South Dakota hosts Creighton in a 2 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday at Nygaard Field. It marks the final non-conference games of the season for the Coyotes who have St. Thomas coming to town for a three-game series this weekend.
 
South Dakota and Creighton have played 15 times since USD joined the Summit League in 2012 and the Bluejays have won nine of those 15. The two squads squared off in Vermillion last year and the Coyotes pitched a 4-0 shutout behind Clara Edwards who allowed just two hits in a complete-game performance.
 
Creighton is under new guidance for the first time in 30 years and it is former South Dakota State coach Krista Wood who led the Jackrabbits to three NCAA tournaments and was dominant against the Big East, the conference she is now a part of. The Bluejays are 18-27 overall and 4-14 in conference play this season.
 
Kirkwood teammates faceoff?
Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, finished third at the NJCAA Division II World Series in Alabama last spring. Its top two pitchers were Kori Wedeking (21-5, 1.87 ERA, 184 Ks) and Payton Akers (20-10, 2.58 ERA, 284 Ks) who pitched 168 innings apiece. Wedeking is the No. 2 pitcher for South Dakota this season. Akers is currently the No. 2 pitcher for Creighton. It is possible they could face one another in the second half of today's doubleheader.
 
One of the top hitters on that Kirkwood team was Alecea Mendoza (.401 BA, 13 HR, 62 RBI). Mendoza has played in 28 games and earned 19 starts as an outfielder for South Dakota this season.
 
Other matchups
Edwards is expected to face off against Creighton's Natalia Puchino in game one. Puchino is a freshman from Colorado who is 8-10 this season with a 3.28 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 109 innings. Edwards is 12-9 with a 2.59 ERA and 75 punch-outs in 143 innings.
 
Creighton features reigning Big East Player of the Year Kailey Wilson, a fifth-year senior who hit .436 with 11 home runs last year. Her average is .309 this year with nine homers and a team-leading 30 RBIs. Senior outfielder Cayla Nielsen is having her best season. She leads the Bluejays with a .367 average and has doubled her career home run tally to 14. Junior Alyssa Gappa is thriving under Wood. She has 10 home runs and 27 RBIs to go with a .361 average.
 
South Dakota's Aleesia Sainz leads the Summit League in most offensive categories and has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games. She has hit safely in 10 of her last 12, going 14-for-29 (.483) in that run. Coyote center fielder Courtney Wilson enters play with 192 career hits and sophomore Tatum Villotta has 92. Wilson is 10-for-18 (.556) over the last five games with six runs scored.