Bluejays Power Past Owls

Lincoln -- Creighton's Stacey Rybar got the Bluejays off to a hot start in the first game of the NCAA Lincoln Regional, and Tammy Nielsen held Florida Atlantic in check as the Bluejays took a 6-2 victory.

With the win, Creighton improved to 42-15-1 and advanced to play Nebraska, a 6-0 winner over Lehigh, on Friday, May 21 at 12:30. Creighton's game with the Huskers will be shown live on NETV2. Florida Atlantic fell to 54-17 with the loss and now plays Thursday night at 8 p.m. against Lehigh

Ryber, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and MVC's career home run leader, led off the game with a solo home run to give Creighton a quick 1-0 lead. Rybar took a 1-1 delivery deep over the right field fence for her 12th round tripper of the season. CU then made it a 2-0 lead five batters later when Kari Shank lined one back up the middle to score pinch runner Kate Petullo from second base.

In the top of the fifth, Rybar added to the Bluejays lead with her second homer of the game, blasting a two-run shot over the left center field fence. The shot, which gave CU a 4-0 lead, was Rybar's school-record 13th of the season and marked her fifth career multi-homer game.

Also in the fifth, Christine Fukumoto reached on an error and advanced to second. Abby Johnson then drove one to centerfield to bring Fukumoto home for a 5-0 lead. Creighton added a final run in the sixth as Melanie Dorsey singled home Jamie Reiss for a six-run cushion.

In the circle, Nielsen held FAU scoreless through five innings. In the sixth, the Owls picked up their first runs of the day when Jessica Braggins lifted a two-run homer over the left field fence to cut the lead to 6-2. Pam Mazarella scored on the blast after reaching on an error.

Nielsen (26-11) finished the game allowing just two runs and three hits. She struck out six and walked one. Candice Freel (27-9) took the loss for the Owls, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks. It was just Freel's third loss since Feb. 29. She started the season 6-6 and had won 21 of her last 23 contests before the matchup with the Bluejays.

Creighton game notes: Stacey Rybar set the school single-season record for home runs with two round trippers against the Owls...Rybar had a solo shot to lead off the top of the first inning, her 12th homer of the year to tie the record set by Abby Johnson in 2003...Rybar then broke the mark with a two-run homer in the fifth...with three RBIs, Rybar increased her school-record total to 121...Creighton improved to 26-1 when scoring in the first inning and 23-2 when hitting at least one home run in a game this season...CU improved to 2-6 all-time at Bowlin Stadium...both of CU's wins at Bowlin Stadium have come against teams from Florida (also 3-1 win in 2003 NCAA Regional over Florida International).

Florida Atlantic game notes: Starting pitcher Candice Freel allowed two earned runs in the first inning, only the third time in 22 appearances in the circle (since March 19 vs. Oklahoma State) she has allowed more than a single earned run...the only other team to record more than one earned run vs. Freel during that stretch was Stetson (2 earned runs) on May 13 in a 14.1-inning affair...she had allowed just three earned runs in the past 16 games...it was only the fourth home run Freel allowed all season and the first since Feb. 20 against Michigan.