Sophomore right fielder Allie Reinhart went 2 for 3, including a home run and two RBIs in game two of a the doubleheader to help the Creighton softball team avoid a two-game sweep against the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs defeated the Bluejays 4-1 in game one, but Creighton earned its 14th victory of the season with a 7-4 win in the second game of the Big East schedule.
Reinhart lifted her first home run of the season over the left-center field wall for a solo shot to put the Jays ahead 3-1 in the second inning.
“We weren’t too timid and guessing at it,” Reinhart said. “We were just more confident in ourselves [in the second game].”
Her RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth past the Butler shortstop plated senior shortstop Liz Dike from second base and ignited a three-run inning to seal the victory.
“I told myself that I needed to score these runs for these pitchers to help them out on defense,” Reinhart said.
Freshman designated player Anna O’Gorman followed Reinhart’s single with a two-RBI triple down the right-field line to give Creighton a 7-3 lead.
“For us to continue to stay locked in and for Anna to have the triple was the difference,” Creighton coach Brent Vigness said.
The Bluejays squeaked across only one run in the game one on Saturday, but junior catcher Blake Ringle blasted her fifth home run of the season over the center-field wall for a two-run homer to give the Jays an early lead in game two.
“We were making sure we were making adjustments at the plate; making sure we were better mentally,” Ringle said.
The Jays also scored one run in each of the second and third innings.
“For us to come back and gain some momentum and get back on top and get a lead and then score in the next two consecutive innings was important,” Vigness said.
Sophomore Sydnee Eck tossed a complete game for her fifth victory of the season (5-1).
In game one, Ringle singled to left field to plate junior outfielder Michelle Trulin in the bottom of the first to give the Jays early life.
Butler put two runners in scoring position in the second inning, but did not score until the top of the fourth when shortstop Kristen Boros placed a ball just in front of a diving Reinhart in right. Boros made it all the way to third on the play and drove in a pair of Bulldog runs.
Boros also hit her third home run of the season in the top of the fifth to put Butler out in front 3-1. Butler’s left-handed pitcher Kristin Gutierrez gave up five hits in her one-run complete-game outing.
“She had us guessing a little bit,” Vigness said. “She was hitting her spots [and] changed speeds.
“It just happened that we start conference play and we haven’t seen a lefty.”
Butler and Creigthon conclude their three-game series on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Creighton softball team split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon against Butler.