999
4. 71 2004
 5. 65 1997
 65 1989
7. 64 2023
 64 2005
9. 63 1994
10. 62 2008
