Thursday, May 7
Rosemont, Ill.
7:30 PM
Creighton University
30-26
4
vs
2
#1 Providence
29-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Creighton | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 2 |
Ella Dalton
Photo by: Patrick Davis
Softball Eliminates Top Seeded Providence at BIG EAST Tournament
5/7/2026 9:47:00 PM | Softball
Jays post third straight 30-win season.
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Tara Vandewater homered twice and Landrie Harris threw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to lead Creighton Softball to a 4-2 victory over top-seeded Providence on Thursday night in an elimination game at the 2026 BIG EAST Softball Championships, Presented by JEEP.
The Bluejays (30-26) advanced to a 4 p.m. elimination game on Friday against the loser of tomorrow's winner's bracket game between second-seeded Connecticut and fourth-seeded Butler. That game will air on ESPN+. Providence, which won a share of its first BIG EAST regular-season title in program history, lost for the second time today and ended its season with a 29-20 record.
Just as they did in this afternoon's game vs. Connecticut, the Jays scored first with a run in the first inning as Vandewater blasted her 10th home run of the season.
The Friars knotted the score at 1-all in the third inning as Cameron Dunn scored from first on a fielding error after a single to left by Julia Renny. The tie lasted all of five pitches as senior Ella Dalton launched her third home run of the season into the right field bleachers to help CU retake a 2-1 lead. After a single from Kaelan Schultz, Vandewater uncorked her second home run of the game and 11th of the season to move the Bluejay advantage to 4-1.
Hailey Frant hit a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning to slice CU's lead to 4-2, and an ensuing walk chased CU starter Audrey Gilman. Harris (6-6) came on in relief and would end up as the winning pitcher after throwing the final 3.2 innings, and pitching around two hits and two walks allowed.
The Friars had a big opportunity in the top of the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out, but Harris coaxed a ground out before striking out all-BIG EAST slugger Julia Renny. Harris would retire PC in order to end the contest, winning an 11-pitch battle against Addyson Frye to seal the victory.
Frye (6-5) threw a complete game for the Friars, as PC elected not to throw BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Alyssa Twomey. Frye allowed seven hits, four runs and two walks while striking out three.
NOTES: Tara Vandewater tied a BIG EAST Tournament record with two homers in the same game and became the first Bluejay with two homers in a conference tournament game since Stacey Rybar hit a pair at Evansville on May 10, 2003. ... Lily West played in her 222nd career game, good for a tie for fifth-most in CU history with Hall of Famer Jody Schwartz and are the most by a Bluejay since Beth Herod's 233 from 1989-93 ... Lily West's double in the first inning was the 37th of her career, the sixth-most in program history. It was also her 244th career hit, which is second-most in CU history, and extended her reached base safely streak to 19 games in a row ... Creighton was outscored 66-33 in the first inning during the regular-season, but outscored its two opponents 4-1 in the opening frame today ... Creighton upped its single-season school-record totals to 348 runs, 319 RBI and 93 doubles ... Providence hit 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base ... Creighton is now 4-2 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play when scoring in the first inning ... Creighton is now 8-7 all-time in five trips to the BIG EAST Tournament, and avoided its first 0-2 finish at a league tournament since 1998 ... Creighton has now won 30 games in a season for the 26th time, and has now won 30 games in three straight seasons for the first time since doing it four years in a row from 2007-2010 ... Creighton is now 2-0 against Providence at the BIG EAST Tournament all-time, defeating the Friars 5-4 in last year's semifinal round ... Creighton is now 5-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games decided by two runs or less.
The Bluejays (30-26) advanced to a 4 p.m. elimination game on Friday against the loser of tomorrow's winner's bracket game between second-seeded Connecticut and fourth-seeded Butler. That game will air on ESPN+. Providence, which won a share of its first BIG EAST regular-season title in program history, lost for the second time today and ended its season with a 29-20 record.
Just as they did in this afternoon's game vs. Connecticut, the Jays scored first with a run in the first inning as Vandewater blasted her 10th home run of the season.
The Friars knotted the score at 1-all in the third inning as Cameron Dunn scored from first on a fielding error after a single to left by Julia Renny. The tie lasted all of five pitches as senior Ella Dalton launched her third home run of the season into the right field bleachers to help CU retake a 2-1 lead. After a single from Kaelan Schultz, Vandewater uncorked her second home run of the game and 11th of the season to move the Bluejay advantage to 4-1.
Hailey Frant hit a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning to slice CU's lead to 4-2, and an ensuing walk chased CU starter Audrey Gilman. Harris (6-6) came on in relief and would end up as the winning pitcher after throwing the final 3.2 innings, and pitching around two hits and two walks allowed.
The Friars had a big opportunity in the top of the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out, but Harris coaxed a ground out before striking out all-BIG EAST slugger Julia Renny. Harris would retire PC in order to end the contest, winning an 11-pitch battle against Addyson Frye to seal the victory.
Frye (6-5) threw a complete game for the Friars, as PC elected not to throw BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Alyssa Twomey. Frye allowed seven hits, four runs and two walks while striking out three.
NOTES: Tara Vandewater tied a BIG EAST Tournament record with two homers in the same game and became the first Bluejay with two homers in a conference tournament game since Stacey Rybar hit a pair at Evansville on May 10, 2003. ... Lily West played in her 222nd career game, good for a tie for fifth-most in CU history with Hall of Famer Jody Schwartz and are the most by a Bluejay since Beth Herod's 233 from 1989-93 ... Lily West's double in the first inning was the 37th of her career, the sixth-most in program history. It was also her 244th career hit, which is second-most in CU history, and extended her reached base safely streak to 19 games in a row ... Creighton was outscored 66-33 in the first inning during the regular-season, but outscored its two opponents 4-1 in the opening frame today ... Creighton upped its single-season school-record totals to 348 runs, 319 RBI and 93 doubles ... Providence hit 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base ... Creighton is now 4-2 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play when scoring in the first inning ... Creighton is now 8-7 all-time in five trips to the BIG EAST Tournament, and avoided its first 0-2 finish at a league tournament since 1998 ... Creighton has now won 30 games in a season for the 26th time, and has now won 30 games in three straight seasons for the first time since doing it four years in a row from 2007-2010 ... Creighton is now 2-0 against Providence at the BIG EAST Tournament all-time, defeating the Friars 5-4 in last year's semifinal round ... Creighton is now 5-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games decided by two runs or less.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harris, Landrie (6-6)
L: Addyson Frye (6-5)
Batting:
2B: Julia Renny 1
HR: Hailey Frant 1
RBI: Hailey Frant 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cameron Dunn 1 ; Hailey Frant 1
Batting:
2B: West, Lily 1
HR: Vandewater, Tara 2 ; Dalton, Ella 1
RBI: Vandewater, Tara 3 ; Dalton, Ella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bailey, Emma 1 ; Vandewater, Tara 2 ; Dalton, Ella 1
CS: Vazquez, Chiqui 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
dp/lf
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballC/UTL
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballCreighton Softball BIG EAST Tournament Highlights vs. UConn, 5/7/26
Friday, May 08
Creighton Softball Highlights vs. DePaul, 5/3/26
Sunday, May 03
Creighton Softball Highlights vs DePaul - 05-02-26
Saturday, May 02
Creighton Softball Highlights vs. DePaul, 5/1/26
Saturday, May 02
