Softball Closes Out Season-Long Road Trip With Midweek Battle at Kansas Before Opening BIG EAST Play at St. John's

Game #18: Creighton Bluejays (11-6) at Kansas Jayhawks (12-5-1)
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 • 5 p.m. • Lawrence, Kan. • Arrocha Ballpark
LIVE STATS | CU NOTES

Game #19-21: Creighton Bluejays (11-6, 0-0 BIG EAST) at St. John's Red Storm (8-10, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Friday, March 8, 2024 • 11 a.m. • Friday, March 8, 2024 • 1 p.m. • Saturday, March 19, 2024 • 11 a.m.
Queens, N.Y. • Red Storm Field
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTES

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Creighton (11-6) travels to Lawrence, Kan. for a midweek battle against Kansas (12-5-1), before heading to New York City for the BIG EAST Opener against St. John's (8-10).

The Bluejays will take on the Jayhawks on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at Arrocha Ballpark.

Creighton will then open BIG EAST play on Friday with a double header against the Red Storm at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. due to inclement weather setp to impact the Queens arena on Sunday.

The Bluejays will conclude the three-game series with an 11 a.m. contest on Saturday morning.

Follow The Games

Live stats for all four of Creighton's games this week will be provided via Statbroadcast at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

Creighton's game against Kansas on Tuesday will not be broadcasted but all three games against St. John's will be streamed on FloSports.

Links to live stats and live video can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule page.

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 (11-6)

Creighton enters Tuesday's matchup against Kansas sporting an 11-6 overall record after posting a 3-1 showing at the Cougar Invite last weekend in Edwardsville, Ill.

Creighton has won four out of its last five games, which included victories over Loyola Chicago, St. Thomas and Illinois State.

Offensively, Creighton raised its average to .253 after hitting .361 last weekend at the Cougar Invite.

The Bluejays are led by fifth-year senior Cayla Nielsen and her .311 batting average and team-high 19 hits, while classmate Madeline Vejvoda follows closely behind with a .306 average on 15 hits and 10 RBI.

Sophomore Lily West owns a .286 batting average with a team-high four doubles and 11 runs scored, while freshman Sydney Potter has collected a team-high 13 RBI on three home runs and two doubles.

In the circle, Creighton has posted a 3.61 ERA with 88 strikeouts to just 48 walks, while holding opponents to .233 hitting in 114.1 innings of work.

Sophomore Natalia Puchino owns a 3-1 overall record with a 1.41 ERA and league-leading 53 strikeouts in the circle thus far. Jena Lawrence has also posted a 2-2 record with a 3.85 ERA in 20.0 innings pitched, while junior Alexis Wiggins holds a 2.33 ERA with eight strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work.

Head coach Krista Wood is in her second season with the Bluejays and holds a 541-355 career record, including a 33-37 mark at Creighton.

Scouting Kansas (12-5-1)

Riding a nine-game winnings streak, Kansas enters Tuesday's contest with a 12-5-1 overall record with quality wins over St. John's, Illinois, and No. 18th ranked Texas A&M.

Kansas is hitting .307 as a team thus far, led by sophomore Presley Limbaugh's .449 batting average. Limbaugh also owns a team-high 22 hits and 14 runs while ranking second on the squad with 14 RBI.

Fellow sophomore Aynslee Linduff follows closely behind with a .385 average, while sophomore Hailey Cripe is hitting at a .305 clip with a team-high 16 RBI on a team-best five doubles.

Junior Katie Brooks (6-0, 1.78 ERA) and senior Kasey Hamilton (3-4, 2.55 ERA) have handled the bulk of the pitching duties for the Jayhawks early on, accounting for 88.2 of the teams 117.0 innings pitched. As a team, Kansas has allowed just 50 runs total, owning a 2.33 ERA with 96 strikeouts.

Head coach Jennifer McFalls is in her sixth season at the helm of the Jayhawks program. Kansas was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Series History Against the Jayhawks

Meeting for the first time since 2016, Kansas leads the all-time series against Creighton, 44-24-1.

The Bluejays and Jayhawks first met in 1980 in the Region VI Tournament and consistently met throughout the early 2000's. Creighton and Kansas last battled in 2016 with the Jayhawks capturing a 6-0 shutout win in Omaha,

Creighton's last victory in the all-time series, came via an 8-0 shutout on April 15, 2010, at the CU Sports Complex.

Head Coach Krista Wood is 5-6 all-time against Kansas as a head coach. All 11 contests were played when Wood's was the head coach at SDSU.

Scouting St. John's (8-10, 0-0 BE)

Coming off a 3-1 showing at the Lancers Invite last weekend, St. John's enters the first week of BIG EAST play with an 8-10 overall record.

The Red Storm offensively is hitting .248 as a team and averages 3.72 runs per game, while opponents are hitting .271 on the season with an average of 3,78 runs scored per game.

Sophomore Cassidy Stouffer paces the Red Storm offensive with a .3.47 batting average on 17 hits, including a BIG EAST-leading six doubles. Junior London Jarrard (.317) is the only other player hitting better than .300, while also leading the BIG EAST with 21 RBI on six doubles and a team-best four home runs.

In the circle, the Red Storm have turned to sophomore Loreley Francia (4-2) and senior Hannah Mearns (2-4) to handle a majority of the pitching duties this season. Francia paces St. John's with a 2.89 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 46.2 innings of work, while Mearns has also provided 33.1 innings and 21 strikeouts for a 4.59 ERA.

As a team, St. John's owns a 3.69 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 122.0 innings pitched.

Head coach Michelle DePolo is in her first season at the helm of St. John's.

Series History Against the Red Storm

Creighton and St. John's have met 26 times in program history, with 24 meetings happening since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2014.

St. John's holds an 18-8 lead in the all-time series after the Red Storm took two of three from the Bluejays in Omaha last season. Additionally, the Bluejays are just 2-6 all-time in games played in Queens.

Head coach Krista Wood owns an 2-2 record as a head coach against St. John's.

Milestone Watch

- Cayla Nielsen is three runs shy of passing Liz Dike (118) for ninth on Creighton's all-time runs scored list. With four more runs she could surpass Bailey Dawson (119) for eighth.

- 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.

Family Affair

When Creighton and Kansas step out onto the field on Tuesday night there will be one thing that will be identical. Both teams will have a hitting coach with the last name Wieligman.

For the first time in his coaching career, Creighton assistant coach Ryan Wieligman will go head-to-head against his father and Kansas assistant coach Rich Wieligman.

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

Nielsen Etches Name In CU Record Book

Senior Cayla Nielsen has been a fixture in the Bluejays lineup since arriving on campus in 2020. Last weekend, Nielsen etched her name in Creighton history recording her 115th career runs scored.

The Blair, Neb. native surpassed Lauren Cisneros for 10th on Creighton all-time career runs scored list after crossing the plate three time in the Bluejays' 16-8 win over St. Thomas on March 2.

Nielsen also currently ranks ninth all-time with a .327 career batting average. She is also on the verge of entering the Top-10 list for doubles (seven 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. .327 Cayla Nielsen 161-492 2020-pr.

10. .326 Christine Fukumoto 110-337 2004-05

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. Liz Dike 118 2012-15

10. Cayla Nielsen 115 2020-pr.

Potter Delivers

Sydney Potter delivered the best performance of her young Bluejay career this past weekend at the Cougar Invite. The Runnels, Iowa native recorded a team-high seven hits, including two double and three home runs while driving in 11 Bluejays.

The freshman slugger became the first Bluejay freshman since 2010 and just the seventh Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST to hit a home run in three consecutive games. The last Bluejay freshman to hit a home run in three consecutive contests was Amy Baker when she hit a homer in four straight games from April 5-10 in 2010.

Below is a list of Bluejays to hit a home run in at least three straight games since 2010.

Bluejays W/ 3+ Straight Games W/HR Since 2010

Name Dates # of Games W/HR

*Sydney Potter 3/2-3/24 3

Alyssa Gappa 3/15-17/23 3

Emma Rosonke 3/25-27/22 3

Kiara Mills 4/10-14/21 3

Alexis Cantu 4/8-12/14 4

Liz Dike 3/19-22/14 3

Bri Lingl 4/8-12/14 3

Amy Baker 3/12-13/13 3

Amy Baker 2/22-23/13 3

Amy Baker 4/2-3/11 3

Amy Baker 3/11-12/11 3

Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman

3/10-12/10 3

*Amy Baker 4/5-10/10 4

* - Denotes Freshman

Potter Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Freshman Sydney Potter was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on March 4 after guiding the Bluejays to a 3-1 record at the Cougar Invite.

Potter, a Runnells, Iowa, native, started all four games for the Bluejays, pacing the squad with a .636 (7-of-11) batting average with two doubles, three home runs, three walks, five runs scored and 11 RBI.

The freshman slugger started the weekend with a 1-for-3 showing at the plate, with her lone hit came in a big way as she blasted a three-run shot to left to record the first home run of her Bluejay career.

Potter followed that up by recording the first multi-hit game of her career, lining a two-run double down the left field line and blasting a solo home run while also scoring three runs of her own in an 16-8 win over St. Thomas.

In the Bluejays' 8-2 win over Illinois State, Potter continued to show out collecting a season-high four RBI on another two hits, including her second three-run home run of the weekend. With the three-run blast, Potter became just the seventh Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST to hit a home run in three consecutive games.

Potter would then close out the Cougar invite by going 2-for-3 with another RBI double to end the weekend.

Scoring BIG

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

League-Opener History

Creighton is 5-4 in BIG EAST openers and have won 12 of its last 17 conference opening-games, including wins in the final seven Missouri Valley Conference lid-lifters.

The Bluejays dropped last season's conference opener to Villanova, 4-3, on a walk-off single by Ava Franz.

The Bluejays are 23-14 all-time in their first conference game of the season during stints in the HCAC (2-3), WAC (1-1), MVC (15-6) and BIG EAST (5-4).

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 the past six seasons that featured an 11 straight victories.

In her first season with the Bluejays, Wood's is 5-16, picking up victories over Butler (April 2), DePaul (April 7, twice), Georgetown (April 16) and Providence (April 29).

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 0-3

St. John's 1-0 1-2

Connecticut 0-0 0-3

Villanova 2-0 0-3

Totals 21-5 6-18

Bluejays Slotted Sixth In Preseason Poll

The Creighton softball team was picked sixth in the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Villanova was picked to claim the regular-season title with four first-place votes and 59 points overall. The defending BIG EAST regular-season champions, UConn, was picked second with 58 points and three first-place votes, while the reigning BIG EAST Tournament champions, Seton Hall, claimed the final two first-place votes and 53 points for third. DePaul came in fourth with 40 points, while Butler and Creighton rounded out the top six with 37 and 27 points respectfully. St. John's is predicted to finish in sixth place with 21 points, followed by Georgetown (15 points) and Providence (14 points).

Creighton opens the 2024 season at the Texas State Tournament in San Marcos, Texas on Feb. 9-11. The Bluejays play former Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois on Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. to begin the new campaign. The home portion of the schedule begins on March 13 when the Bluejays welcome Rider to the CU Sports Complex for a midweek doubleheader.

BIG EAST play gets rolling on March 8 when Creighton travels to Queens for a three-game weekend series at St. John's. The top six finishers in the BIG EAST regular season standing will qualify for the BIG EAST Championships presented by Jeep, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

2024 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Villanova (4) - 59

UConn (3) - 58

Seton Hall (2) - 53

DePaul - 40

Butler - 37

Creighton - 27

St. John's - 21

Georgetown – 15

Providence - 14

Free Softball

Last Friday, Creighton played its first extra inning game of the season, picking up a 5-4 10-inning win over Pacific in the Libby Matson Tournament.

Senior Cayla Nielsen lifted the Bluejays to the victory, launching a two-run home run to straight away center in the top of the 10th innings to give Creighton a 5-3 lead.

The 10-inning game was the Bluejays longest game by innings since dropping a 3-2 10-inning contest to Omaha on April 21, 2021. The 10-inning game against Pacific is also tied for the fifth longest game by innings this season in the NCAA.

Overall, Creighton is 90-95-2 all-time in extra innings games, including a 14-13 mark since joining the BIG EAST in 2014. Amongst the extra-inning games is the Bluejays NCAA record 31-inning contests against Utah on May 11, 1991, as well as the third longest game in NCAA History in the 25-inning affair against Utah just 21-minutes later on May 12, 1991.

Bluejays Keeping it Close

Through the first 17 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 two-run games, 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 6-0 when scoring at least five runs in a game.

Over the last 24 seasons, Creighton is 358-54 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 234-395-3 when scoring four runs or fever.

Creighton is also 143-36 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

During that same time frame the Bluejays are 81-4 when scoring eight or more runs, which included a perfect 9-0 record last season.

This season, Creighton is 6-0 when scoring five runs or more, outscoring their opponents 52-20 during those six games.

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 132 consecutive games dating back to March 7, 2021.

Her 132 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 143 of the 156 games she has played in.

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 8-1 with two saves in the circle already this season. She currently leads the BIG EAST with a 1.41 ERA and 53 total strikeouts in 54.2 innings of work 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 an 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 6-1 when leading after four innings, 9-1 when leading after five innings and 9-1 when leading after six innings this season.

Softball Closes Out Season-Long Road Trip With Midweek Battle at Kansas Before Opening BIG EAST Play at St. John's

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley Cantu

Alyssa Gappa

Jena Lawrence

Kiara Mills

Cayla Nielsen

Sydney Potter

Natalia Puchino

Emma Rosonke

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Alexis Wiggins

Kailey Wilson

Softball Closes Out Season-Long Road Trip With Midweek Battle at Kansas Before Opening BIG EAST Play at St. John's

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley Cantu

Alyssa Gappa

Jena Lawrence

Kiara Mills

Cayla Nielsen

Sydney Potter

Natalia Puchino

Emma Rosonke

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Alexis Wiggins

Kailey Wilson

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