Softball Continues Play With Five Games This Weekend

Game #24-25: Northern Colorado Bears (12-14) vs. Creighton Bluejays (15-8)
Friday, March 15, 2023 • 2 p.m. • 4:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • Creighton Sports Complex
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

Game #26: Creighton Bluejays (15-8) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-12)
Saturday, March 16, 2023 • 4:30 p.m. • Nebraska Public Media (NPM) • Lincoln, Neb. • Bowlin Stadium
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

Game #27-28: North Dakota Fighting Hawks (5-23) vs. Creighton Bluejays (15-8)
Sunday, March 17, 2023 • 12 p.m. • 2:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • Creighton Sports Complex
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

Up Next

Creighton (15-8) plays five games in three days this weekend in Nebraska, playing host to Northern Colorado and North Dakota, with an I-80 battle at Nebraska sandwiched in between.

The action begins with a doubleheader on Friday, March 15 when CU hosts Northern Colorado with the first game beginning at 1 p.m.

Creighton will then travel to Lincoln on Saturday afternoon to take on Nebraska at 4:30 p.m. in a contest that will air on Nebraska Public Media.

The Bluejays will return home on Sunday for a doubleheader against North Dakota. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12 p.m. from the Creighton Sports complex.

Follow The Games

Live stats for all five games this weekend will be provided through StatBroadcast, while live video will be featured on FloSports for the four Creighton home games.

Saturday's game against Nebraska will be televised on Nebraska Public Media with Larry Punteney and Mattie Fowler on the call.

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 (15-8, 2-1 BE)

Fresh off a pair of victories in the home opener against Rider, Creighton enters a tough five-game weekend against Northern Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota with an 15-8 overall record.

Creighton has won eight out of its last 11 games, which included victories over Loyola Chicago, St. Thomas, Illinois State, St. John's and Rider.

Offensively, Creighton is hitting .257 with 32 doubles and 11 home runs while pushing across 98 runs at the plate.

The Bluejays are led by fifth-year senior Madeline Vejvoda and her .313 batting average, while senior Cayla Nielsen follows closely behind with a .304 batting average on a team-high 24 hits, including seven doubles, one triple and two home runs.

Sophomore Ella Dalton adds a .288 batting average with four doubles and a triple, while sophomore Lily West owns a .280 average on 21 hits, including five doubles and 14 runs scored.

Freshman Sydney Potter and senior Emma Rosonke have also provided some power to the Bluejay lineup this season. Potter has collected a team-high 17 RBI on a team-best five home runs and three doubles, while Rosonke has recorded two doubles, one triple and two home runs with 15 runs batted in.

In the circle, Creighton has posted a 3.55 ERA with 123 strikeouts to just 76 walks, while holding opponents to .238 hitting in 149.2 innings of work.

Sophomore Natalia Puchino owns a 10-1 overall record with a BIG EAST leading 1.54 ERA and 71 strikeouts in the circle thus far. Junior Kenzie Schopfer was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week earlier this week and owns a 4.32 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched this season.

Senior Jena Lawrence has also posted a 2-2 record with a 5.00 ERA in 21.0 innings pitched, while junior Alexis Wiggins holds a 3.41 ERA with eight strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work.

Head coach Krista Wood is in her second season with the Bluejays and holds a 545-357 career record, including a 37-39 mark at Creighton.

Scouting Northern Colorado (12-14)

Northern Colorado is 12-14 this season heading into Thursday's doubleheader against North Dakota and Nebraska on Thursday. The Bears' own wins over Nebraska, Lipscomb, Sam Houston, Santa Barbara, Valparaiso and Rider, but have suffered losses to Omaha, Iowa State and Arizona this season.

Northern Colorado offensively is hitting .260 as a team with 38 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs and 116 runs scored. Sophomore Ella Gonzales paces the Bears' offense with a .375 batting average on 27 hits, while classmate Amailee Morales owns a .372 batting average and team-highs in hits (29), doubles (13), home runs (6), RBI (29) and runs scored (18).

Junior Sabrina Javorsky is the only other player hitting better than .300, as she owns a .338 average with 23 hits, including four doubles and a triple.

In the circle, Northern Colorado relies on senior Erin Caviness and junior Isabelle DiNapoli to tackle the majority of the innings for the Bears. The duo has combined to throw 129.2 of the team 163.2 innings this season. Caviness leads the way with a 3.29 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 68.1 innings of work, while DiNapoli owns a 4.99 ERA with 54 punch outs in 61.1 innings of work.

As a team, Northern Colorado owns a 5.61 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 163.2 innings pitched.

Head coach Dedeann Pendleton-Helm is in her second season at the helm of Northern Colorado. The Bears' were picked to finish second in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Series History Against the Bears

Creighton and Rider have met 12 time previously with the Bluejays holding a 11-1 lead in the overall series.

The two teams met last season in the Texan Invitational with Creighton securing a 11-2 run-rule victory over the Bears.

Creighton and Northern Colorado last met in Omaha in 2004, with the Bluejays claiming a 13-1 and 14-1 win over the Bears.

Head coach Krista Wood is 7-0 all-time against Northern Colorado in her coaching career.

Scouting Nebraska (12-12)

Nebraska enters this weekend's contests with a 12-12 overall record with wins over No. 23 Oregon, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Cal State Fullerton and Northern Iowa.

The Cornhuskers are coming off a 5-3 loss to Northern Colorado and a 10-0 victory over Maine earlier this week in Lincoln.

The Huskers are hitting .288 as a team, led by four players hitting over .300. Senior Billie Andrews paces the Huskers with a .444 batting average on 32 hits, including eight doubles, nine home runs and a team-high 22 runs scored. Senior Peyton Cody follows with a .351 batting average with 13 base knocks, while Sophomore's Alina Felix (.313) and Kinney Kaylin (.300) also hold batting averages over .300 respectfully.

Billie Andrews' twin sister, Brooke Andrews, carries a .292 average with eight doubles and 19 runs scored, while Bella Bacon follows closely behind with a .288 average on 19 hits and 13 RBI.

Playing without All-American star pitcher, Jordy Bahl, Nebraska has struggled in the circle this season. The Huskers own a 4.15 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 158.2 innings of work.

Senior's Kaylin Kinney and Sarah Harness have split the duties in the circle for the Huskers thus far. Kinney owns a 4.20 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 60.0 innings pitched, while Harness holds a 3.76 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 44.2 innings of work this season.

Head coach Rhonda Revelle is in her 32nd season at the helm of Nebraska.

Series History Against the Cornhuskers

Creighton and Nebraska have met 125 times, with the Huskers holding a significant 87-38 lead in the all-time series.

Nebraska has won seven of the last eight overall meetings and the last nine contests played in Lincoln.

The Bluejays last win in the series came on April 9, 2019, when the Jays run-ruled Nebraska 9-1 in Omaha. Creighton, however, has not won in Lincoln since the Bluejays topped the Huskers 3-0 on April 1, 2009.

Scouting North Dakota (5-23)

In the midst of a seven-game losing streak, North Dakota enters Thursday's game against Northern Colorado sporting a 5-23 overall record.

The Fighting Hawks have earned wins over Seton Hall, FIU, UTEP and Nicholls but have dropped 17 of their last 19 contests.

North Dakota offensively is hitting just .196 as a team with 19 doubles, five home runs and 60 runs scored, while in the circle the Fighting Hawks own a 4.36 ERA with 130 strikeouts as opponents are hitting .304 against them.

Senior Johanna Rodriquez paces the UND offense with a .309 batting average on 17 hits, while sophomore Taya Hopfauf owns a .222 batting average with 16 hits, including a team-high four doubles.

In the circle, North Dakota has three pitchers that fire significant innings as sophomore Camryn Lasota leads the way with a 3.68 ERA with 37 strikeouts over 53. 1 innings. Junior Jackie Albrecht also owns a 3.87 ERA with a team-high 54 strikeouts in 59.2 innings of work, while classmate Makaela Carr follows with a 5.41 ERA with 32 punch outs in 54.1 innings pitched.

Head coach Jordan Stevens is in his 10th season at the helm of North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Series History Against the Fighting Hawks

Creighton is 4-0 all-time against North Dakota, including a 2-0 advantage in games played in Omaha.

The two teams last met back in February of 2020 at the H-E-B- Classic in San Antonio, Texas with the Bluejays claiming a 7-5 victory.

Creighton and North Dakota last met in Omaha in 2011, with the Bluejays securing 6-3 and 9-1 victories over the Fighting Hawks.

Head coach Krista Wood is 13-7 all-time against North Dakota in her coaching career, as she met the Fighting Hawks annually as a head coach at South Dakota State.

Milestone Watch

- Cayla Nielsen is two runs shy of passing Bailey Dawson (119) for eighth on Creighton's all-time runs scored list. With three more runs she could surpass Renae Sinkler O'Gorman (120) for seventh.

- Nielsen owns 31 career doubles and is three doubles shy of tying Erin Fraser and Dede Pendleton (34) for ninth on Creighton's all-time career doubles list.

- Alyssa Gappa owns 18 career hit-by-pitches, one shy of moving into a tie with Mileah McKelvy for seventh all-time for hit-by-pitches in a career.

- Natalia Puchino (184) is 16 strikeouts shy of becoming just the 12th Bluejay to record at least 200 career strikeouts since 1999.

Home-Grown Talent

A combined 17 players on Creighton and Nebraska's rosters hail from the state of Nebraska.

Creighton has 10 players from Nebraska while Nebraska has seven. Of the 17, 11 are from the Omaha metro area.

Nielsen Etches Name In CU Record Book

Senior Cayla Nielsen has been a fixture in the Bluejays lineup since arriving on campus in 2020.On March 2 against St. Thomas, Nielsen scored three runs to etch her name in Creighton history, surpassing Lauren Cisneros for 10th on Creighton all-time career runs scored list with 115 career runs scored.

The Blair, Neb. native has since climbed into a tie for ninth with Liz Dike, crossing the plate in contests at St. John's and Rider to up her total runs scored to 118. The fifth-year senior is just 15 runs away from becoming the all-time runs scored leader in Creighton Softball history.

Nielsen also currently ranked tied for 10th on the Bluejays career batting average list with a .325 average and is on the verge of entering the Top-10 list for career doubles (three shy).

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. .353 Kailey Wilson 168-476 2019-23

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 Cayla Nielsen 166-510 2020-pr.

.325 Mary Yori 176-542 1980-82

RUNS SCORED

No. Name R Years

1. Stacey Rybar 132 2001-04

2. Jean Tierney 130 1980-83

3. Heidi Geier 129 1996-99

Ashley Cantu 129 2017-21

5. Sue Frederick 128 1986-89

6. Christy Lunceford 122 1994-97

7. Renae Sinkler 120 2007-10

8. Bailey Dawson 119 2006-09

9. Cayla Nielsen 118 2020-pr.

Liz Dike 118 2012-15

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. Kailey Wilson 35 2019-23

Bailey Dawson 35 2006-09

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

- Cayla Nielsen 31 2020-pr.

Puchino Off To Dominate Start

After guiding the Bluejays pitching staff to 13 wins in the circle last season, sophomore Natalia Puchino is off to a sizzling start for the Bluejays in 2024.

The Milliken, Colo. native is 10-1 with two saves in the circle already this season. She currently leads the BIG EAST with a 1.54 ERA and 71 total strikeouts in 68.1 innings of work this season.

Earlier this week against Rider, Puchino recorded a season-high nine strikeouts, while allowing just three hits in the complete game effort to secure her third shutout of the season.

Durable Vejvoda

Senior infielder Madeline Vejvoda continues to be a fixture in the Creighton starting lineup. Not only has she started every game this season, but she's reaching uncharted territory as she has now started in each of Creighton's last 138 consecutive games dating back to March 7, 2021.

Her 138 straight starts is the longest streak by a Bluejay since Kelsey Allender started 185 consecutive games from 2013-2016.

Over the course of her Bluejay career, Vejvoda has started 149 of the 162 games she has played in.

CU Sports Complex Turns Into Launching Pad

Senior Cayla Nielsen started the home portion of the schedule with a bang, blasting a solo home run over the right center field wall on the very first pitch she saw. Nielsen became the first Bluejay since Ashley Cantu in 2021 to hit a leadoff home run to open a game.

In addition to Nielsen's solo blast, freshman Sydney Potter and senior Emma Rosonke each launched a pair of home runs in the Bluejays pair of victories over Rider on Wednesday.

In 2023, a total of 41 home runs were hit during 16 Creighton home games at the Creighton Sports Complex. Through the first two home games in 2024, Creighton is on pace to shatter this figure after hitting five Bluejay bombs in a doubleheader against Rider on March 13.

Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the most home runs a Creighton team has hit during a single-season at home is 25 (2018).

Here's a look at the home runs totals at the CU Sports Complex since joining the BIG EAST.

HRs Hit At CU Sports Complex By Year

HRs (CU HRs) Number of Games Year

5 (5) 2 2024

41 (22) 16 2023

41 (19) 13 2022

34 (16) 11 2021

-- No home games 2020

33 (15) 11 2019

47 (25) 19 2018

29 (13) 12 2017

26 (9) 15 2016

41 (16) 13 2015

29 (17) 15 2014

Home Opener History

Including an 8-0 shutout over Rider in the home opener on Wednesday afternoon, Creighton now owns a 32-15 record (.681) in home openers, including wins in 15 of the last 18 home openers (does not include 2020 when Creighton did not play a home game).

Head coach Krista Wood now owns a 13-4 overall record in home openers as a head coach, including a 2-0 record at Creighton, a 4-3 record at South Dakota State and a 7-1 record at Wayne State College.

The Bluejays are slated to play 18 more home games this season, including BIG EAST series against Georgetown, Villanova, DePaul and Providence.

Creighton At Home

Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 60-64 record at home.

The Bluejays are 2-0 this season, which includes a pair of victories over Rider earlier this week. Through the first two home games, Creighton is hitting .367 with six doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI, while the Bluejay pitching staff owns a 1.17 ERA with 15 strikeouts and is hold opponents to a .205 batting average.

Last season Creighton finished 5-11 at the Creighton Sports Complex last season, with a pair of wins over Kansas City, and single victories over Butler, Omaha and St. John's.

Last season, Creighton hit .283 at home with 18 doubles, two triples and 22 home runs. Senior Cayla Nielsen paced the Bluejay returners with a .362 batting average with one double, one triple and six home runs and a team-high 16 RBI, while Lily West (.333) led the team with three doubles.

Opponents finished the year hitting .318 with 19 home runs and 16 doubles at the Creighton Sports Complex.

A total of 41 home runs (22 by CU, 19 by opponents) were hit during 102 innings of action.

The Bluejays did not play a home game in 2020 because of the season ending on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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:

2024: 2-0

2023: 5-11

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

Schopfer Named BE Pitcher of the Week

Bluejay junior Kenzie Schopfer's dominant effort in the BIG EAST opener against St. John's on Friday, March 8th earned her BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday, March 11.

This marks the first BIG EAST weekly honor of Schopfer's career, while she is the second Bluejay pitcher this season to claim BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week accolades, joining sophomore Natalia Puchino.

In her only appearance of the week, Schopfer fired a complete game shutout to earn her first win of the season. The Savannah, Mo. native, struck out a career-high six batters while allowing just two hits and a walk as the Bluejays claimed a 3-0 win over the Red Storm in the BIG EAST Opener on Friday afternoon.

Bluejays Keeping it Close

Through the first 23 games of the season, Creighton has already played eight games decided by two or less runs, including five one-run contests.

The Bluejays are 7-1 overall during games decided by two runs or less this season. CU's lone setback was a 5-4 loss to Texas State on Feb. 11.

Last season, Creighton played 20 games decided by two or less runs, posting a 7-13 overall record, while recording a 4-9 record in one-run contests.

Magic Number 5

Since the turn of the century, Creighton has had tremendous success when scoring five or more runs. The Bluejays have continued that success this season, improving to 9-0 when scoring at least five runs in a game. In those nine games, Creighton has outscored their opponents, 75-24.

Over the last 24 seasons, Creighton is 361-54 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 235-396-3 when scoring four runs or fever.

Creighton is also 146-36 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

During that same time frame the Bluejays are 83-4 when scoring eight or more runs, which included a perfect 9-0 record last season.

Lead Generally Safe

Creighton has done an excellent job protecting leads this season. In fact, there's only been one game that Creighton has led at any point in which it hasn't won, a Feb 11. game at Texas State when CU couldn't hold onto a 4-2 seventh inning lead.

Creighton is 9-1 when leading after four innings, 12-1 when leading after five innings and 12-1 when leading after six innings this season.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Senior Alyssa Gappa continued her climb up the Bluejay ranks when she was hit by a pitch twice in the Bluejays' 13-1 victory over Loyola Chicago on March 2.

With the pair of hit-by-pitches, Gappa moved into a tie with Liz McKewon for eighth on Creighton's all-time career hit-by-pitch record list with 18 career hit-by-pitches.

CREIGHTON CAREER HIT BY PITCH LIST

No. Name HBP Years

1. Jen Daro 39 2014-17

2. Michelle Graner 34 2007-10

3. Alexis Cantu 29 2012-14
4. Michelle Koch 25 2007-10

Lauren Cisneros 25 2003-06

6. Sami Herbster 21 2000-03

7. Mileah McKelvy 19 2016-20

8. Alyssa Gappa 18 2021-pr.

Liz McKewon 18 2008-11

10 Renae Sinkler 16 2007-10

Scoring BIG

This season Creighton has manufactured some big scoring innings to help secure victories.

The Bluejays did it once again in the second game of a doubleheader at St. John's on March 8 when they scored a season-high seven runs in the fifth inning.

It was the fifth time this season the Bluejays scored five or more runs in an innings. Below is a list of BIG scoring innings for the Bluejays this season.

Date Opponents Runs Inn.

2/10 vs. UTSA 5 5th

3/2 vs. Loyola Chicago 6 7th

3/2 vs. St. Thomas 5 2nd

3/2 vs. St. Thomas 5 6th

3/8 at St. John's 7 5th

Scoring BIG Part 2

Creighton scored 16 runs against St. Thomas on Saturday, March 2, recording the most runs in a single game single the Bluejays established a new program record with 24 runs scored against Toledo on Feb. 8, 2020.

Including the 13 runs scored against Loyola Chicago to open the Cougar Invite, the Bluejays combined for 29 runs scored on March 2.

The Bluejays 29 combined runs scored are the most runs scored on the same day since the Bluejays scored 32 runs against in a doubleheader against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the opening day of the 2012 season.

Creighton Single-Game High for Runs

Rk Runs Opponent Date

1. 24 vs. Toledo 2/8/20

2. 20 vs. College of Saint Mary 2/9/00

3. 19 vs. Howard 3/4/12

4. 18 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2/11/12

18 vs. Saint Louis 2/20/09

18 at Nebraska Wesleyan 5/1/78

18 at Peru State 4/12/77

8. 17 vs. Detroit 2/26/99

17 Bellevue 3/28/78

17 College of St. Mary's 4/17/77

11. 16 vs. St. Thomas 3/2/24

Softball Continues Play With Five Games This Weekend

Players Mentioned

Ashley Cantu

Ella Dalton

Alyssa Gappa

Jena Lawrence

Kiara Mills

Cayla Nielsen

Sydney Potter

Natalia Puchino

Emma Rosonke

Kenzie Schopfer

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Alexis Wiggins

Kailey Wilson

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