Covering the Bases with Erin McGonigal
5/4/2015 9:50:00 AM | Softball
Thoughout the 2015 softball season, junior Erin McGonigal will be blogging for GoCreighton.com.
MAY 4
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
I really hope you all enjoyed catching up on the past few weeks in the last blog post.
Recently we hosted St. John's University in a three-game set to close out our BIG EAST home schedule. It was also senior weekend, a chance for us to honor our two seniors Liz Dike and Bri McMahon.
Both have done tremendous things for our program and deserved all the love and support that the fans provided in the stands that Saturday and Sunday. When we all showed up at the ballpark Saturday morning we surprised the seniors with a decorated locker room and a few nice gifts, country-style. Liz and Bri were greeted at the door with horses and 18 of their closest friends singing and dancing to Hannah Montana's “Hoedown Throwdown.”
We were all dressed as country as we could possibly get, including Kelsey Allender in her full cow suit.
We are utterly excited about game day 🐮 pic.twitter.com/SjTjr2v0rW
— Kelsey Allender (@killuhkay01) April 25, 2015
We finished the weekend going 1-2, while handing St. John's its first conference loss of the season. It was quite the battle with a team that featured solid pitching and hitting, as well as a talented set of infielders.
This past weekend we had an opportunity to take another trip clear across the country to Providence, Rhode Island to play BIG EAST Conference opponent: Providence College. Providence was a scrappy ball club that had a strong top of the order. After dropping the first two games, we battled in the series finale to send our seniors out with a win. Our two seniors, Dike and McMahon, both had big weekends at the plate as well as solid defensive efforts in all three games.
This week's profiles will feature our last three players; before I give you an inside look at our two seniors, No. 19 Anna O'Gorman, No. 20 Tash Coffiel-Nelson and No. 21 Kelsey Biaggi.
Anna O'Gorman, an Omaha native and Peru State transfer, has made an early impact in our lineup this season by producing a few timely base hits when we have needed them the most. O'Gorman is certainly one of the goofiest girls on our squad that likes to lighten the mood in serious situations, but also knows how to stay intense.
Anna is a One Tree Hill fanatic and will always keep you on your toes with what she has to say. She loves to chew bubble gum during the games and brings a huge bag of it to games to share with her teammates. It's not always easy transferring to a school in the middle of the year, let alone fitting in with 19 other girls on a softball team, and she has made it look so easy. Anna and I go way back, in fact, we went to middle school together and still to this day proudly represent TEAM 1.
Three things to know about Anna:
1. Aspires to be THE Brooke Davis because she is nothing short of perfection
2. In 2014, Anna enjoyed her 300th concert and she still tries to go to as many as she can. She considers herself a concert enthusiast.
3. Majoring in criminal justice and believes one day she will have a life like Olivia Benson on SVU
You may remember Tash Coffiel-Nelson, our freshman third baseman, from the newcomer profile a few months ago as the quiet girl who hits occasional home runs off of Coach during practice and is Netflix-obsessed. While that is all still true, Tash has really come out of her shell these past few months and we all know a lot more about her than we did prior to the spring travel season.
Tash has a great sense of humor. She is often featured in a lot of the Dubstep videos that are posted in our GroupMe chat (including the best one we've seen yet: “All by Myself”), she is often found doing the her famous dance move “The Whip” as well as singing on Snapchat and sending it to her teammates. Tash always has a positive attitude on the field and has made some great plays for us at the hot corner.
Three things to know about Tash:
1. Still watches Disney Junior, including her favorite shows Doc McStuffins and Sophia the First
2. Tash is the photo bomb queen. When people leave their phone around her, she will take up to 100 silly photos of herself and things around her
3. At age 10, she was the best pitcher in Benson Little League, until she got dirt in her eyes and unfortunately that ended her pitching career
Kelsey Biaggi, The BIaGgi as her teammates often call her, is a Denver, Colo. native that spends most of her time working with our pitchers behind the plate. Kelsey is certainly one of the nicest people I have ever met; she is always smiling and positive, and sometimes even sassy. If you are able to throw in some sass and sarcastic comments like Biaggi can, which many find to be surprising coming from her, you will fit right in with our team.
Kelsey B. will spend most of her summer in some remote place in the Rocky Mountains hanging out with her family and sharpening up her vocal cords for next season behind the plate. Biaggi frequently talks about how she cannot wait to bring her beta fish to school next year so that teammate/future roommate Sam Crowley can become proficient in taking care of pets.
Three things to know about Kelsey:
1. Favorite summer activities are fishing and wakeboarding
2. Has an extreme case of arachnophobia
3. Runs a small zoo in her house with three dogs, two cats, one beta fish, a crawdad, a small butterfly pavilion and three younger siblings
The season may be over, but blogs will still continue. I plan on writing a “Senior Edition” and end of the season wrap up once finals are over this week, so stay tuned Creighton fans. Take care and go Jays!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
APRIL 21
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
I really hope you enjoyed my recap of the Georgetown and Villanova series in the blog post last week.
I would like to catch you all up on the past two weeks of midweek games. Midweek games are good opportunities to get reps and at bats during the week to prepare us for our conference games over the weekend.
On Wednesday April 8, we played a two-game set with Summit League opponent, South Dakota. Many of you who were not at the two games may have checked the box scores and wondered what the world happen when you saw final scores of 20-12 and 7-6. What a wild night at CU Sports Complex it was. There were a number of records broken that evening including 45 combined runs scored and 53 combined total hits, including 14 home runs in the two games.
In the nightcap, Jen Daro put together one heck of a performance in the circle and at the plate. She picked up the win in the circle and hit her third home run of day in our 7-6 come back win against the Coyotes.
The following Wednesday we played another doubleheader on the road against our second Summit League opponent in two weeks, South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits came out swinging the first game, but we answered with a nice 9-0 victory to split the series.
The weekend of April 11-12's BIG EAST Conference series featured the Seton Hall Pirates out of South Orange, N.J. The series opener on Saturday featured a strong performance in the circle from Micaela Whitney while Sydnee Eck came in to record her first career save in a Bluejay uniform. Allie Reinhart's 5-of-6 performance at the plate was the highlight of our offense in the doubleheader that day. Seton Hall took Sunday's game, resulting in the loss of the series.
Last weekend featured a trip to the Windy City to take on defending BIG EAST Tournament champion DePaul, a team that beat us four times last season, for a three-game set on their home turf. With our chances of going to postseason on the line, we really came up with two huge team wins on day one to complete the Saturday sweep.
Blake Ringle put together a heck of a performance at the plate in the series opener going 3-for-3 at the plate, just a triple away from the cycle. After the game when asked about the likelihood of hitting a triple in her next at bat to complete the cycle, Ringle was quoted saying, (in reference to her blazing speed) “There definitely would have had to be a couple errors on the play and the ball probably would have had to ping-pong back and forth several times off the outfield wall.”
After the wins on Saturday, we enjoyed a nice team dinner at Giordano's Pizza, some of the best deep-dish pizza in all of Chicago! While we were there, we discussed a number of different ways to get Doug McDermott to stop by to root on his Jays in the series finale the following day. Kelsey Allender came up with the idea; so many of us took to Twitter in hopes of McDermott making an appearance.
ATTENTION: @dougmcd3 We will put you on our pass list to get in for free at our 11 o'clock game tomorrow at DePaul. JAYS SUPPORTING JAYS.
— Kelsey Allender (@killuhkay01) April 18, 2015
@dougmcd3 Hey Doug I'll put you on my pass list! Come watch Creighton Softball take on DePaul tomorrow at 11:00
— Micaela (@MicaelaWithaK) April 18, 2015
@dougmcd3 We will put you on our pass list to get in our game tomorrow at 11, at DePaul. Jays supporting Jays... BRING D. ROSE WITH YOU!
— T⭐️SH (@Tash_Coffiel) April 18, 2015
@dougmcd3 come out and watch your bluejays sweep DePaul at 11! #Passlist #rolljays
— Michelle Trulin (@mtrulin94) April 18, 2015
And we finally got a response!!!
@myyJENNY practice sorry😏
— Doug McDermott (@dougmcd3) April 19, 2015
I am going to keep on rolling with the player profiles this week as I feature No. 13 Kassidy Kingsley, No. 14 Allie Webb, No. 15 Michelle Trulin and No. 16 Jen Daro.
Kassidy Kingsley, an Oklahoma City native, has been quite the character dating back to her freshman season last year. Kingsley does most of her work in the circle for us. She is well known for giving her teammates a serious look even when she is 100 percent kidding and is famous for leading the dugout in a the classic WHOOP-WHOOP cheer every time an out is made on defense.
Kass is an avid fan of her hometown Oklahoma City Thunder and loves to share pictures of her dog with her teammates on an almost-weekly basis. Kingsley is one of the hardest throwers Creighton has seen on the mound for a while and her ability to pick up signs and pitching tendencies during games is valuable to our hitters and pitchers.
Three things to know about Kassidy:
1. Is blind in one eye (her left one), which is her front eye when she hits
2. Her favorite midnight snack is Taco Bell so if you are looking for a birthday present for her, a Taco Bell gift card is always a solid option
3. She is a switch-hitter and has actually hit more home runs on the left side than the right
Freshman Allie Webb may be best remembered for her award-winning paper titled, “Bio Pants.” Even though now she has become proficient in spell check, the “Bio Pants” legacy will forever follow her around during the rest of her time at Creighton.
This St. Louis native is quite goofy at times, likes to sing whenever she gets the chance and is known for always carrying her hairbrush around just in case she needs it. Her teammates often like to poke fun at her for the time she missed our team meeting on her first road trip, but it's okay Allie, freshman mistake! Webb has contributed to our team as a pinch runner this season and continues to practice her skills in the outfield.
Three things to know about Allie:
1. Has played five games over the course of her career with a collapsed lung
2. Obsessed with music from the 1960's and claims to know every song from that time period
3. Has an obsession with guacamole and Chipotle certainly doesn't help with that
Michelle Trulin, a junior transfer student from Iowa Western, has started every game for our squad in left field this season. You may remember this Blair, Neb. native from her crazy driving mentioned in the newcomer profile a few months ago.
Michelle is known for really only having one dance move, “The Michelle Trulin” as one teammate likes to call it. She frequently jams out to rap music before games and really likes to drink Mountain Dew. Trulin is certainly one of the friendliest girls on our team because she has made friends with so many Creighton student-athletes just in the short time that she has been here. Michelle is lightning quick on the base paths and has a strong ability to bunt for a base hit from the left side.
Three things to know about Michelle:
1. Was named after Michelle from Full House by her older brother and sister, but left them very disappointed that she didn't quite turn out like her
2. Helped a friend who moved from France learn English when he came to the United States
3. Has the entire song “Do you want to Build a Snowman?” memorized
To round up this week of player profiles, I would like to give you an inside look at our first baseman, Jen Daro. Daro, an Omaha native, is by far one of the most competitive members of our team; she is a total “gamer.” She is the person on the team everyone goes to get information about where we are in the conference standings, what our next opponent's record is, etc.
FedEx, as her teammates like to call her, participates daily in our team's GroupMe often posting pictures with goofy, sarcastic captions, or posting selfies with her fellow family members (i.e. a FedEx truck or FedEx building).
Jen and I go way back to our days together at Skutt Catholic High School and I can without a doubt say that I am thankful to play aside such a strong competitor, a great team player and even better friend.
Three things to know about Jen:
1. Nicknamed FedEx by her teammates after the little kid character named Mark in Cheaper by the Dozen
2. Can quote every single line in She's the Man
3. She is often caught singing very loudly over background music at weights or in the Rasmussen Center, just so that everyone is clear that she has the best singing voice on the team
Thanks for reading Creighton Softball fans! As always, I enjoyed catching you up on all the action. We look forward to seeing all of you at senior weekend against St. John's this weekend at the CU Sports Complex! Take care and go Jays!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
APRIL 12
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
I know it's been awhile since I last posted, so I am sure you are all eager to find out what's been going on with the team these past two weeks!
Our East Coast road trip to Georgetown and Villanova was quite an experience. We spent a total of seven days on the road, four of which were spent in Washington D.C. and three in Villanova, Penn.
We were scheduled to begin the road trip with a three-game series versus Georgetown before finding out that the Saturday doubleheader was canceled due to below-freezing temperatures. I think the change in schedule threw us all off a little bit, but we responded well on Sunday in series finale.
The 2-1 win at Georgetown was a nice victory for our team, one that we can look back on and say we definitely took a step forward that day. We were able to dial it up for seven innings, play good defense and scratch across a few runs. Sydnee Eck threw a nice game in the circle and Jen Daro came up with a big solo shot in the sixth inning to put us ahead by a run that would eventually prove to be the game-winner.
The Villanova series is one that we would not like to revisit, but we were certainly able to learn a lot about ourselves and what we need to work on as we prepare for the final stretch in our conference schedule. Villanova was a team that relied heavily on the strength of their pitchers and a few timely hits. Blake Ringle blasted another home run in the series finale to put us within striking distance of the lead. Unfortunately, our efforts fell short and we headed back to Omaha immediately following the games.
Aside from the games, we were fortunate to visit and tour a lot of cool places that many of us had never visited prior to our trip to Washington D.C.
Touring DC today 👌 pic.twitter.com/2mVrTnDIJ3
— paige (@paigenekola) March 28, 2015
@hayevs on a scale 1-10 how cool
— paige (@paigenekola) March 27, 2015
On Saturday we spent a few hours in the city visiting…
Iwo Jima Memorial
Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum
National Museum of American History
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
After taking care of business on Sunday, we followed up with another day of sightseeing on Monday by visiting…
The White House
Hey @BarackObama what day is it?! #gameday pic.twitter.com/MSMT7ooQbX
— Kelsey Allender (@killuhkay01) April 1, 2015
Lincoln Memorial
Posted by Anna O'Gorman on Monday, March 30, 2015
Washington Monument
Five things we learned about our team on the East Coast trip:
1. Bob is, was and will be the greatest bus driver/tour guide in the history of Creighton softball
2. The King of Prussians really treated us well the last half of our trip
3. The opportunity to see so much of our nation's history in such a short amount of time with some of our best friends is certainly something we can look back on with a lot of appreciation. The opportunity we were given was rare and we were all very thankful for it
4. It is going to take teamwork and the ability to stick together to finish the season out the way we all want
5. Every conference series from here on out is crucial
The player profiles this week will feature a set of returners, No. 11 Katie Pascuzzi and No. 12 Allie Reinhart.
Pascuzzi, a junior from Overland Park, Kan., is certainly one of the most positive people in our program. Katie is often given a hard time by her teammates for taking excessively long showers, always finding the perfect moment to slip in a movie quote and at times her questionable driving skills. Pascuzzi is an avid fan of her hometown Kansas City Royals, and is still poked fun at for the time she forgot the Yankees and Red Sox were even rivals. Her experience in the outfield is a valuable asset to our younger outfielders. She is multi-dimensional at the plate and is known for hitting towering fly balls off of Coach in front toss that appear to be only inches away from hitting the Harper Center beyond right field.
Three things to know about Katie:
1. Has an unhealthy obsession with coffee
2. Can fall asleep at any time or any place, basically a narcoleptic
3. Can quote the entire “Mean Girls” movie and will speak over the movie if you watch it with her
Reinhart, a sophomore and Lincoln, Neb. native, can easily be tabbed as one of the nicest and hardest workers on our team. You may remember Allie from her game-winning home run against Villanova last year, and ever since then her consistent play in the outfield and at the plate have really been a staple in our lineup. Reinhart is the queen of game day hairstyles and is often caught doing her teammates hair before games. I have seen her braid hair at the hotel, on the bus, in the locker room, in the airport and even sometimes at restaurants; Allie is always braiding hair.
Away from the softball field, Reinhart likes to enjoy her days on the lake with a fishing pole in hand and her dog by her side. Allie is one of our best hitters and continues to produce timely hits at the plate for our team.
Three things to know about Allie:
1. Has an unhealthy obsession with the color pink and sparkles, in fact sparkles and pink are Allie's life.
2. Quit dance after two weeks because she wanted to play “real” sports
3. Nicknamed “Al Pal” by her teammates and her classic response to anything you ever say is “right?”
This past Wednesday we split a doubleheader with Summit League opponent, South Dakota. On a record-setting night at the CU Sports Complex, we pulled out an exciting 7-6 win behind a big performance from sophomore Jen Daro.
I hope you all enjoyed this week's post. We look forward to seeing you fans pack the stands again soon. Thanks for reading Creighton softball fans and take care!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
March 25
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
First off, I want to thank all the fans that came out to support our team in our home and BIG EAST Conference opener this past weekend against Butler. The energy you brought to the ballpark both days was certainly appreciated by all members of our team.
The Butler Bulldogs were an admirable opponent to open up with in the conference portion of our season. With a good mix of pitching and hitting, the Bulldogs were a valuable test that allowed us to see what we need to work on in practice this week before we head out east to play Georgetown and Villanova.
While we did not end up on the side we wanted, there certainly were a few positives to take away from last weekend. Sophomore Allie Reinhart had a big weekend at the plate by blasting her first home run of the season and recording multiple hits. Sophomore Anna O'Gorman also had a nice weekend at the plate by posting her first triple of the season and getting a couple key hits when we needed them. Sydnee Eck picked up her fifth win of the season in game two and also contributed offensively by getting a nice pinch-hit in game three.
On Friday, we will take off for a weeklong trip to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia to play our next two conference series against Georgetown and Villanova. This compact schedule creates a few challenges to our weekly routine as we miss a couple days of school and we will have to gear up to play six of our most important games of the season in just a short six-day stretch. This trip will really test our mental toughness, but will also be another great opportunity to create some memories as a team. I have no idea what is in store for the week, but we are all very anxious to find out.
Check out some of the social media from this past weekend!
Watch out for us 💪 pic.twitter.com/N0ZMiTZiOK
— Hayleigh Evans (@hayevs) March 22, 2015
Wondering why people on campus keep looking at me then I forgot I still have eyeblack on..
— Hayleigh Evans (@hayevs) March 21, 2015
Life is better when you swing a baby bat, are under 5'3'', and your jersey always tucks in weird #littlepeepsbigpower pic.twitter.com/JYwqwMvBLu
— Kelsey Allender (@killuhkay01) March 24, 2015
I am just going to keep on rolling with the player profiles this week. This week we will take a look at No. 9 Sam Crowley and No. 10 Sydnee Eck.
Crowley, a freshman from Green Bay, Wis., brings quite a different dimension to this team that I certainly haven't seen in my three years here. She is quirky, always smiling and takes a lot of pride in her ability to juggle three softball balls at a time.
Sam is the type of kid the captains of the two kickball teams or the pick-up basketball teams are always fighting over because of her natural athletic ability and speed. Crowley, or 4.0 as we like to call her, is a Harry Potter whiz, plays a lot of piano in her free time and is into watching Netflix. Sam is one of the hardest workers in our program and I cannot wait to see what her future holds as a Creighton Bluejay.
Three things to know about Sam:
1. She will plan her entire life's schedule around the TV show Arrow
2. Really emphasizes the “O” in Coach with her thick Wisconsin accent
3. Lives five minutes away from Lambeau Field (for a big NFL football fan like myself, that is like the coolest thing ever!)
To wrap up the profiles for this week, next we have No. 10 Sydnee Eck.
Eck, a Butler Community College transfer, has really found her role in our program, even though it may seem unconventional to the average softball fan. Syd has the rare ability to dominate a game on the mound while also being able to produce big offensive numbers at the plate. She has only gotten a few chances to hit this season and almost every time she has done something memorable like hit a double, triple or single to keep a rally going or score a few key runs.
The Andale, Kan., native is goofy around her teammates off the field and when she is not at practice or in class, you can often find her sleeping on the locker room couch. Syd is sometimes fearful for her life after she receives a pregame text from her mom saying, “Hi Sydnee, don't forget to put sunscreen on, especially on your nose because I won't let you come home if you are burnt!”
Three things to know about Syd:
1. Does a great T-Rex impersonation
2. Hopes to one day be an orthopedic physician's assistant
3. Likes to think she is a talented singer, but rarely sings the correct lyrics - even to songs that she knows – so she makes up lyrics as she goes
Thanks for reading this week's edition of Covering the Bases! Please tune in to next week's edition following our trip to the east coast. Thanks again fans for your support this weekend. Take care and Go Jays!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
March 18
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
After 16 days off from games, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited we were to finally take the field again as a team during our spring break trip.
@hayevs scale 1-10 how cool
— paige (@paigenekola) March 7, 2015
Our record at the Rebel Spring Games was 9-1 and we saw solid performances from a lot of different players on our team. Jen Daro and Sydnee Eck each picked up their first wins in the circle as Bluejays. Liz Dike, Blake Ringle, Bri McMahon and Daro all hit home runs over the course of the 10-game set.
Our defense was strong from start to finish with several impressive individual efforts. This trip traditionally is a good time to mix up the lineup a little bit and try some different things in order to find the right personnel for each individual role going into BIG EAST play.
two wins for Greighton 💙 pic.twitter.com/pCfarwWixr
— Jen Daro (@myyJENNY) March 9, 2015
("Greighton" is an inside joke)
I think we can all agree that after 10 games and a weeklong trip together on the road there were a lot of great memories made. Beating Southern Illinois, a former Missouri Valley Conference foe, on our second day out was certainly something we set out to do from the time we first got our schedule at the beginning of the season.
Our final game featured a 2014 NCAA Tournament team, University at Albany, and instead of coasting through game 10 of 10, we ended it in five short innings to put us in a position to feel good about the week and confident for upcoming conference play.
When we spent close to seven hours a day at the ballpark there was not much free time, but when there was a lot of us spent quality time by the pool, shopping or just hanging out in each other's hotel rooms.
Many of you may be wondering what our off-day schedule looked like on Wednesday and you may be disappointed that I do not have interesting stories about a team trip to the beach or a trip to Disney World. But if I must say so myself I was very pleased with our coaches' decision on how we were to spend our off-day. A group went off to spend the day with their families, while the rest of us just laid out by the pool or took a nap in our rooms. We were going, going, going all week, so it was very nice to relax for a day and enjoy the Florida weather.
Five things we learned about our team in Florida:
1. Clear a path (just a friendly reminder)
2. Versatility and depth will be one of the keys to success down the road
3. Outback > Subway
4. Cherish the 85-degree weather because it sure does not last long
5. Our most important game of the season is always the next one on our schedule
To continue on with my player profiles this season, I am going to highlight four players as part of my two-part edition for this week. First off, I would like you to take a look at No. 4 Hayleigh Evans and No. 5 Micaela Whitney.
Evans, a freshman from Gretna, Neb., is quite the character to say the least. “Little Swag,” as she likes to call herself, likes to break out into song whenever she gets the chance, break up tense situations on the field or in the locker room by simply saying “Let's all be happy and love each other” and send random videos of herself to the GroupMe when she is bored. Evans is goofy and will lighten the mood after a long day of practice. Besides her many talents off the field, she is multi-dimensional at the plate with her ability to bunt, slap and hit away.
Three things to know about Hayleigh:
1. Fluent in German
2. Recently joined the newly formed a capella group on campus
3. Can wiggle her ears
Next up is Micaela Whitney. You may remember Whitney as “pizza cookie girl” from our first trip to Arizona or the girl who will never bat again because of her 1.000 lifetime batting average from the left side. “Pizza cookie girl” tried to justify her decision for ordering another pizza cookie at Chili's this past week because every time she eats one the night before the game, she throws a no-hitter the next day. The Iowa transfer is the queen of game day “selfies” and has really found her role in our program so early in her career here. I believe one of Whitney's best qualities is her ability to remain positive even after her defense makes a mistake or she misses a spot with a pitch. She always has a “pick me up” or “pick each other up” type of attitude, which I believe has led to some early success for her as an individual and has resulted in a lot of respect from her teammates.
Three things to know about Micaela:
1. One of her proudest moments is when she was expelled from preschool as a kid
2. Her hair has changed colors at least three times since the fall
3. Claims to have invented the term “selfie”
My next set of profiles feature two returners, No. 7 Jessica Lewis and No. 8 Blake Ringle.
Lewis, a sophomore from Camarillo, Calif., has really come out of her shell this season and honestly I could not be happier. She is one of the nicest girls you will meet, but I must say every once in awhile we will check GroupMe and Peanut, as we like to call her, will throw in some clutch comment or some hilarious picture to really get the team going. She is a long ways from home, but her personality and genuine concern for others really fits in well with the rest of us Midwest folks. Lewis is a versatile player in our program who has already seen time at a few different positions even over the course of just this season.
Three things to know about Jess:
1. Has an unhealthy obsession with “The Office”
2. After college she wants to teach first grade
3. Likes to draw and paint in her free time
The last profile for this week's post will focus on junior Blake Ringle. Ringle, an Omaha native, easily has one of the most unique personalities on the team. She is witty, clever and just straight up hilarious with some of her comments. It's hard to describe her humor, but honestly I think she is in her element when we are just doing our everyday routine at games or practices. She can make a monotonous part of our daily routine fun and can find a way to make a joke out of it, i.e. stretching or throwing. Ringle has produced in our lineup since her freshman year and has had a lot of memorable at bats in her career so far. The home run ball has always been her forte, which is a direct result of her hard work in the cages each and every day.
Three things to know about Blake:
1. Her definition of a sprint is three steps
2. Nicknamed Bee Lock Aye
3. She is extremely proud that she has only had to slide twice in her Creighton career because of her “exceptional speed” on the base paths
Go Blake Go! ... Minutes later (?) ...
I really hope you all enjoyed the double edition of “Covering the Bases” this week. Our first home game is only days away and we cannot wait to see you all in the stands this weekend for our home opener against BIG EAST opponent, Butler. Take care and go Bluejays!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
March 4
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
I hope you all enjoyed the recap from our weekend in McCook. This past weekend our team was scheduled to play a five-game set at the University of Tulsa before we learned the news that the whole tournament was canceled due to snow. While we were all disappointed that the games had been canceled, we are all now that much more excited to get back out on the field in Florida for our spring break trip next week!
This past week was fairly chill for most of us, as we spent another week on the practice field and in the weight room getting ready for our big 10-game set at the Rebel Spring Games in Florida. In the past, our spring break trip to Florida has not only been a lot of fun, but also is a great way for our team to work some things out and get a lot of reps before the rigorous conference schedule begins the following week.
We fly out Saturday morning and play two games each day with one off day on Wednesday before returning to Omaha the following Friday. In the past, our off days have consisted of a trip to the beach, Spring Training, time at the pool and even a trip to Universal Studios. We are all anxious to see what's in store for this year's off day and look forward to sharing the experience with each other as a squad.
As promised in last week's blog post, I want to give you a little background information about our players that you certainly won't know when you just see their names on the roster or in the postgame box score. Each week in numerical order by uniform number, you will be able to learn three interesting facts about two to three of our players. Hopefully this can give some insight on our players' backgrounds, rituals, quirks and superstitions.
To start off the series of profiles, we are going to take a quick look at No. 1 Kelsey Allender and No. 3 Paige Nekola.
You may remember Allender from her legendary home run at Arizona State, but let me tell you it's not the first time the 5-3 junior has seen her hits sail over the outfield fence. Allender has had a number of big moments in her career at Creighton including a grand slam as a freshman against Northern Iowa. She loves to refer to herself as being a citizen of “H-town” (Houston, Texas) and is notorious for being awkward in awkward situations, especially involving Coach.
Three things to know about Kelsey:
1. A doughnut fanatic who gets severely attached to Netflix characters
2. Overconfident in her rapping abilities and under confident in her dancing abilities, but she does both every day
3. Kelsey likes to say she is secretly married to J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans
Many of you may also remember Paige from the newcomer profile I wrote a few weeks ago. This 5-5 freshman from Papillion, Neb. patrols the outfield and is often found on the base paths in tight game situations. She is quite the jokester and often likes to play small pranks on people, especially in the weight room (i.e. throwing exercise balls at players and sometimes even coaches, or even pretending to choke some of her teammates with the pull-apart bands). Even though she continues to deny the existence of our friendship, I must say that I am thankful to call her my teammate and look forward to what's ahead in her softball career.
Three things to know about Paige:
1. Can eat ice cream for every meal of the day
2. Bilingual in English and sarcasm
3. Obsessed with the Joker (not Heath Ledger, but the actual Joker)
I hope you all enjoyed this week's post. Next week, I will have a midweek report from the Rebel Spring Games and another set of profiles on the way.
Take care Creighton Softball fans and safe travels to all those making the trip down south next week! Stay tuned.
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
Feb. 25
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
I sure hope you all enjoyed reading the newcomer profiles as much as I enjoyed writing them.
This past weekend, we took a four-hour bus trip out to McCook, Neb. to play two games against Big Sky opponent, Northern Colorado. When arriving at the Jaycee Complex, home of the McCook Community College baseball and softball teams, I think a lot of us felt at home.
This certainly was no Farrington Stadium at Arizona State; the field didn't have palm trees outlining the outfield wall or a view of the mountains in right-center field. Instead, we got a nice view of older homes, the McCook water tower and everything else that comes with living in small town Nebraska. I think it was a neat experience for all of us to take a step back and remember what it was like growing up playing this game that we all love.
Erin on deck in McCook:
We split the series 1-1 with the Bears, by winning the first game 3-2 and dropping the second game 11-3. In the first game, we saw multiple-hit performances from Liz Dike and Jen Daro and a three-hitter from pitcher Micaela Whitney. Every win is a “team win,” but what sticks out in my mind about this game is that it really took everyone. Our bench was big and it was great to see everyone play a part in contributing to the win.
Besides the doubleheader on Friday, our team also spent part of our weekend doing a few hours of community service. On Saturday evening, Creighton Athletics hosted an event called “Night Out with the Jays,” which gives young Creighton fans and kids in the community a chance to interact and hang out with their favorite student-athletes. Other than being asked multiple times if my parents dropped me off to hang out with the Creighton student-athletes at “Night Out with the Jays,” I really enjoyed the opportunity to give back and so did our team.
Bri McMahon went "wild" at the Night Out with the Jays:
I hope you enjoyed an inside look at our trip to McCook! Next week I am going to be adding another profile-type feature that will give you some background on our returners from last season, as well as more background on our newcomers.
Be sure to tune in next Wednesday for another edition of Covering the Bases!
Thanks Creighton Softball fans, I appreciate your support.
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
Feb. 18
Hello Creighton Softball fans,
This past week, our team spent most of our time on the practice field and in the weight room getting ready for our upcoming doubleheader against Big Sky opponent, Northern Colorado. On Thursday afternoon we will depart for McCook, Neb. for a doubleheader on Friday at beginning at 1 p.m. CT. This will be the first bus trip of the year for Creighton Softball and we couldn't be more excited to get back at it on the road!
As promised, I would like to present to you, the fans, an inside look at this year's newcomers. We have a total of six freshmen that joined our squad in the fall and four transfers. Here is a little something that you may want to know about the newcomers before you see them in action this spring!
#3 Paige Nekola
Nicknames: Penelope, Big Swag
Insider Bio: Spends most of practice in center field or left field chasing down “sun” balls and occasionally running into walls. Nekola's go-to quality is her sarcasm. Unfortunately her sarcasm only gets her so far, for she finds herself getting kicked out of group messages almost daily.
#4 Hayleigh Evans
Nicknames: Hay Hay, Grayleigh, Little Swag
Insider Bio: Likes to lighten the mood at practice with occasional jokes and is often caught singing Taylor Swift and/or Ed Sheeran whenever she gets the chance. Evans is the only member on our team that can tell you exactly how many steps it takes to run one lap around the field.
#5 Micaela Whitney
Nicknames: Mic, Whit
Insider Bio: Whitney's laid-back, relaxed approach has really helped her find success early in her Creighton career. She loves her dog and claims that the reason she doesn't bat anymore is because of her 1.000 lifetime batting average on the left side.
#9 Sam Crowley
Nicknames: Sammy C., Sambo, 4.0
Insider Bio: Most recent recipient of the Practice Player of the Week Award. On top of catching fly balls, Crowley is often found practicing and performing her many talents as she prepares for her future audition on America's Got Talent. This Trivia Crack master enjoys learning random facts of knowledge to outsmart her teammates.
#10 Sydnee Eck
Nicknames: Syd, Skid
Insider Bio: This Butler CC transfer will see a lot of time in the circle this year and also has the ability to knock it out of the ballpark on just one swing. Eck is your typical goofy Kansas girl who often finds herself laughing at her own jokes.
#14 Allie Webb
Nickname: Spidey
Insider Bio: Spends most of practice chasing down balls in right field and occasionally gets to play some infield when we are in a pinch. Webb has already written a few award-winning papers this year, including her most famous, “Bio Pants”… sometimes spell-check is not your friend when writing about plants.
#15 Michelle Trulin
Nickname: Chelley
Insider Bio: This Iowa Western transfer has a cannon for an arm and truly enjoys the “outie” life, outside of the infield. Trulin, one of our fastest players, is always in speed mode on the field but even on the road. It is important to always buckle your seatbelt when riding with Michelle.
#19 Anna O'Gorman
Nickname: Anna Banana
Insider Bio: Is always ready to take on a new position in practice no matter where Coach puts her. O'Gorman transferred this spring and has had no problem fitting in. She is famous for cracking jokes in the most serious of times and likes to proclaim her love for food at least once a practice.
#20 Tash Coffiel-Nelson
Nickname: Tashy
Insider Bio: LOVES to talk, just kidding. Tash does her talking on the field by making outstanding plays at the hot corner and dropping occasional bombs off of Coach at practice. Her obsession with Netflix is real, but nobody can blame her because Netflix is life.
#21 Kelsey Biaggi
Nickname: The B.I.G.
Insider Bio: Biaggi spends most of practice behind the plate on the field or in the bullpen catching our pitchers. This Colorado native is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet. She can never stop smiling, in fact, if Coach tells us all to start running you can look over at Kelsey and she will still be smiling.
That is all for this week's blog post, I hope you enjoyed learning something new about our newcomers. All have adjusted well and look forward to making big contributions this spring.
Be sure to check out my next post on Wednesday for an inside look at this weekend's doubleheader.
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
Feb. 11
Hello Creighton softball fans!
It is my privilege to welcome you to my first edition of Covering the Bases. In this weekly blog, I would like to put my writing skills into practice and give you, the fans, an inside look at what it's like to play and travel on the Creighton softball squad. Going forward the blog will appear on Wednesdays at our athletics website GoCreighton.com.
Spring practice officially began on January 10 as we were all instructed to return to campus with no idea what type of practice schedule was ahead of us that week. To the pleasant surprise of our coaches, we were handed the printout schedule of Creighton softball's first annual T.H.U.M.P. Week.
T.H.U.M.P. Week consisted of meetings, movies, bowling, a little bit of practice, food, food and more food. It's safe to say that we knew more about each other by the end of that week than we did the whole first semester of fall ball and offseason workouts.
Five things Creighton softball learned after the conclusion of T.H.U.M.P. Week:
1) T.H.U.M.P. stands for Tenacity, Heart, Unconditional Moxie and Pride.
2) Our pitchers are not the best bowlers on the team (contrary to what one might think).
3) Picking out a movie for all of us to agree on is nearly impossible.
4) The locker room refrigerator is our best friend.
5) We discovered GroupMe; that is all.
Let's fast forward through our favorite three weeks of practice (many of which were spent in the Rasmussen Center) and get to the good stuff!
This past weekend, we began the 2015 season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Our first five games featured a wide range of talented teams, all of which were very competitive and beneficial for our team the first weekend out.
In the season opener against Pacific, junior Micaela Whitney tossed a 2-0 no-hitter in her first career outing as a Bluejay. After the game, Whitney credited the win to the defense behind her, the play calling behind the plate and the pizza cookie she ate the night before.
The next game on our schedule featured No. 16 Arizona State. In the 7-4 loss to the Sun Devils, we saw bombs from reigning Practice Player of the Week Blake Ringle, and Kelsey Allender.
One anonymous source was quoted saying that Allender said if she ever hit a home run this season, she would round third base and throw up the Hunger Games hand salute to her teammates at home plate. The seventh inning came, and BOOM! Allender hits one over the centerfield wall. As she rounded second base like she was turning the corner on a 200m sprint, she threw up the salute. This sign signifies her love for her teammates, but more importantly her love for the gray team from offseason kickball.
Allender's Homage to her Teammates and a Favorite Movie:
We finished the weekend with two more wins against Western Michigan and UC Riverside and a 1-0 loss to Cal Poly, bringing our overall season record to 3-2. Coach Vigness was happy with the way we competed and that we finished the weekend strong with a win.
Five things we learned about our team in Tempe:
1) We can compete with anyone.
2) The GPS is only as smart as the address we put into it.
3) Fedex is our favorite movie character.
4) Life is good when it's 81 degrees and sunny.
5) The plane ride home is always better coming off a win.
Fans, I hope you enjoyed the first Covering the Bases blog post! Stay tuned for next week's newcomer profile on Wednesday!
Yours truly,
Erin McGonigal
