OMAHA, Neb. –Freshman Natalia Puchino struck out 10, while junior Madeline Vejvoda and senior Saren Croker each smashed home runs in Creighton softball’s 5-3 win over Omaha on Tuesday night at the Creighton Sports Complex.
The victory pushed Creighton to 17-22 on the season, while the Mavericks fell to 18-14 overall.
The Bluejays soared out to an early three-run lead in the bottom of the first innings. Senior Kailey Wilson blooped a two-out single into center field while Alyssa Gappa was hit by a pitch. The two would then come around to score as Vejvoda lined her second home run of the season over the left field wall, giving Creighton a 3-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, the Mavericks would tie the game with three runs of their own on an RBI single by Rachel Weber and a two-run home run by Sydney Ross. That would be the only runs Omaha would get as Puchino struck out six in the final four innings to keep the visitors at bay.
Creighton, however, answered with a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Emma Rosonke to retake a 4-3 lead. A leadoff walk by Vejvoda got the inning started as she would advance to third on a wild pitch and a sac bunt by Croker before scoring on a deep fly ball by Rosonke.
The Bluejays were not quite done yet as they added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a solo home run to right by Croker to secure the 5-3 victory.
Creighton was led offensively by Vejvoda with a three-run home run, while four other Bluejays collected a hit in the contest.Puchino recorded her 10th win of the season with the complete game while tying a season-high with 10 strikeouts.
The Bluejays hit the road, as they travel to the nation’s capital for a three-game series against Georgetown beginning on Friday at 2 p.m.
