OMAHA, Neb. — Battling temperatures in the low 30’s, the Creighton softball team used a walk-off single with the bases loaded from senior Alyssa Gappa to secure a 9-1 run-rule victory over North Dakota on Sunday afternoon at the CU Sports Complex.
The win lifted the Bluejays to 17-10 on the season, while the Fighting Hawks dropped to 5-27 overall with the loss.
Sophomore pitcher Natalia Puchino tallied her 12th win of the season, allowing just one run on three hits in four innings of work. Senior Madeline Vejvoda paced the Bluejays offense with three hits, including a triple, while freshman Sydney Potter added four RBI on a double and a home run.
Senior Cayla Nielsen got the Bluejays started early, leading off the bottom of the first with a double to left, before scoring on an RBI triple to right center by Vejvoda to give Creighton a 1-0 lead.
The Bluejays added to its lead in the second when junior Sydra Seville lined a two-out triple down the left field line before scoring on an error by the Fighting Hawks shortstop.
Creighton’s lead grew to 4-0 in the bottom of the third innings as Potter blasted her team-leading sixth home run of the season to right field.
North Dakota cut into the Bluejays lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Jojo Rodriguez to make the score 4-1.
Creighton, however, answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame to reclaim a 7-1 advantage. Sophomore Lily West delivered an RBI double to right field to push the lead to 5-1, before Potter lined a two-run double to left to extend the lead out to 7-1 in the bottom half of the fourth.
The Bluejays then claimed the victory in the bottom half of the fifth as the Jays plated three additional runs in the bottom of the fifth to secure the 9-1 victory. Nielsen walked and came around to score on a wild pitch, before Gappa slapped an RBI single down the left field line to give Creighton a 9-1 walk-off win.
Creighton returns to action on Tuesday night for a midweek battle at Kansas City. First pitch between the Roos and Bluejays is set for 5 p.m.
Creighton Softball Wins 9-1 Over North Dakota
