Bluejay Softball Hits The Road For Contests at Kansas City and Seton Hall

Game #28: Creighton Bluejays (17-10) at Kansas City Roos (9-18)
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 • 5 p.m. • Kansas City, Mo. • Urban Youth Academy
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

Game #29-31: Creighton Bluejays (17-10, 2-1 BE) at Seton Hall (9-11, 3-3 BE)
Friday, March 22, 2024 • 1 p.m. • Saturday, March 23, 2024 • 11 a.m. • Sunday, March 24, 2024 • 11 a.m. South Orange, N.J. • Essex County Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

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Creighton (17-10) hits the road once again as they travel to battle Kansas City (9-18) for a midweek contest at the Urban Youth Academy begin at 5 p.m.

The Bluejays will then fly east to take on Seton Hall (9-11, 3-3 BE) in a three-game BIG EAST series this weekend.

Action in South Orange is set to begin on Friday, March 22 with a single game set to begin at 1 p.m. CT.

The two teams will then meet on Saturday at 11 a.m. before wrapping up the series with an 11 a.m. contest on Sunday morning at the Essex County Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in New Jersey.

Follow The Games

Live stats for Tuesday's contest at Kansas City will be provided through Sidearm, while this weekend's series at Seton Hall will be featured on StatBroadcast.

Live video for Tuesday's match will be available on midcosportsplus, while the three-game series at Seton Hall will be featured on FloSports.

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 (17-10, 2-1 BE)

Creighton enters Tuesday's matchup at Kansas City sporting a 17-10 overall record after picking up wins over Rider, Northern Colorado and North Dakota last weekend in Omaha.

The Bluejays have won 10 of their last 15 games and head into their second weekend of BIG EAST play at Seton Hall looking to gain valuable momentum in league play.

Offensively, Creighton is hitting .255 with 37 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs while pushing across 109 runs at the plate.

The Bluejays are led by fifth-year senior Madeline Vejvoda and her .304 batting average, while senior Cayla Nielsen follows closely behind with a .300 batting average on a team-high 27 hits, including eight doubles and three home runs.

Sophomore Lily West adds a .299 batting average with seven doubles and a team-high 15 runs scored, while senior Emma Rosonke follows closely behind with a .291 average on 16 hits, including two doubles , a triple and two home runs.

Freshman Sydney Potter has also provided some power to the Bluejay lineup this season. Potter has collected a team-high 21 RBI on a team-best six home runs, while sophomore Ella Dalton has provided some speed on the base paths, swiping a team-high four stolen bases.

In the circle, Creighton has posted a 3.53 ERA with 143 strikeouts to just 74 walks, while holding opponents to .238 hitting in 172.2 innings of work.

Sophomore Natalia Puchino owns a 12-2 overall record with a BIG EAST leading 1.72 ERA and 80 strikeouts in the circle thus far. Junior Kenzie Schopfer has also made an immediate impact with the Bluejays, posting a 4.03 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 41.2 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 547-359 career record, including a 39-41 mark at Creighton.

Scouting Kansas City (9-18)

Kansas City is 9-18 this season with wins over DePaul, UT Arlington, Prairie View A&M, Houston Christian and SIUE. The Roos lost their first seven games of the season, but have responded and will enter Tuesday's matchup with a three-game winning streak.

Kansas City offensively is hitting .246 as a team and averages 4.00 runs per game, while opponents are hitting .309 on the season with an average of 5.41 runs scored per game.

Junior transfer Briona Woods paces Kansas City offensively with a .328 batting average, including a team-high five doubles, while freshman Kadin Vire is the only other player hitting better than .300. Vire owns a .310 average at the plate with a team-high 17 RBI.

Senior Abby Husak is not far behind with a .274 batting average with a team-best 23 hits and 18 runs scored.

Senior Camryn Stickel has been a force in the circle this season for the Roos. The Missouri native collected 64 of the teams 94 strikeouts, while posting a 2.64 ERA in 100.2 innings of work. Sophomore Katie Noble has also gotten things done in the circle this season for the Roos. She owns a 4.15 ERA and a 3-3 overall record in 30.1 innings pitched. As a staff, the Roos own a 4.60 ERA in 175.0 innings of work.

Kansas City was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll as head coach Kiki Stokes O'Connor is in her second season with the Roos.

Series History Against Roos

Creighton and Kansas City have played a total of 57 games against each other, with Creighton holding a commanding 54-3 edge in the all-time series.

The Bluejays have won eight of the last nine meeting, including all three contests a season ago. In the three games last year, Creighton outscored the Roos 23-1, including a 10-1 win in the home opener and a no-hitter in the second game of the doubleheader.

Creighton is 22-3 all-time in games played in Kansas City, while owning a perfect 24-0 against the Roos at the CU Sports Complex, the best home record based on percentage against any Creighton opponent in program history.

Head Coach Krista Wood is 16-9 all-time against Kansas City, including a 3-0 record as the head coach at Creighton.

Scouting Seton Hall (9-11, 3-3 BE)

Coming off a 3-0 weekend at Georgetown, Seton Hall enters Tuesday's doubleheader against Rider with a 9-11 overall record.

The Pirates currently are hitting just .268 as a team with 23 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs with 88 runs scored, while in the circle Seton Hall own a 4.56 ERA with 133.2 strikeouts as opponents are hitting .270 against them.

Junior Taylor Hill paces the Pirates offense with a .319 batting average on 22 hits, including five doubles and three home runs, while freshman Katey Brennan follows closely behind with a .317 average on 19 hits.

Senior Kelsey Carr has been a two-way player for the Pirates, collecting a team-high 17 RBI at the plate while also firing a team-high 51.2 innings of work in the circle. Carr also owns a team-best 40 strikeouts but does own a 5.55 ERA.

Seton Hall has also seen senior Sydney Babik and sophomore Kyra Kreuscher toss significant innings in the circle for the Pirates this season. Kreuscher owns a 2.60 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 35.0 innings of work, while Babik has recorded a 4.67 ERA with 24 punchouts in 45.0 innings this season.

Seton Hall was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll as head coach Angie Churchill is in her third season with the Pirates.

Series History Against Pirates

Creighton leads the all-time series against Seton Hall, 14-12.

The Pirates have taken five of the last six meetings with the Bluejays, including all three contests in Omaha a season ago. The Bluejays last win in the series was a 4-2 nine-inning win on March 20, 2022.

Creighton is 6-5 all-time in games played in South Orange, N.J.

Head Coach Krista Wood is 1-3 all-time against Seton Hall.

Milestone Watch

- Cayla Nielsen is one runs shy of tying Christy Lunceford (122) for sixth on Creighton's all-time runs scored list. Nielsen is also just 11 runs shy of becoming Creighton's all-time runs scored leader in program history.

- Nielsen owns 32 career doubles and is two doubles shy of tying Erin Fraser and Dede Pendleton (34) for ninth on Creighton's all-time career doubles list.

- Alyssa Gappa owns 19 career hit-by-pitches, two shy of moving into a tie with Sami Herbster for sixth all-time for hit-by-pitches in a career.

- Natalia Puchino (193) is seven strikeouts shy of becoming just the 12th Bluejay to record at least 200 career strikeouts since 1999.

Creighton Connection To Kiki Stokes O'Connor

Kansas City head coach Kiki Stokes O'Connor got her start in coaching as an assistant coach under current Creighton head coach Krista Wood at South Dakota State from 2019-2021.

Leadoff Power

Senior Cayla Nielsen has batted leadoff for the Bluejays in every single game this season, providing a big bat for the Bluejays at the top of the order.

The Blair, Neb. native leads the Bluejays with 27 hits this season with a team-high eight doubles and three home runs.

This past week, Nielsen opened the bottom of the first with a solo shot to deep center, becoming the first Bluejays since Ashley Cantu in 2021 to lead off a game with a home run.

Just two days later, Nielsen did it again, launching a leadoff home run over the right center field wall in the bLuejays 2-1 win over Northern Colorado.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Senior Alyssa Gappa continued her climb up the Bluejay ranks when she was hit by a pitch in the Bluejays' 9-1 victory over North Dakota on March 17.

With the hit-by-pitches, Gappa moved into a tie with Mileah McKelvy for seventh on Creighton's all-time career hit-by-pitch record list with 19 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. Alyssa Gappa 19 2021-pr.

Mileah McKelvy 19 2016-20

9. Liz McKewon 18 2008-11

10 Renae Sinkler 16 2007-10

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 seventh, passing Liz Dike, Bailey Dawson and Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman, crossing the plate in contests at St. John's, against Rider, Northern Colorado and North Dakota to up her total runs scored to 121. The fifth-year senior is just 11 runs away from becoming the all-time runs scored leader in Creighton Softball history.

Nielsen is also on the verge of entering the Top-10 list for career batting average with a .324 average while also sitting two doubles shy of becoming the newest member of the Top-10 club for 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. .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 Mary Yori 176-542 1980-82

- .324 Cayla Nielsen 169-521 2020-pr.

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. Cayla Nielsen 121 2020-pr.

8. Renae Sinkler 120 2007-10

9. Bailey Dawson 119 2006-09

10. 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 32 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 12-1 with two saves in the circle already this season. She currently leads the BIG EAST with a 1.72 ERA and 80 total strikeouts in 81.1 innings of work this season.

Last 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 142 consecutive games dating back to March 7, 2021.

Her 142 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 153 of the 166 games she has played in.

CU Sports Complex Turns Into Launching Pad

Creighton has also produced some big hitters throughout its powerful lineup over the years and that trend continues this season for the Bluejays. CU has blasted 13 home runs this season, with seven of those coming from within the confines of the CU Sports Complex.

Freshman Sydney Potter leads the way with three home runs this season at home, while both Cayla Nielsne and Emma Rosonke have each recorded two homers at home this season.

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

8 (7) 5 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

Creighton At Home

Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 62-65 record at home.

The Bluejays are 4-1 this season, which includes a pair of victories over Rider and single wins over Northern Colorado and North Dakota. Through the first five home games, Creighton is hitting .301 with 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 23 RBI, while the Bluejay pitching staff owns a 1.13 ERA with 30 strikeouts and is hold opponents to a .182 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: 4-1

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

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.

Bluejays Keeping it Close

Through the first 27 games of the season, Creighton has already played 10 games decided by two or less runs, including six one-run contests.

The Bluejays are 8-2 overall during games decided by two runs or less this season. CU's lone setbacks were a 5-4 loss to Texas State on Feb. 11 and a 2-0 loss to Northern Colorado on March 15.

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 10-0 when scoring at least five runs in a game. In those 10 games, Creighton has outscored their opponents, 84-25.

Over the last 24 seasons, Creighton is 362-54 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 236-398-3 when scoring four runs or fever.

Creighton is also 147-36 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

During that same time frame the Bluejays are 84-4 when scoring eight or more runs, which included a perfect 6-0 record this 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 11-1 when leading after four innings, 13-1 when leading after five innings and 13-1 when leading after six innings this season.

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

Krista vs. The BIG EAST

Throughout her career at South Dakota State, head coach Krista Wood's teams were at their best against BIG EAST competition.

In her eight seasons with the Jackrabbits, Wood's compiled a 21-5 overall record against the BIG EAST, including a 17-1 mark in her final six seasons that featured 11 straight victories.

In her second season with the Bluejays, Wood's currently owns a 8-19 record in the BIG EAST with victories over Butler, DePaul, Georgetown, Providence and St. John's.

Below is a breakdown of Wood's record against every BIG EAST team.

Opponent SDSU CU

Butler 3-0 1-2

Creighton 10-4 0-0

DePaul 2-0 2-1

Georgetown 0-0 1-2

Providence 2-1 1-2

Seton Hall 1-0 2-4

St. John's 1-0 1-2

Connecticut 0-0 0-3

Villanova 2-0 0-3

Totals 21-5 8-19

Bluejay Softball Hits The Road For Contests at Kansas City and Seton Hall

Next Event

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

Bluejay Softball Hits The Road For Contests at Kansas City and Seton Hall

Next Event

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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