SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Cayla Nielsen delivered a two-out RBI single back up the middle in the top of the sixth inning to help the Creighton softball team split a BIG EAST doubleheader at Seton Hall on Friday afternoon in South Orange, N.J.
The Pirates escaped with a 4-3 win in game one with an RBI double by Kelsey Carr in the bottom of the seventh, while the Bluejays claimed a 3-2 victory in the second contest.
Creighton moved to 3-2 in BIG EAST player and to 18-12 overall, while Seton Hall is now 12-12 overall and 4-4 in league action.
With the game level at 2-2 heading into the sixth inning of the second game of the day, Nielsen delivered a game-winning RBI single back up the middle to give Creighton a 3-2 lead.
The Bluejays soared out to an early lead, plating two runs in the top of the first inning to take its first lead of the afternoon. After Nielsen opened the game with an infield single, sophomore Lily West reached on a fielder’s choice before senior Madeline Vejvoda singled to center and freshman Sydney Potter walked to load the bases. Senior Emma Rosonke then bounced a two-run single up the middle to put the Jays out in front 2-0.
The Pirates answered with a run in the bottom half of the first on a solo home run by Carr to cut the deficit down to 2-1.
After back-to-back scoreless frames by the Bluejays, Seton Hall leveled the contest at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when Taylor Hill blasted a solo home run to right center before Nielsen secured the win for the Bluejays in the sixth.
Creighton finished the game with 11 hits, led by a pair of base knocks from Nielsen, Vejvoda, Rosonke and sophomore Sydra Seville. Junior Kenzie Schopfer picked up her third win of the season, firing 5.2 innings of work, while sophomore Natalia Puchino recorded her third save of the year. Puchino’s three saves this season are the most by a Bluejay in a single season since Tara Oltman also recorded three saves in 2010.
In the first game of the day, Seton Hall plated a run in the third and two more in the fifth to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
The Bluejays would then load the bases with a single to center by Seville, a walk by freshman Ashten Pierson and a single to left center from Nielsen. Following a fielder’s choice that left the bases loaded, Vejvoda delivered a bases-clearing double into the left center field gap to level the contest at 3-3.
Seton Hall, however, led off the bottom of the seventh with a single by Hill before Carr lined a double down the left field line, while an error by the Bluejays allowed Hill to come around to score the game-winning run.
The Bluejays managed just three hits in the contest, while freshman Brooklyn Patchen suffered her third loss on the season in the circle.
Due to weather in the forecast for Saturday, Creighton and Seton Hall will wrap up their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
Creighton Softball splits Doubleheader at Seton Hall
