OMAHA, Neb. – Sophomore Natalia Puchino and junior Kenzie Schopfer dominated in the circle while the Bluejays launched five home runs at the plate as the Creighton softball team cruised to a pair of victories over Rider in the home opener on Wednesday afternoon.
Puchino recorded a season-high eight strikeouts and picked up her 10th win of the season as the Bluejays claimed an 8-0 run-rule victory in game one, before blasting a pair of homers to secure a 7-2 win in game two.
The two wins lifted Creighton’s record to 15-8 on the year, while Rider fell to 5-11 overall.
Game 1: Creighton 8, Rider 0 (5 innings)
Game one of the doubleheader saw the Bluejays score early and often, plating three in the first, one in the second and three more in the third, before closing out the run-rule victory with a run in the fifth.
The Bluejays soared out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, when senior Cayla Nielsen blasted a leadoff home run over the right center field wall on the very first pitch she saw. The lead grew to 3-0 moments later as senior Madeline Vejvoda singled up the middle and scored on a two-run shot to left center from freshman Sydney Potter.
Creighton added to its lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI double from Nielsen, which scored Ashten Pierson all the way from first to make the score 4-0.
Senior Emma Rosonke tacked on to the Bluejays lead in the bottom of the third, launching a three-run home run over the right field wall for her first home run of the season.
Leading 7-0 heading into the seventh, the Jays quickly secured the 8-0 victory as sophomore Erika Perez delivered a pinch-hit infield single and Pierson drew a four-pitch walk before coming around to score on an RBI game-winnings double by Nielsen.
Eight different Bluejays recorded a hit in the victory with Nielsen leading the way with three hits, including two doubles, a home run and three RBI. Puchino was lights out in the circle, tossing five innings of three-hit scoreless ball while striking out a season-high eight batters.
Game 2: Creighton 7, Rider 2
Similar to game one, Creighton jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs on four hits to take a 4-0 lead after the first.
Nielsen led off the bottom half of the first with a double to center and came around to score the first run of the game on an RBI double to right center from Vejvoda. Potter then blasted her second home run of the day and her team-leading fifth of the season to extend the Jays lead out to 3-0. Three pitches later, Rosonke took Rider’s starting pitcher deep to right to push the advantage to 4-0 with her second home run of the afternoon.
After three scoreless frames for both sides, Creighton placed another dent on the scoreboard adding three additional runs in the bottom half of the fifth. The Bluejays used a pair of hit-by-pitches and a walk to load the bases, before a walk to Rosonke pushed across the fifth run of the contest. Senior Alyssa Gappa then lined an RBI single through the left side to make it 6-0, before freshman Lynn Davis recorded her first career RBI with a groundout to first to extend the Jays lead to 7-0.
Rider would then get on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth with an RBI double by Kristyn Gardner and add an additional run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jadeyn Merrill before sophomore Lily West connected with Gappa to pick a runner off third to close out the 7-2 victory.
Vejvoda led the Bluejays offense with a pair of base hits, while Potter and Rosonke each recorded a home run and two RBI. Schopfer picked up her second win of the season, firing a complete-game with five strikeouts.
The Bluejays will continue play at home on Friday when they welcome in Northern Colorado for a doubleheader that is set to begin at 2 p.m. from the Creighton Sports Complex.
Creighton Softball Wins Two vs Rider
