Creighton University
#2 UConn
Softball Seeks First BIG EAST Tournament Title Against UConn on Saturday
5/9/2026 1:33:00 AM | Softball
Game #58: #2 UConn Huskies (30-25) vs. #3 Creighton Bluejays (31-26)
Saturday, May 9 • 1 p.m. CT • 4 p.m. CT • Rosemont, Ill. • Parkway Bank Softball Complex
WATCHÂ |Â LIVE STATSÂ |Â CU NOTES
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• Third-seeded Creighton (31-26, 17-7) seeks its first BIG EAST Tournament title on Saturday, May 9 when it faces second-seeded UConn (30-25, 18-6) for the league title at 1 p.m. in Rosemont, Ill. at the Parkway Bank Softball Complex.Â
 • Evan Stockton and Brea Lassek will call the game on ESPN+, while live stats will be available via Statbroadcast.Â
   Live stats and live video links for this weekend's tournament can be found on the Creighton Softball schedule on GoCreighton.com.
   Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
 • Creighton and Connecticut have met 24 times previously, with the Huskies holding an 18-6 edge in the all-time series.
   The Huskies have won seven of the last eight meetings, including taking two of three from the Bluejays in Storrs earlier this season and a 9-3 decision in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday.
   Creighton is 2-4 all-time at neutral sites against the Huskies, including a 1-4 mark at the BIG EAST Tournament and a 0-1 record in BIG EAST Tournament title games. Â
   Head coach Krista Wood is 4-13 all-time against Connecticut as a head coach.Â
 • With a pair of wins...
      Creighton would improve to 33-26 this season.
      Creighton would improve to 11-7 in the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 1-3 mark in the finals.
      Creighton would improve to 10-5 in the BIG EAST Tournament under head coach Krista Wood.Â
      Creighton would improve to 7-3 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament as a No. 3 seed.  Â
      Creighton would improve to 69-40 overall in its 32 all-time conference tournaments.
      Creighton would move to 8-18 all-time against UConn, including a 3-4 mark in the BIG EAST Tournament.
      Creighton would win its first BIG EAST Tournament title in four chances.Â
      Creighton would earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2010.
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• Creighton is playing in its fourth BIG EAST Tournament final in a nine-year span. The Bluejays four BIG EAST Tournament final appearances are tied for the second-most amongst all school since joining the league in 2014, trailing only the five BIG EAST Final appearances from Villanova from 2019-2024.
• Creighton will be appearing in its third consecutive and fourth overall BIG EAST Tournament Finals in its five trips to the BIG EAST Tournament.
• While the Bluejays are still looking for its first BIG EAST Tournament title, the Jays did win six Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010) and three HCAC Tournament titles (1986, 1988 and1990). CU is 0-3 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament finals.Â
   Creighton owns 14 BIG EAST Tournament titles in 13 years as a league member. Men's Soccer (2022) has won one title and Baseball (2019, 2025) has won two, while Volleyball (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) has 11 titles and is Creighton's only women's program to win a BIG EAST Tournament.
• Creighton is looking to become the first team to win the BIG EAST Tournament through the loser's bracket since Villanova did so in 2021. The Wildcats lost their 2021 opener to UConn, then bounced back to beat DePaul, Butler and UConn (twice) to win the title.Â
• Creighton (BIG EAST), Omaha (Summit League) and Nebraska (Big Ten), the three Division I teams in Nebraska, will all play for their conference titles on Saturday afternoon.Â
   It is the first time that all three programs will be playing for their conference tournament titles at the Division I level, as Omaha was elevated to Division I in 2012.Â
• A storied program, Creighton is looking to qualify for its 13th NCAA Tournament in program history, but its first automatic bid into the postseason tournament since 2010.Â
   The Bluejays appeared in the 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010 NCAA Tournament. CU played in the Women's College World Series twice (1982 and 1986) and the AIAW World Series twice (1980 and 1981). The Bluejays are 12-24 all-time in the NCAA postseason.Â
• Head coach Krista Wood improved to 8-5 in the BIG EAST Tournament, following Friday's 9-0 run-rule victory over Butler. Wood's eight wins are the third-most amongst the active coaches in the BIG EAST, trailing only Villanova's Bridget Orchard (13 - 7 Years) and UConn's Laura Valentino (11- 7 years).Â
• Creighton is 9-7 all-time in its five appearances at the BIG EAST Tournament, which includes trips to the finals in 2018, 2023, 2024 and now 2025.Â
• Saturday's matchup with the Huskies will be the 25th meeting between the school's all-time but the sixth meeting between the Bluejays and Huskies in the BIG EAST Tournament over the last three years.
   The Bluejays are 1-4 against UConn in the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 0-1 mark in the title game.Â
• Creighton was outscored 66-33 in the first inning during the regular-season but has outscored its three opponents 6-1 in the opening frame in the BIG EAST Tournament.Â
   The Jays scored two runs in the first inning against Butler on Friday and are now 5-2 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play when scoring in the first inning.
 • Senior Lily West collected a pair of hits in Thursday's two games against UConn and Providence, surpassing Heidi Geier for sole possession of second on Creighton's all-time career hits list with 244 career hits.
   The Choctaw, Okla. native enters Saturday's BIG EAST Tournament title game needing just one hit to tie Bluejay Hall of Famer Christy Lunceford's program record of 245 career hits, a record that has stood since 1997.Â
• Lily West extended her team-leading on-base streak to 20 games in a row with a walk in the first inning of its victory over Butler on Friday. Her 20-game on-base streak tied her career-long, which was set earlier this season.
   During her current 20-game on-base streak, West is hitting .328 (21-of-64) with four doubles, two homers, 11 walks and 15 runs scored. Overall, West has reached base safely in 50 of the 57 games this season, while reaching safely in each of its last 38 games against BIG EAST competition. Â
• Senior 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 223 games of her Bluejay career.Â
   Her 223 games played are the fifth-most in CU history and the most by a Bluejay since Beth Herod's 233 games played from1989-93.
• Junior Kaelan Schultz pushed her hit streak to a career-high 12 straight games, going 2-for-4 with a run scored in Friday's win over Butler. Schultz's 12-game hitting streak is the longest of any Bluejay this season and the longest since Sydra Seville recorded a hit in 20 straight games, spanning the end of the 2023 season and the being of the 2024 season.Â
   Over the course of her 12-game hitting streak, Schultz is hitting .475 (19-of-40) with six doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and eight runs scored.Â
• Zoey Greenwood doubled in the top of the first inning, moving into second on Creighton's freshman hits leaderboard with her 61st hits on Friday afternoon. Greenwood is now just three hits shy of tying Wendy Moon's freshman record of 64 hits from 1991.Â
• Freshman Keegan Mayhue blasted her team-leading 13th home run of the season to walk-off Butler on Friday afternoon, moving into a tie with Renae Sinkler, Lauren Cisneros and Stacey Rybar for 10th on CU's singles season home run list.Â
   Mayhue's 13 home runs are also the second most by a Bluejay freshman in program history and now two behind Amy Baker's freshman record of 15 homers in 2010.
• Keegan Mayhue's walk-off home run against Butler on Friday was the Bluejays 50th home run of the season, the fifth-most in a single season in program history.Â
   It marks the first time in ever that Creighton has hit 50 or more home runs in back-to-back seasons, as the Bluejays blasted 54 homers, the fourth-most in single-season in school history last season.Â
• Keegan Mayhue drove in a game-high four runs in yesterday's semifinals win over Butler, recording her 12th multi-RBI game of the season. The Elm Mott, Texas natives four RBI marked the fifth time this season she has recorded four or more RBI in a single game.
   With her four RBI on Friday, Mayhue moving into fourth on Creighton's single season RBI list with her 49 RBI this season.Â
• Sophomore Tara Vandewater drove in two runs on Friday, pushing her RBI season total to 58. Her 58 RBI are now tied with Renae Sinkler O'Gorman for second on Creighton's single season RBI leaderboard
   Vandewater will enter Saturday's BIG EAST Finals two RBI shy of tying Sydney Potter's single-season program record of 60 RBI set in 2025.
• With one run scored on Friday, Tara Vandewater also moved into a tie for fifth on Creighton's single season runs scored list with 45 runs scored this season. Vandewater is now just one run shy of tying Sydra Seville for fourth on CU's single season runs scored leaderboard.
• One of the most impressive stats from yesterday's win over Butler was that the Bluejays ability to deliver with runners in scoring position. The Jays were an impressive 5-for-8 (.625) with runners in scoring position, delivering eight two-out RBI. Butler, meanwhile, went 1-for-11 with runners on and 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position as they left 10 runners on base.Â
Milestone Watch
- Lily West owns 244 career hits, one hits shy of tying Hall of Famer Christy Lunceford's all-time school record of 245 hits set back in 1997.
- Lily West has scored 135 career runs and needs just two runs scored to tie Cayla Nielsen's school record of 137 runs scored from 2020-2024.
- Zoey Greenwood boasts 61 hits this season and is now just three hits shy of breaking Creighton's freshmen hits record of 64 hits set by Wendy Moon in 1991.
- Zoey Greenwood has recorded 24 stolen bases this season and is now two stolen bases shy of passing Heidi Geier for third on Creighton's single season stolen base list.Â
- Zoey Greenwood owns a team and BIG EAST-best 16 doubles this season and is now one double shy of tying Cayla Nielsen and Temple Windhorst for the third-most doubles in a single season in program history.
- Tara Vandewater has driven in 58 runs this season and is now two RBI shy of tying Sydney Potter's single season RBI record of 60 RBI set last season. Â
- Tara Vandewater has scored 45 runs this season, one run shy of tying Sydra Seville for fourth on Creighton's single season runs scored list.
- Ashten Pierson has been hit by a pitch 23 times in her career and is now one hit by pitch shy of tying Alyssa Gappa for sixth on Creighton's career hit by pitch record list.
- Ashten Pierson owns 38 career stolen bases and is now three stolen bases shy of tying Danielle Fitzgerald for sixth on the career stolen base list.Â
- Ashten Pierson has racked up 18 stolen bases this season and is now one shy of tying Heidi Geier for ninth on Creighton single season stolen base list.
- Ashten Pierson has collected 99 career hits and is now one hits away from 100 for her career.
- Ella Dalton has recorded 32 career stolen bases and is just one stolen base shy of cracking the top 10 on Creighton's career stolen base list.
- Ella Dalton has been hit by a pitch nine times this season, one shy of moving into a tie for fourth on Creighton's single season hit-by-pitch record board.
- Erika Perez owns 75 career walks and is now three walks away from tying Jody Schwartz for eighth on Creighton's career walks top 10 list.
- Keegan Mayhue has hit 13 home runs this season, one homer shy of moving into a tie for ninth on Creighton's single season home run list and is just two home runs shy of tying Amy Baker's freshman record of 15 home runs set in 2010.
- Keegan Mayhue has drove in 49 runs this season, one RBI shy of becoming just the fourth Bluejay in program history to record at least 50 RBI in a single season.
