Creighton University
UMKC
Softball Takes Trip To Kansas City For Midweek Doubleheader Against UMKC
4/17/2017 3:16:00 PM | Softball
Creighton owns its longest winning streak of the season at four games
Download Complete Notes
Up Next
Creighton travels to Kansas City to take on UMKC in a midweek nonconference doubleheader on Tuesday.
Matchup
Tuesday, April 18 • Creighton (15-22) at UMKC (13-30) • Kansas City, Mo. • 3 p.m. (CT) (DH)
Follow the Action
Live stats for Wednesday's action can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
UMKC will provide live video via Periscope. A link to the stream will be made available at the start of each game.
Additionally, live audio will be available with a subscription to Roos TV. Â
Scoring updates and infographics will be provided via Twitter at @BluejaySoftball.
Scouting Creighton (15-22)
The Bluejays enter Tuesday's contest on a four-game winning streak after a three-game sweep of Seton Hall. Â
Tash Coffiel leads the Creighton offense with a .342 batting average and 38 hits. During 12 BIG EAST games, Coffiel is hitting .429 with 18 hits.Â
Sam Dellinger paces the Jays with 29 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits (eight doubles, five home runs), including a BIG EAST-best 19 RBIs during league action.Â
During BIG EAST play the Bluejays are hitting .310 as a team with 30 extra-base hits.Â
Bryana Clark has logged a team-high 103.1 innings in the circle and holds a Creighton low 3.45 ERA with seven victories, seven complete games and two shutouts.Â
Scouting UMKC (13-30)
The Kangaroos will be looking to rebound after being swept by New Mexico State during a WAC series this past weekend.Â
Kendra Leach paces the UMKC offense with a .398 batting average, .471 on-base percentage, and .585 slugging percentage. Leach leads the team in hits (47), doubles (8), triples (4), RBIs (21), and stolen bases (10).Â
Morgan Byrn leads the Roos' power attack with six home runs. Byrn is tied with Leach for the team lead in runs scored with 18.Â
In the circle, Lynsey Conner has pitched a team-high 82.0 innings over 27 appearances, including 18 starts. Five different UMKC pitchers have appeared in at least 19 games. The staff holds a 6.13 ERA.
Head coach Meredith Smith Neal is in her 11th season at UMKC.Â
Series History vs. Roos
Creighton owns a 44-1 all-time record against UMKC.
The Roos lone win in the series came on March 20, 2002 in Kanas City (1-0).
The Bluejay have won their last 17 matchups against UMKC.Â
The two teams most recently met at the Embassy Suites Invitational in Tulsa, Okla. during the 2010 season.Â
Last Time Out
Creighton picked up its first BIG EAST Conference series sweep since April 9-10, 2016 with a 3-0 showing against Seton Hall (April 14-15).
The Bluejays run-ruled the Pirates 8-0 in the first game of the weekend before winning consecutive one-run games.
During the second game of Friday's doubleheader, Ashley Cantu's infield single produced the winning run to give the Jays a 3-2 victory in eight innings.
Creighton hit three consecutive RBI doubles during the first inning of Saturday's contest and scored one more during the second before holding on for a 4-3 win.Â
Bluejays Streaking
Creighton's current four-game winning streak is its longest during the 2017 season.
During the streak, the Jays are hitting .396 with 44 hits, including 13 extra-base knocks, and have outscored their opponents 27-8. Â
The Bluejays' longest winning streak last season was six (April 9-13).Â
Turning The Page During Conference Play
After starting the season 9-16, the Bluejays have started conference play 6-6.
During 12 BIG EAST contests Creighton is hitting .310 with 30 extra-base hits.Â
By comparison, the Bluejays are hitting only .215 during nonconference action (25 games).
Five different Creighton players hold a batting average of better than .333 during conference play, led by Tash Coffiel's .429 average.Â
Infielder Aujanae McCoy has seen the most improvement during BIG EAST play.Â
The senior owns only five hits during nonconference action (.114 average) and does not have a walk. During league action, McCoy is 9-for-25 (.360 batting average) has walked five times, been hit once and holds a team-best .484 on-base percentage through 12 BIG EAST contests.
Lewis Shows Off Her Power
Senior infielder Jessica Lewis entered Creighton's series against Seton Hall with two career extra-base hits in 143 at-bats.Â
Lewis launched her first career home run and had a double off the center-field wall during the Bluejays' first game of the series (April 14), doubling her career extra-base hit total.Â
Freshmen StarsÂ
Freshmen Sam Dellinger and Ashley Cantu have proved to be key contributors for the Bluejays during their first season at Creighton.Â
Dellinger leads the team in doubles (8), home runs (5), RBIs (29), total bases (58) and slugging percentage (.523). During BIG EAST action, Dellinger has a league-best 19 RBIs.
The Papillion-La Vista product has started all 37 games this season with starts 16 in left field, 15 as designated player, six in the circle and two at third base.Â
Cantu leads the Bluejays with 22 runs scored and owns the second-best average (.320).Â
During BIG EAST play, the outfielder is hitting .395 with 17 hits, nine runs, five doubles and three stolen bases.
Her infield single during the bottom of the 8th inning drove in the winning run during Creighton's 3-2 victory over Seton Hall on April 15.Â
The freshman from Frisco, Texas owns 29 starts in right field and has hit in the lead-off position 17 times.Â
Dellinger Earns BIG EAST Recognition
Sam Dellinger finished last weekend 5-for-12 with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs and claimed a spot on this week's BIG EAST Honor Roll.
The freshman launched her team-leading fifth home run to help the Bluejays run-rule Seton Hall during the first of three games (April 14).Â
She also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including the first and fourth runs to guide Creighton to a 4-3 victory during the final game of the series against the Pirates (April 15).Â
Dellinger also earned a spot on the honor roll on March 27.Â
Small-ballÂ
The Bluejays have a total of five sacrifice flies and 33 sac bunts through 37 games. Creighton leads the BIG EAST in sacrifice bunts.
Last season the Jays finished with five sacrifice flies and led the BIG EAST with 48 sacrifice bunts, including 15 from senior Kelsey Allender.Â
Tash Coffiel and Jordyn Sturgeon each lead the Bluejays this season with five sac bunts, while Anna O'Gorman leads the team with two sac flies.Â
