Cayla Nielsen Homers Twice As Softball Drops Series Finale To Connecticut, 10-6

OMAHA, Neb. -- Junior Cayla Nielsen drove in all six of Creighton's runs on a pair of three-run home runs as the Bluejays dropped the series finale to Connecticut, 10-6, on Sunday afternoon at the Creighton Sports Complex.

The Bluejays fall to 18-27 on the year and 4-14 in league play with the loss, while the Huskies remained in first place in the BIG EAST, improving to 18-3 in conference play and 31-11 overall.

The Huskies scored early and often, plating runs in each of the first five inning, while the Bluejays crossed the plate three times in each the second and sixth innings.

Connecticut put the first dent on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning as Lexi Hastings led off the game with a single through the left side. A fielding error and a groundout later put Huskies' on second and first with only one out. Jana Sanden then drove in the first two runs of the game on a single to left, giving Connecticut a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies lead grew to 3-0 in the top half of the second as Hope Jenkins blasted her first home run of the season over the left center field wall.

Creighton responded in a big way, plating three in the bottom half of the frame. Junior Madeline Vejvoda hit a single into the right center field gap, before a single down the left field line placed a pair of Bluejays on first and second. Nielsen then launched her first of two three-run home runs over the center field fence to level the contest at 3-3.

The game would not remain tied for very long as Connecticut pushed a run across in the top of the third on an RBI double from Sanden to regain the lead, 4-3.

The Huskies would add to their lead in the fourth inning on Hastings drove in Taylor Zatyk on an RBI single up the middle, before Rosie Garcia was hit by a pitch with the base loaded to push the Huskies advantage out to 6-3.

Connecticut's lead quickly grew to seven as the Huskies erupted for four runs on two hits, four walks and a hit by pitch to take a commanding 10-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning.

The Bluejays, however, did not quit, cutting the deficit down to 10-6 on the second three-run home run of the day by Nielsen in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Nielsen led the Bluejays offense, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. Her six RBI were tied for the third most runs batted in during a single game in program history. Nielsen also because the first Bluejays to hit two home runs in a game since Kailey Wilson hit a pair of homers against DePaul on March 30 of last year.

Wilson and Alyssa Gappa each collected a pair of hits, while three other Bluejays recorded at least one hit in the game. Freshman Natalia Puchino (11-13) suffered the loss, allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits in four innings of work. Puchino also struck out three batters to record her 100^th strikeout of the season. With her 100 strikeouts, Puchino became just the fifth Bluejay in program history to record 100 strikeouts in her freshman season.

Creighton will return to the field on Tuesday, April 25, when they travel north to face South Dakota in a midweek doubleheader in Vermillion.

Cayla Nielsen Homers Twice As Softball Drops Series Finale To Connecticut, 10-6

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Team Stats

Cayla Nielsen

Kailey Wilson

Alyssa Gappa

Emma Rosonke

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Gappa

Cayla Nielsen

Natalia Puchino

Madeline Vejvoda

Kailey Wilson

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Gappa

Cayla Nielsen

Natalia Puchino

Madeline Vejvoda

Kailey Wilson