Friday, March 15
Omaha, Neb.
2:00 P.M.
Creighton University
16-8
2
vs
1
Northern Colorado
13-16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northern Colorado
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
Creighton
1
1
0
0
0
0
X
2
6
1
Photo by: Joel Deman
Softball Splits Friday Doubleheader With Northern Colorado
3/15/2024 7:31:00 PM | Softball
OMAHA, Neb. – A leadoff home run from senior Cayla Nielsen and strong pitching in the circle from sophomore Natalia Puchino helped the Creighton Softball team earn a doubleheader split on Friday against Northern Colorado. Creighton hung on for a 2-1 victory in game one, before Northern Colorado battled back to take game two, 2-0, at the Creighton Sports Complex in Omaha, Neb.
Following Friday's action, the Bluejays moved to 16-9 on the season while Northern Colorado is now 14-16 overall.
Creighton is back in action on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when it visits in-state rival Nebraska in a contest set to air on Nebraska Public Media (NPM).
Game 1: Creighton 2, Northern Colorado 1
After retiring the side in the top of the first innings, Creighton wasted no time placing the first dent on the scoreboard. For the second time in three days, Nielsen opened the bottom half of the first inning for the Bluejays with a towering solo home run to deep center to give Creighton an early 1-0 lead.
The Bluejays would tack on an additional run in the bottom half of the second, when sophomore Ella Dalton came around to score on a fielding error by Northern Colorado's third baseman.
Holding a 2-0 lead, the Bluejays turned to Puchino in the circle to handle business. The sophomore right-hander retired 13 straight batters, before the Bears drew a four-pitch walk with two outs in the top of the seventh.
That walk came back to haunt Puchino just a little bit, as pinch runner Alina Quinney came around to score on an RBI single by Alison Steinker. Puchino, however, would settle down and record her fifth strikeout of the afternoon to secure the 2-1 victory for the Bluejays.
With the victory, Puchino improved to 11-1on the season, while sophomore Lily West and senior Emma Rosonke led the way with two hits apiece for the Bluejays.
Game 2: Northern Colorado 2, Creighton 0
In game two, Northern Colorado used a strong pitching performance by starting Erin Caviness to get the Bears off to a promising start.
Caviness, the senior right-hander, struck out eight of the first nine Creighton batters, before the Bears were able break through with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Northern Colorado got a solo shot to right center field from Steinker in the top of the fourth, while the Bears used a single to right center from Nya Chacon, a walk by Amailee Morales and an RBI single from Ella Gonzales to take a 2-0 lead.
The looked to have cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nielsen beat out a throw to first which allowed senior Elly Beeson to come around to score, but the play was reviewed and overturned, keeping the Bluejays off the scoreboard.
Caviness then closed the door on any sort of comeback Creighton had, earning her seventh win of the season. She finished the contest with nine strikeouts, while holding the Bluejays offense to just three total hits.
West, Rosonke and senior Alyssa Gappa collected the trio of hits for the Jays, while junior Kenzie Schopfer suffered her fourth loss of the season.
Following Friday's action, the Bluejays moved to 16-9 on the season while Northern Colorado is now 14-16 overall.
Creighton is back in action on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when it visits in-state rival Nebraska in a contest set to air on Nebraska Public Media (NPM).
Game 1: Creighton 2, Northern Colorado 1
After retiring the side in the top of the first innings, Creighton wasted no time placing the first dent on the scoreboard. For the second time in three days, Nielsen opened the bottom half of the first inning for the Bluejays with a towering solo home run to deep center to give Creighton an early 1-0 lead.
The Bluejays would tack on an additional run in the bottom half of the second, when sophomore Ella Dalton came around to score on a fielding error by Northern Colorado's third baseman.
Holding a 2-0 lead, the Bluejays turned to Puchino in the circle to handle business. The sophomore right-hander retired 13 straight batters, before the Bears drew a four-pitch walk with two outs in the top of the seventh.
That walk came back to haunt Puchino just a little bit, as pinch runner Alina Quinney came around to score on an RBI single by Alison Steinker. Puchino, however, would settle down and record her fifth strikeout of the afternoon to secure the 2-1 victory for the Bluejays.
With the victory, Puchino improved to 11-1on the season, while sophomore Lily West and senior Emma Rosonke led the way with two hits apiece for the Bluejays.
Game 2: Northern Colorado 2, Creighton 0
In game two, Northern Colorado used a strong pitching performance by starting Erin Caviness to get the Bears off to a promising start.
Caviness, the senior right-hander, struck out eight of the first nine Creighton batters, before the Bears were able break through with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Northern Colorado got a solo shot to right center field from Steinker in the top of the fourth, while the Bears used a single to right center from Nya Chacon, a walk by Amailee Morales and an RBI single from Ella Gonzales to take a 2-0 lead.
The looked to have cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nielsen beat out a throw to first which allowed senior Elly Beeson to come around to score, but the play was reviewed and overturned, keeping the Bluejays off the scoreboard.
Caviness then closed the door on any sort of comeback Creighton had, earning her seventh win of the season. She finished the contest with nine strikeouts, while holding the Bluejays offense to just three total hits.
West, Rosonke and senior Alyssa Gappa collected the trio of hits for the Jays, while junior Kenzie Schopfer suffered her fourth loss of the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Puchino, Natalia (11-1)
L: Ogden, Araya (0-2)
Batting:
RBI: Steinker, Allision 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Quinney, Alina 1
Batting:
HR: Nielsen, Cayla 1
RBI: Nielsen, Cayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nielsen, Cayla 1 ; Dalton, Ella 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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