OMAHA, Neb. – All tied up at 4-4 the Creighton softball team scored eight unanswered runs, including a walk-off RBI single from senior Alyssa Gappa to down Villanova, 12-4, in six innings on Saturday afternoon as the Bluejays claimed their second straight BIG EAST series of the season.
The victory lifted the Bluejays record to 23-16 on the year and 8-4 in BIG EAST play, while preseason favorite Villanova dropped their first BIG EAST series of the season, falling to 19-16 overall and 10-2 in league action.
Bluejay sophomore standout Natalia Puchino recorded her 16th win of the season, providing three scoreless innings of relief, while senior Cayla Nielsen drove in a season-high four runs on two hits while adding two runs scored to move into a tie for fifth with Sue Frederick on Creighton’s all-time career runs scored list.
Creighton wasted no time placing the first dent on the scoreboard, plating one run in the bottom of the first inning. After a leadoff walk to Nielsen, sophomore Lily West laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Nielsen over to second. Senior Madeline Vejvoda would then deliver her 10th double of the season, scoring Nielsen from second to give the Jays a 1-0 lead.
Villanova answered quickly in the top half of the second, blasting the first of their three home runs of the game as Grace Reed lifted a 2-2 offering over the center field wall, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage.
The Bluejays, however, responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame, regaining a 4-2 lead. Nielsen drove in the first two runs of the frame, lining a two-run single back up the middle before West delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to right to extend the Bluejays lead.
The Wildcats would not go away quietly, leveling the contest at 4-4 on a pair of solo home runs from Tess Cites and Brooklyn Ostrowski in the top of the third frame.
Creighton’s offense went right back to work in the home half of the inning, taking advantage of four Villanova errors to take a 9-4 edge in the contest. The Bluejays did all of their damage with two-outs as Nielsen cleared the bases on a three-run single and two-base fielding error by the Villanova right fielder to give the Jays a 7-4 lead. West then drove in Nielsen with an RBI single to right, before a fielding error by the Wildcats first baseman allowed another Bluejay run to cross the plate.
After back-to-back scoreless frame, Creighton ended the contest early scoring three runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Back-to-back singles from Vejvoda and freshman Sydney Potter put runners on first and second for Dalton, who lined an RBI double down the left field line to push the Bluejays lead to 10-4. Following an RBI groundout by senior Emma Rosonke that made the score 11-4, Gappa delivered a walk-off single back up the middle to secure the 12-4 run-rule victory for the Jays.
Creighton finished the game with 11 hits, including two each from Nielsen, Vejvoda, Dalton and Gappa.
Creighton will step away from BIG EAST play and welcome in South Dakota for a midweek contest on Tuesday, April 9 at the CU Sports Complex with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
