OMAHA, Neb. – Senior Emma Rosonke delivered a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Creighton softball team split a doubleheader against BIG EAST front-runner Villanova on Friday afternoon at the Creighton Sports Complex.
Rosonke’s walk-off double earned the Jays an 8-7 extra-innings win in the first game of the day, before the Wildcats escaped with a 3-2 victory in the second contest.
Creighton moved its record to 7-4 in BIG EAST play and to 22-16 overall, while Villanova suffered their first loss in league play, moving to 10-1 in league action and to 19-15 on the season.
Game 1: Creighton 8, Villanova 7 (8 inn.)
With the scored tied at 7-7 with two outs and a runner on second, Rosonke lined a walk-off RBI double into the left centerfield gap, recording the 100th RBI of her Bluejay career to secure the 8-7 series opening win for the Bluejays.
Creighton soared out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, loading the bases on a single by sophomore Lily West, a hit-by-pitch from senior Madeline Vejvoda and a walk to freshman Sydney Potter. Rosonke then drove in her first RBI of the contest, drawing a bases loaded walk to scoring the first run of the game.
Villanova would then answer with three runs in the top half of the third on a two-run home run from Victoria Sebastian and an RBI single from Elaina Wagner to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.
The Bluejays responded in the home half of the third as Potter launched her team-leading ninth home run of the season to left, cutting the deficit down to 3-2.
The Wildcats, however, plated four in the top half of the fifth on four hits and a wild pitch to open up a five-run advantage (7-2).
Trailing 7-2 heading into the bottom half of the fifth inning, Creighton flipped a gear plating five runs on four hits and two Wildcat errors to level the contest at 7-7 and setting up the dramatic finish.
Senior Alyssa Gappa got the Bluejays rally started, blasting a two-run shot over the centerfield wall for her third home run of the season, making the score 7-4. CU would then load the bases as junior Sydra Seville reached on a fielding error, freshman Ashten Pierson singled to left and West reached on a throwing error by the Wildcat third baseman. Senior Cayla Nielsen would then get hit by a pitch, driving in the Bluejays fifth run of the contest, before a two-run single from Vejvoda tied the game at 7-7.
Creighton finished the contest with 12 hits, including two apiece from Vejvoda, Potter, Rosonke and Pierson. Sophomore Natalia Puchino tossed 3.0 hitless innings with two strikeouts to record her 15th win of the season in the circle.
GAME 2: Villanova 3, Creighton 2
In game two, Creighton opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, scoring on a wild pitch after the Bluejays loaded the bases on back-to-back singled from West and Nielsen and a hit-by-pitch from Vejvoda.
Villanova would knot the contest at 1-1 in the top of the fourth as Brooklyn Ostrowski lifted a 0-0 offering to deep right center, where Bluejays sophomore Ella Dalton tracked it down before running into the wall which cause the ball to fall out of her glove over the fence for her seventh home run of the season.
Following a scoreless half inning by the Bluejays, the Wildcats plated two runs on two hits and a walk in the top half of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.
Showing no quit, Creighton responded with a single run in the bottom half of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by Dalton to close to within one at 3-2.
After a pair of scoreless frames in the field, it all came down to the Bluejays final at-bat. Nielsen led off the frame with a double to left before Dalton moved her over to third while reaching on a fielding error by the Villanova first baseman. Down to their final out and Rosonke at the plate, the Omaha native lifted a pitch into deep centerfield, but just shy of the wall ending the game with a flyout.
Nielsen, Vejvoda and Dalton each finished with two hits during the second game of the day, while Puchino suffered just her fourth loss of the season after allowing three runs on three hits in 5.0 innings of work.
The Bluejays wrap up their three-game series with Villanova on Saturday afternoon in a contest scheduled for 1 p.m. at the CU Sports Complex.
Creighton Softball splits Doubleheader with Villanova
