Junior pictcher Payton Akers and freshman pitcher Natalia Puchino recorded the first two no-hitters for Creighton softball since 2019 in a pair of wins over Penn and Kansas City.
Akers’ performance on the mound came in an 8-0 win in the second game of the Bluejays’ doubleheader against the University of Pennsylvania on March 8 in Madiera Beach, Florida.
“I didn’t realize I threw a no-hitter until the very end,” Akers said. “I was just doing my job.”
The game was Akers’ first start in a Bluejay uniform, pitching relief in the first 20 games of the season.
Akers surrendered four walks and the Bluejay defense gave up one error over the course of the five innings. She credited her ability to close out innings to a “bases loaded mentality,” which she developed with first year head coach Krista Wood to overcome struggles with picking up third outs.
The game represented the first time a Creighton pitcher registered a no-hitter since Kiele Miller did it against Arkansas Pine-Bluff in February 2019 and the first no-hitter under Wood.
“We really need to embrace that moment,” Wood said. “It’s a cool moment because no-hitters are hard to come by.”
The first game of the day was just as dominant, with the Jays posting a 10-0 win and surrendering only one hit with Puchino on the mound.
After a scoreless first inning, the Jays scored three runs in the second before adding three more in the third off a three-run blast over the right field fence by Rosonke, jumpstarting her 6-6 day at the plate.
Creighton tacked on four more in the bottom of the fourth to close out the win, once again in five innings by mercy rule.
A week later, freshman pitcher Natalia Puchino took the mound a week later against Kansas City and threw another no-hitter.
Puchino, a freshman, threw a full seven shutout innings in the dominant performance.
Creighton improved to 13-11 after the wins, surpassing .500 for the first time since their season-opening tournament at DePaul in which they went 2-2.
“I’d say we’ve learned a lot about this team and about each other,” Wood said. “They haven’t given up and they’ve been working hard and trusting the process.”
She emphasized that the team needed to play more consistently if they hoped to stay above the .500 mark for the rest of the year.
“Every day we have to step on the field and earn our right to win,” Wood said. “It’s always great to have those wins.”
The Creighton softball team will travel to Philadelphia for a three-game series at Vill from March 17-19 before returning to Omaha for a matchup with the Omaha Mavericks on March 22.