Softball notched a convincing win against Nebraska with a 9-1 victory, defeating the Huskers in five innings, ending the game with the run-ahead rule by maintaining an eight-run lead.
Eight different Bluejays racked up runs, and four hit home runs. The game was the sixth contest where the team put up eight or more runs.
A successful night from junior outfielder Ashley Cantu gave the Bluejays early momentum, and she finished the night with two hits, one homerun and one RBI. While Nebraska made the scoreboard first with a double RBI from Courtney Wallace, Cantu answered immediately, hitting a homerun in Creighton first at-bat of the opening inning.
Senior pitcher Laura Roecker tallied her fifth win at the mound this season, and didn’t allow an early Husker run to break her focus. “In the first inning there’s so much ballgame left, but one run’s nothing for games like this. [I had to] put it behind me and go from there.”
Beyond the first inning score, Roecker only allowed three more hits the rest of the game and notched four strikeouts.
Junior catcher Mikaela Pechar helped lead Creighton through an offensive showing, knocking two hits, three RBIs and one homerun.
While Creighton didn’t lack in runs, head coach Brent Vigness credits the offense as deliberate in their hitting and noted players were ready deep in the lineup. “We didn’t take many bad swings; I thought our selection was real good, and we went pretty deep in the counts. You’ve got to have confidence to go deep in the count… Everybody up and down the lineup was ready to start the game.”
With the season winding down, Vigness saw the statement win as an indicator of the Bluejays’ potential, and how the key to success in the closing month is more than physical ability or technique.
“They’re physically capable of finishing the season really strong, but what they’ve got to understand, and that what the goal is to replicate emotionally that type of effort every single time the rest of the year out.”
Currently 1-8 in conference play, Creighton has three more Big East series before the Big East Tournament.
To close out the season in the next few weeks, the Jays have series against Big East opponents Villanova, Butler and DePaul and one game against South Dakota State.
The Big East Tournament takes place May 10-11 in Rosemont, Illinois.