Thursday, April 2
Indianapolis, Ind.
10:00 AM
Creighton University
18-19, 7-2
8
at
5
Butler
16-10, 8-1
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Creighton
0
1
3
0
0
1
0
3
8
8
0
Butler
3
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
5
9
1
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Mayhue’s Eighth Inning Go-Ahead Homer Lifts Softball to Doubleheader Split at Butler
4/2/2026 4:29:00 PM | Softball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Freshman Keegan Mayhue delivered a two-run go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning of game one to help the Creighton softball team split a pair of extra-inning contests against BIG EAST front-runner Butler on Thursday afternoon at the Butler Softball Field in Indianapolis, Ind.
Mayhue's go-ahead home run earned the Bluejays an 8-5 extra-innings win in the first game of the day, before the Bulldogs escaped with a 6-5 victory in eight innings in game two.
With Thursday's results, Creighton moved to 8-3 in BIG EAST play and 19-20 overall, while Butler kept its one-game lead in the standings, moving to 9-2 in league action and 17-11 on the season.
GAME 1: Creighton 8, Butler 5 (8 innings)
A back-and-forth battle in game one saw Creighton blast back-to-back home runs in the top of the eighth to earn an 8-5 victory over Butler in the series opener.
Knotted at 5-5 entering the eighth inning, the Bluejays broke through as junior Kaelan Schultz smacked a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and scored two batters later as freshman Keegan Mayhue launched her team-leading eighth home run of the season to put the Jays up 7-5. Senior Erika Perez immediately went back-to-back, blasting a solo shot of her own to right to secure the 8-5 win for the Bluejays.
Creighton starter Audrey Gilman earned the victory (9-8), allowing five runs in 7.0 innings of work, while sophomore Landrie Harris picked up her second save of the season, tossing a scoreless eighth.
Butler got things going early in the game, grabbing a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Makena Alexander and Kayla Preiss lined back-to-back RBI doubles into the right center field gap to give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 lead. Two batters later Kieli Ryan laced an RBI single through the left side to push Butler's advantage to 3-0.
Creighton responded in the next half inning as Tara Vandewater drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on an RBI double from Mayhue to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Bluejays would push across three more in the top of the third as Schultz scored two on a throwing error by the Bulldogs to level the contest a 3-3. Vandewater then drove in her 40th run of the season with a sacrifice fly to deep right to give the Jays its firsts lead of the game at 4-3.
CU's lead stood until the fifth, when Butler drew even at 4-4 with the second RBI double of the game from Preiss. The contest wouldn't stay tied for long as Creighton regained a 5-4 edge in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Perez.
With Creighton clinging to a one-run lead heading to the bottom of the second, Butler's Preiss delivered a game-tying two-out RBI single into right center to tie the game at 5-5 and send the contest into extras.
Mayhue led the way offensively for the Bluejays with three RBI and two hits, including the game-winning home run, while Perez added two hits and two RBI in the victory.
GAME 2: Butler 6, Creighton 5 (8 innings)
In game two, Creighton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to right from Schultz, only to see Butler answer with three runs in the bottom half of the frame on a pair of RBI single from Olivia Robards and Kieli Ryan as well as a sacrifice fly from Alona Boydston to take a 3-1 lead.
The Bluejays would then load the bases in the top of the second with a single from Mayhue, a walk to Perez and a single from Ella Dalton, before pinch runner Bailey came in to score on a fielding error by the Bulldogs second baseman to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Following a scoreless third from Bluejay starter Ava Drehs, Butler tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Hailey Conger to open up a 5-2 advantage.
Creighton, however, would not go down quietly, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth to even the score at 5-5. Mayhue opened the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a single from Perez, before both came in to score on a two-run triple from Dalton to close to within one at 5-4. Following a groundout and a walk by Zoey Greenwood, Barnard broke up an inning-ending double play to score Dalton from third and tie the game at 5-5.
Both teams would go scoreless in the seventh, sending the game to extras where Butler Conger would deliver a bases loaded RBI single to left center to give Butler the 6-5 victory.
Dalton paced the Bluejays with three hits, while Barnard and West each finished the contest with two hits apiece. Harris suffered just her third loss of the season after allowing just one run in 4.1 innings of work.
The Bluejays will wrap up their three-game series with Butler on Friday at 11 a.m. CT in a contest moved up due to the threat of severe weather in the Indianapolis area later in the afternoon.
Mayhue's go-ahead home run earned the Bluejays an 8-5 extra-innings win in the first game of the day, before the Bulldogs escaped with a 6-5 victory in eight innings in game two.
With Thursday's results, Creighton moved to 8-3 in BIG EAST play and 19-20 overall, while Butler kept its one-game lead in the standings, moving to 9-2 in league action and 17-11 on the season.
GAME 1: Creighton 8, Butler 5 (8 innings)
A back-and-forth battle in game one saw Creighton blast back-to-back home runs in the top of the eighth to earn an 8-5 victory over Butler in the series opener.
Knotted at 5-5 entering the eighth inning, the Bluejays broke through as junior Kaelan Schultz smacked a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and scored two batters later as freshman Keegan Mayhue launched her team-leading eighth home run of the season to put the Jays up 7-5. Senior Erika Perez immediately went back-to-back, blasting a solo shot of her own to right to secure the 8-5 win for the Bluejays.
Creighton starter Audrey Gilman earned the victory (9-8), allowing five runs in 7.0 innings of work, while sophomore Landrie Harris picked up her second save of the season, tossing a scoreless eighth.
Butler got things going early in the game, grabbing a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Makena Alexander and Kayla Preiss lined back-to-back RBI doubles into the right center field gap to give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 lead. Two batters later Kieli Ryan laced an RBI single through the left side to push Butler's advantage to 3-0.
Creighton responded in the next half inning as Tara Vandewater drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on an RBI double from Mayhue to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Bluejays would push across three more in the top of the third as Schultz scored two on a throwing error by the Bulldogs to level the contest a 3-3. Vandewater then drove in her 40th run of the season with a sacrifice fly to deep right to give the Jays its firsts lead of the game at 4-3.
CU's lead stood until the fifth, when Butler drew even at 4-4 with the second RBI double of the game from Preiss. The contest wouldn't stay tied for long as Creighton regained a 5-4 edge in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Perez.
With Creighton clinging to a one-run lead heading to the bottom of the second, Butler's Preiss delivered a game-tying two-out RBI single into right center to tie the game at 5-5 and send the contest into extras.
Mayhue led the way offensively for the Bluejays with three RBI and two hits, including the game-winning home run, while Perez added two hits and two RBI in the victory.
GAME 2: Butler 6, Creighton 5 (8 innings)
In game two, Creighton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to right from Schultz, only to see Butler answer with three runs in the bottom half of the frame on a pair of RBI single from Olivia Robards and Kieli Ryan as well as a sacrifice fly from Alona Boydston to take a 3-1 lead.
The Bluejays would then load the bases in the top of the second with a single from Mayhue, a walk to Perez and a single from Ella Dalton, before pinch runner Bailey came in to score on a fielding error by the Bulldogs second baseman to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Following a scoreless third from Bluejay starter Ava Drehs, Butler tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Hailey Conger to open up a 5-2 advantage.
Creighton, however, would not go down quietly, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth to even the score at 5-5. Mayhue opened the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a single from Perez, before both came in to score on a two-run triple from Dalton to close to within one at 5-4. Following a groundout and a walk by Zoey Greenwood, Barnard broke up an inning-ending double play to score Dalton from third and tie the game at 5-5.
Both teams would go scoreless in the seventh, sending the game to extras where Butler Conger would deliver a bases loaded RBI single to left center to give Butler the 6-5 victory.
Dalton paced the Bluejays with three hits, while Barnard and West each finished the contest with two hits apiece. Harris suffered just her third loss of the season after allowing just one run in 4.1 innings of work.
The Bluejays will wrap up their three-game series with Butler on Friday at 11 a.m. CT in a contest moved up due to the threat of severe weather in the Indianapolis area later in the afternoon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gilman, Audrey (9-7)
L: Katie Petran (7-4)
S: Harris, Landrie (2)
Batting:
2B: Mayhue, Keegan 1 ; Perez, Erika 1
HR: Mayhue, Keegan 1 ; Perez, Erika 1
RBI: Schultz, Kaelan 1 ; Vandewater, Tara 1 ; Mayhue, Keegan 3 ; Perez, Erika 2
SH: Barnard, Avery 1 ; Vandewater, Tara 2
SF: Vandewater, Tara 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Barnard, Avery 1 ; West, Lily 1 ; Schultz, Kaelan 1 ; Bailey, Emma 1 ; Patchen, Brooklyn 1 ; Vandewater, Tara 1 ; Mayhue, Keegan 1 ; Perez, Erika 1
SB: Barnard, Avery 1
CS: Greenwood, Zoey 1
HBP: Greenwood, Zoey 1
Batting:
2B: Makena Alexander 1 ; Kayla Preiss 2 ; Paxton Law 1
RBI: Makena Alexander 1 ; Kayla Preiss 3 ; Kieli Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hailey Conger 3 ; Makena Alexander 1 ; Kayla Preiss 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
3b/1b
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
dp/3b
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ SoftballCreighton Softball Postgame Interview vs. Nebraska, 3/31/26
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Creighton Softball Highlights vs. Nebraska, 3/31/26
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Creighton Softball Highlights vs. Seattle, 3/28/26
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Creighton Softball Highlights vs. Seattle, 3/27/26
Saturday, March 28
