OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton softball’s Kaelan Schultz has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after leading the Bluejays to a 3-2 record last weekend at the Texas State Tournament. Senior Madeline Vejvoda and sophomore Natalia Puchino were also named to this week’s BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Schultz, a Hastings, Neb. native started all five games for the Bluejays and hit 5-of-13 (.385) with three walks, two runs scored, two RBI and a double to help Creighton secure a trio of victories over Northwestern State, UTSA and Kennesaw State.
The redshirt freshman transfer from South Dakota State, opened her Bluejays career by recording the first hit of her career and the Bluejays first hit of the season in Creighton’s 2-1 win over Northwestern State.
Schultz then posted her first multi-hit game of her career, while driving in the go-ahead run on a double to left center in the fifth inning of a 5-2 win over UTSA on Saturday. After going hitless with two walks against Kennesaw State, Schultz finished the weekend with a 2-for-4 outing at the plate with a run scored against Texas State on Sunday to secure her first BIG EAST Weekly honor of her career.
Vejvoda also earned BIG EAST recognition this week, earning a spot on the weekly honor roll. The La Vista native recorded a team-best .429 batting average on six hits while driving in three runs and scoring three runs of her own in the Bluejays five games.
Vejvoda opened her senior year by driving in both runs, including the game-winning run with an RBI single in the fifth inning of the Bluejays’ 2-1 win over Northwestern State. She then went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the win over Kennesaw State before finishing the week with another two hits, an RBI and a run scored against Texas State.
In addition to Vejvoda earning a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll, Puchino garnered some recognition as well. Puchino posted a 2-0 record in two appearances in the circle, while combining for a 0.78 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 9.0 innings of work.
The Milliken, Colo., native opened the season by combining with Jena Lawrence to throw the 27th no-hitter in program history since 1994 and the first combined no-hitter since 2018, while striking out seven batters in just four innings pitched. Puchino then followed it up by striking out six and allowing just one run on three hits in five innings of work in a 5-2 win over UTSA on Saturday.
Creighton returns to action this weekend at the Hatter Classic in DeLand, Fla., where it meets Bethune-Cookman (Friday, 8:30 a.m.), host Stetson (Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.) and Colgate (Saturday, 11 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.).
Creighton’s Kaelan Schultz Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
