Creighton Set to Play in First #BIGEASTsb Championship Game
Box Score
CHICAGO – No. 2 seed Creighton capitalized on a five-run first inning to defeat No. 3 seed St. John’s 8-1 in Friday’s second BIG EAST Championship Semifinal Presented by Jeep. With the win, the Bluejays advance to the program’s first BIG EAST title game, and will square off against top-seeded DePaul Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The Blue Demons downed No. 4 Villanova earlier in the day, 12-2.
Freshman pitcher Kiele Miller got Creighton off on the right foot with a dominant opening first inning in the circle. After forcing a ground out on her third pitch of the game, Miller struck out the next two Johnnies to close out the scoreless frame.
Looking to build off the momentum created by the defense, the BIG EAST leaders in batting average, runs scored and on-base percentage showed why with seven of the first eight batters reaching base. Creighton’s only out in the team’s first eight at bats came off a sacrifice bunt by senior Sam Crowley. Creighton closed out the inning with a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the second.
Defensively, Miller and her teammates remained locked in. With six strikeouts through the first three innings, the freshman collected her seventh with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the frame, Creighton’s attack collected two more runs to push ahead 7-0 through four innings of play.
The Johnnies got on the board in the top of the sixth following a triple by Elyse Morris. With two outs Amelia Ditolvo picked up an RBI bunt, to pull within six runs of the Bluejays, 7-1.
Facing BIG EAST Player of the Year Krystal Puga, with runners on first and second and two outs, Miller forced the senior to pop up and close out the inning with only one run allowed.
Following a double by Ashley Cantu in the bottom of the sixth, Crowley picked up an RBI single to increase the Bluejay lead to 8-1 with one inning left to be played. In the top of the seventh, Miller secured the victory after forcing a popout to right field.
With the win Creighton improves to 29-14 on the season and collects its first postseason victory since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2014 season. The Johnnies end the season 24-26.