Softball Opens Home Slate With Tuesday Doubleheader Against Drake

Game #19-20: Drake Bulldogs (6-13) vs. Creighton Bluejays (10-8)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 • 12:30 p.m. • 2:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • Creighton Sports Complex
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CU NOTES

This Weekend

After playing 18 straight games on the road, Creighton (10-8, 1-2 BIG EAST) is set to open the home portion of its schedule with a doubleheader against former Missouri Vallery Conference rival Drake (6-13) on Tuesday afternoon.

Game one's first pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. with game two to follow 30 minutes after the completion of game one from the Creighton Sports Complex.

Live Stats Information

All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing. Stats to all home games can also be followed at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.

Broadcast Information

Tuesday's home opening doubleheader against Drake will be broadcasted live on FloSports with Jake Ryan and Kendall Lanier on the call.

The Creighton Softball schedule page at gocreighton.com has direct links to each broadcast, which even more specifics provided at http://GoCreighton.com/flosports. If you sign up via a "@creighton.edu" address, it costs $6.99 per month. If you don't have one of those, click on the video webcast link on the Creighton Softball schedule page and it will cost (and automatically renew) at $14.99 per month.

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 (10-8, 1-2 BIG EAST)

Creighton is 10-8 this season after opening BIG EAST play with a 1-2 showing at Providence last weekend.

The Bluejays have played their first 18 games away from home claiming victories over Purdue Fort Wayne, Northern Kentucky, Kennesaw State, Morehead State, UC Santa Barbara and Saint Mary's.

Offensively, Creighton is hitting .276 with 24 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs and 74 RBI, while scoring 81 runs on 28 stolen bases.

The Bluejays are led offensively by senior Sydra Seville who is hitting an impressive .410 on a team-high 25 hits, including three doubles, two triples and a home run, while driving in 10 RBI and scoring a team-best 12 runs of her own.

Junior Lily West is another top offensive weapon for the Jays this season. She is hitting .355 on 22 hits, including one double and one triple while scoring 10 total runs.

Sophomore Sydney Potter ranks third on the team with a .293 batting average while leading the team with 16 RBI on five doubles and three home. Junior Erika Perez follows closely behind with a .286 average, driving in 15 runs on a team-leading five doubles and four home runs. Redshirt freshman Kenzie Nakasawa (.273) and senior Hannah Poole (.270) are also hitting at a better than .250 clip.

Sophomore's Brooke Shifflett and Brooklyn Patchen have led the Bluejays pitching staff through the early portion of the schedule. Shifflett owns a 6-2 overall record with a team-best 2.39 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 41 innings of work, while Patchen has logged a 2.50 ERA with 26 punchout in 42.0 innings pitched this season.

Freshman Abby Rusher has also provided a spark in her relief outing this spring, collected a 2.62 ERA with eight strikeouts during 18.2 innings. As a staff, the Bluejays ranks third in the BIG EAST with a 2.77 ERA but have held its opponents to a league-low 92 hits so far this season.

Creighton returns six regular starters from last season's 36-22 squad that posted the programs first 35-win season since 2010 and finished runner-up in both the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament. The Bluejays were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST by the league coaches in 2025.

Head coach Krista Wood is in her third season with the Bluejays and holds a 576-379 career record, including a 68-61 mark at Creighton.

Scouting Drake (6-13)

Drake is off to a 6-13 start to the 2025 season against a schedule featuring powerhouse programs such as #17 Virginia Tech, #21 Alabama and #15 Oklahoma State.

The Bulldogs, however, have secured victories over Loyola Chicago, Southern Utah and Tulsa, as well as three wins over Kansas City, including two last weekend at the Kansas City Roos Invitational.

Drake is hitting .251 as a team with 29 extra-base hits and 49 RBI while collecting 2.95 runs scored per game.

Freshman Ava Curry is off to a strong start to her collegiate career, pacing the team with a .410 batting average on 16 hits, including two doubles. Sophomore Frankie Rita is hitting at a .397 clip with a team-high 23 hits, including three doubles and two triples, while senior Emma Dighton has drove in a team-high 12 runs on a team-high four doubles and three home runs while posting a .360 batting average.

In the circle, senior Paige Bedsworth leads the team with an ERA of 1.84 over 26.2 innings of work, while senior Molly Hoekstra paces the Bulldogs with 29 strikeouts while posting a 4.50 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. As a staff, Drake owns a 4.37 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 118.2 compete innings.

Drake was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' poll as head coach Lindsay Diehl is in her second season at the helm of the Bulldogs.

Series History Against the Bulldogs

Creighton leads the all-time series against Drake, 60-33.

The Bluejays and Bulldogs met annually from 1993 to 2013 as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Drake and Creighton met for the first time since 2016 last season in Des Moines, with Drake earning an 8-0 win over the Bluejays. The two teams last met in Omaha in 2023 with the Bulldogs securing a 9-0 victory.

The Bluejays, however, still own a 29-15 record in games played in Omaha.

Head Coach Krista Wood is 4-9 all-time against Drake.

Milestone Watch

- With a win on Wednesday, Creighton will record its 500th all-time home win.

- Hannah Poole owns 98 career hits and is two shy of 100 career hits between Radford (30), Furman (58) and Creighton (10).

- Kenzie Schopfer enters Wednesday with 97 career strikeouts, three shy of recording 100 in her collegiate career.

- Sydney Potter owns 49 career RBI and is one shy of driving in 50 runs for her Bluejay career.

- Sydney Potter has record 46 career hits, needing just four more hits to record 50 for her career.

- Lily West is 10 hits shy of becoming the 17th Bluejays to record at least 150 career since 1999.

- Sydra Seville has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games and can become just the fourth Bluejay to post multiple 15-game on-base streaks since at least 1999.

Home Opener History

Creighton 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), after posting an 8-0 shutout over Rider last season.

Head coach Krista Wood holds 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 23 home games this season, including BIG EAST series against UConn, Butler, St. John's and Seton Hall.

Home Sweet Home

Creighton enters Tuesday's home opener seeking its 500th all-time win at home against former MVC rival Drake.

The Bluejays own a 499-276-1 (.644) all-time record at home, including a 365-224-1 (.619) record since moving into the CU Sports Complex in 1988.

Creighton finished last season with a 16-3 record at the home. The Bluejays 16 home wins were the most wins in the CU Sports Complex since the 2008 Bluejays finished the home schedule with a 19-2 overall record.

In addition, it was just the second time this century that Creighton had recorded 16 or more home wins in a single season.

Most Home Wins at CU Sports Complex

Record Year

24-4 1989

19-7 1988

19-2 2008

16-3 2024

16-7 1991

Bluejay Milestone Home Victories

Win Opponent Date Result

1 Nebraska Wesleyan 4/10/77 W, 7-6

100 Simpson 4/19/85 W, 15-0

200 Nebraska 3/21/92 W, 7-2

300 Indiana State 4/7/02 W, 8-0

400 Bradley 4/2/11 W, 4-3

500 TBA - -

Creighton At Home

Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays own a 74-67 record at the Creighton Sports Complex.

The Bluejays finished 16-3 at home last season, which included victories over Rider, Northern Colorado, North Dakota, Villanova, South Dakota, Omaha and Providence, as well as BIG EAST series sweeps over Georgetown and DePaul

Last season, Creighton hit a blistering .349 at home with 37 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 106 RBI, while the Bluejay pitching staff owned a 2.05 ERA with 102 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .178 batting average.

Junior Lily West paced the Bluejay returners with a .421 batting average with five doubles, three home runs, while driving in 16 RBI. Senior Sydra Seville followed closely behind, hitting at a .417 clip with one double, one triple and 11 runs scored.

Year-by-year home records since 2014:

2024: 16-3

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

CU Sports Complex Turns Into Launching Pad

Creighton has also produced some big hitters throughout its powerful lineup over the years and that trend continued last season for the Bluejays.

CU blasted 24 home runs last spring, with 16 of those coming from within the confines of the CU Sports Complex.

Sophomore Sydney Potter led the way with six home runs last year at home, while Lily West recorded three homers and Ella Dalton added in one of her own.

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).

Below takes a look at the home run 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

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

Welcome Back Kaelan Schultz

Sophomore Kaelan Schultz returned to the diamond for the first time in 378 days, earning the start in the Bluejays BIG EAST opener at Providence on March 7.

Schultz torn her ACL sliding into home during a contest against Nevada on Feb. 23 last year, missing the rest of the 2024 season.

In her return to the field Schultz delivered in a big way at the plate, launching two home runs in the series finale against Providence on March 9.

Schultz became the first Bluejay to with two home runs in a game since Cayla Nielsen homered twice against UConn on April 23, 2023, while also becoming the first Bluejay to hit home runs in back-to-back at bats since Alyssa Gappa did so against New Mexico State on Feb. 24, 2023.

West Nearing 150 Career Hit Milestone

Junior catcher Lily West has been consistent at the plate throughout her Bluejay career, collecting 140 career hits through her first 129 career games.

The Choctaw, Okla. native is now 10 hits shy of becoming the 17th Bluejay since 1999 to record 150 career hits.

Creighton Players with 150 Career Hits Since 1999

No. Name H Years

1. Ashley Cantu 218 2017-21

2. Cayla Nielsen 209 2020-24

3. Ellen Homan 203 2011-14

4. Renae Sinkler 201 2007-10

5. Melanie Dorsey 198 2002-05

6. Stacey Rybar 194 2001-04

7. Amy Baker 191 2010-13

8. Bailey Dawson 183 2006-09

9. Liz Dike 180 2012-15

10. Abby Johnson 172 2002-05

11. Jessica Wakasugi 171 2006-09

12. Kailey Wilson 168 2019-23

13. Lauren Flores 165 2003-06

14. Jamie Reiss 164 2004-07

15. Madeline Vejvoda 162 2020-24

16. Michekke Koch 161 2007-10

- Lily West 140 2023-Pres.

West Staying Durable

Junior catcher Lily West has been a fixture in the Bluejays starting lineup since stepping foot on campus in 2023 and is reaching uncharted territory as she has started in all 129 games of her Bluejay career.

Her 129 consecutive starts are the longest starting streak since Madeline Vejvoda started 174 consecutive games from 2020- 2024.

West Hitting Way Into Top-10

Currently 18 games into her junior season, Lily West is continuing her climb up the Bluejay ranks in career batting average.

After the first four weekends of play, West currently ranks seventh all-time with a .334 career batting average. The Choctaw, Okla. native ranks second offensive with a .355 batting average on 22 total hits this season.

The standout junior now owns 140 hits in her Bluejay career and is closing in on becoming just the 17th Bluejay since 1999 to record 150 career base hits.

West ended her sophomore season with 118 career hits, a total that ranked second-most for a career through two seasons in program history.

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. .334 Lily West 140-419 2023-pr.

8. .333 Cayla Nielsen 209-627 2020-24

9. .331 Kiara Mills 123-372 2019-22

10. .328 Melanie Dorsey 198-604 2002-05

Seville Gone Streaking, AGAIN!

Earlier this season senior Sydra Seville had her career-best hitting streak snapped at 18 straight games on Feb. 8 after recording the longest hit streak by a Bluejays since at least 1999 on her first career out of the park home run in an 10-2 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne.

The New Lenox, Ill. native hit a blistering .517 (30-of-58) with 30 hits, nine RBI, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases over her 18-games hitting streak, dating back to the end of last season, where Seville earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors and a spot on the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.

In addition to having her 18-game hit streak snapped, Seville also had an 18-game on-base streak broken when failing to reach base safely on Feb. 8th. Seville's 18-game on-base streak was the longest by a Bluejay since Kailey Wilson reached base safely in 19 straight games back in 2022.

The senior, however, has restarted a new on-base streak, reaching base safely in each of the last 14 contests. Should Seville reach base safely in the first game of the doublehead against Drake on Wednesday, she will become just the fourth Bluejay to post multiple 15-game on-base streaks since at least 1999.

Below is a list of Creighton's top hitting streaks since 1999 and the Bluejays top on-base streaks since 2010.

Longest Creighton Hitting Streaks Since 1999

Hit Streak Player Year

18 Sydra Seville 2024-25

17 Renae Sinkler 2008

17 Jamie Reiss 2007

14 Liz Dike 2015

14 Marie Gieron 2001

13 Ashley Cantu 2019

13 Jayci Foster 2018

13 Ellen Homan 2012

Longest Creighton On-Base Streaks Since 2010

OB Streak Player Year

37 Amy Baker 2013

28 Alexis Cantu 2012

21 Ashley Cantu 2019

20 Anna O'Gorman 2017

20 Kelsey Allender 2015

19 Kailey Wilson 2022

18 Sydra Seville 2024-25

18 Cayla Nielsen 2024

17 Cayla Nielsen 2023

17 Alexis Cantu 2013

16 Michelle Trulin 2016

15 Amy Baker 2012

Bluejay Thieves

Creighton has 20 stolen bases in its last eight games, after opening the season with eight stolen bases in their first 10 contests.

In total the Bluejays have recorded 28 stolen bases, including 20 over the past two weekends at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament and at Providence.

By comparison, the Bluejays stole a total of 24 bases in 58 total games last season. Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, the Bluejays have only recorded more than 30 stolen bases three times.

The Jays collected a season-high seven stolen bases against UC Santa Barbara on March 2. The Bluejays seven steals were two shy of the school record and were tied for the second-most in a single game in program history.

The seven stolen bases were its most in a single game since also collecting seven stolen bases against Bradley on March 31, 2001.

Below is a breakdown of the stolen bases totals since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

Year SB SB Att. SB%

2025 28 31 90.3

2024 24 29 82.8

2023 20 26 75.9

2022 22 29 75.9

2021 14 18 77.8

2020 18 23 78.3

2019 29 40 72.5

2018 21 25 84.0

2017 22 34 64.7

2016 43 50 86.0

2015 30 39 76.9

2014 39 52 75.0

Fast Starts Leads to Success

Creighton has jumped out to early leads and that has paid dividends as the Bluejays are 6-3 when scoring first and 3-2 when scoring in the first inning this season.

In addition, CU has manufactured some big scoring innings to help secure those victories, outscoring its opponents 30-10 in the first and second innings this season.

The Bluejays have scored four or more runs in a single inning eight times this year, including five runs in the first inning of the Bluejays 10-0 run-rule victory over Northern Kentucky and the Jays 10-8 win over Kennesaw State on Feb. 15.

Below is a list of BIG scoring innings for the Bluejays this season.

Date Opponents Runs Inn.

2/7 Purdue Fort Wayne 4 2nd

2/7 Purdue Fort Wayne 4 4th

2/15 Northern Kentucky 5 1st

2/15 Northern Kentucky 4 2nd

2/15 Kennesaw State 5 1st

2/16 Morehead State 4 5th

3/1 Saint Mary's 4 4th

3/8 Providence 4 6th

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 spring, opening the season with five wins when scoring at least five runs.

Over the last 25 seasons, Creighton is 381-54 when scoring five or more runs. In the same time span Creighton is 245-418-3 when scoring four runs or fever.

Creighton is also 165-36 when scoring five or more runs in a game since joining the BIG EAST in 2014.

Last spring, the Bluejays went an impressive 23-0 record when scoring at least five runs in a game. In those 23 contests, Creighton outscored their opponents, 192-66.

During that same time frame the Bluejays are 97-4 when scoring eight or more runs, which included a perfect 15-0 record in 2024. Including the Jays four wins this season and the 15 wins they had last year, Creighton has now won 28 consecutive games when scoring eight or more runs dating back to a 9-8 loss at St. John's on April 2, 2022.

Additionally, Creighton has won 36 straight games when scoring 10+ runs. The last such loss was a 13-10 setback to South Dakota on April 27, 2017.

Bluejay Bullpen

While relief pitching in softball doesn't play a huge role in the game, Creighton's relievers are making sure it doesn't get overlooked. In 18 relief appearances this season, the Bluejay bullpen has a combined 2.80 ERA and a 4-2 record.

The CU pen has tossed 35.0 innings and struck out 20, while limiting foes to a .195 batting average. Brooklyn Patchen and Kenzie Schopfer have allowed just one earned run in three relief appearances this season.

Below is a breakdown of the Bluejays starting pitching stats vs. the Bluejays relief pitching stats.

Category Starters Relief

Record 6-5 4-2

ERA 2.76 2.80

IP 83.2 35.0

Hits 67 25

Runs 44 17

ER 33 14

SO 54 20

BB 52 20

Double Trouble

Over the last two seasons Creighton has consistently been able to snag extra-bases, and that has been the case once again this season.

Through the first 18 games of the year, the Bluejays have recorded 24 doubles, including five in CU's season-opening win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 7 and five more in the Jays win 10-8 win over Kennesaw State on Feb. 15.

The 24 doubles are the Bluejays most through the first 18 games of a season since the Jays hit 25 of their 77 doubles in the first 18 games of the 2023 season.

CU has recorded 77 doubles each of the last two seasons, tying for the second most in a single season and falling two shy of the school record 79 hit during the 1993 season.

Overall, the 154 doubles hit over the last two years are the most doubles in a two-year span in program history.

Rank Doubles Year

1. 79 1993

2. 77 2024

77 2023

4. 74 2001

5. 73 1999

6. 71 2004

7. 65 1997

65 1989

9. 64 2005

10. 63 1994

Krista vs. The BIG EAST

Throughout her career, head coach Krista Wood's teams played some of their best softball against BIG EAST competition.

Entering her third season with the Bluejays, Wood's currently owns a 26-30 record in the BIG EAST with at least one victory over every team in the league.

In her eight seasons with South Dakota State, 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 total, Wood's owns a 47-35 overall record against teams from the BIG EAST.

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

Opponent SDSU CU

Butler 3-0 4-3

Creighton 10-4 0-0

DePaul 2-0 5-1

Georgetown 0-0 4-2

Providence 2-1 4-5

Seton Hall 1-0 1-5

St. John's 1-0 4-3

Connecticut 0-0 2-6

Villanova 2-0 2-5

Totals 21-5 26-30

League Opener History

Creighton owns a 24-15 record all-time in conference openers, including a 1-2 record under Krista Wood after last Friday's setback at Providence.

Creighton is now 6-5 in BIG EAST openers, but have won 13 of its last 19 conference opening-games, including wins in the final seven Missouri Valley Conference lid-lifters.

In the 24 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has finished .500 or better in league play 21 times and owns a combined .647 (299-163-1) winning percentage during league contests.

In the 14 previous years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have finished with a losing record on eight occasions and owns a combined .445 (114-142) during league games.

In league road openers, Creighton is 25-14 overall and 1-2 under Wood, which includes last spring's 3-0 shutout wins at St. John's.

Bluejays Tabbed Fourth In Preseason Poll

Coming off the programs most successful season in over a decade, the Creighton softball team was picked to finish fourth in the 2025 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced on Friday, January 17.

Creighton received one first-place vote and a total of 43 points, falling three points shy of St. John's who was picked third with 46 points. Defending BIG EAST regular-season and tournament champion Villanova was tabbed the preseason favorite by the league coaches, earning six first-place votes and 61 points overall, while UConn generated two first-place votes and 57 points to finish second.

Seton Hall checked in at fifth with 39 points, while Butler (28) edged out Providence (27) by one point for fifth. DePaul (14) and Georgetown (9) rounded out the poll in the eighth and ninth position respectfully.

The home portion of the Bluejays schedule begins on March 11 when the Jays welcome in former Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake.

BIG EAST play begins on March 7 when Creighton travels to take on Providence in Rhode Island. The top six finishers in the BIG EAST regular-season standings will qualify for the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

2024 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Villanova (6) - 61

UConn (2) - 57

St. John's - 46

Creighton (1) - 43

Seton Hall - 39

Butler - 28

Providence - 27

DePaul - 14

Georgetown – 9

Softball Opens Home Slate With Tuesday Doubleheader Against Drake

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ella Dalton

Alyssa Gappa

Kenzie Nakasawa

Cayla Nielsen

Brooklyn Patchen

Erika Perez

Hannah Poole

Sydney Potter

Abby Rusher

Kenzie Schopfer

Kaelan Schultz

Sydra Seville

Brooke Shifflett

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

Softball Opens Home Slate With Tuesday Doubleheader Against Drake

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ella Dalton

Alyssa Gappa

Kenzie Nakasawa

Cayla Nielsen

Brooklyn Patchen

Erika Perez

Hannah Poole

Sydney Potter

Abby Rusher

Kenzie Schopfer

Kaelan Schultz

Sydra Seville

Brooke Shifflett

Madeline Vejvoda

Lily West

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