DePaul NCAA Softball Tournament Notes
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CHICAGO - The No. 14 seeded DePaul softball team opens the 2007 NCAA Carbondale Regional with Mississippi Valley State on Friday, May 20 at 2 p.m. The four-team, double-elimination regional tournament begins on Friday, May 18 and runs through Sunday, May 20. DePaul is the top seed in the regional, with Missouri and host Southern Illinois rounding out competition.
The Blue Demons are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to the Women’s College World Series in 2005, 2000 and 1999. DePaul boasts a 27-23 all-time NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Demons (41-11) are coming off their first ever BIG EAST Conference Regular Season Championship and are led by pitchers - senior Tracie Aix and freshman Becca Heteniak. The pair combined for a perfect 20-0 record in the circle during conference play and were named the league’s, Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Earlier this week both Adix and Heteniak were named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA First Team All-Mideast Region and are both eligible for All-American honors. Adix’s 0.83 ERA is the fourth best in the country, while Heteniak averages 8.1 strikeouts per seven innings.
Mississippi Valley State won the Southwestern Conference Championship to advance to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Devilettes (29-25) are led by SWAC Player of the Year Candy Shumpert and conference Pitcher of the Year Nicole Henderson. Shumpert has 34 hits and 20 RBI on season, while Henderson (12-8) boasts a team-best 1.95 ERA.
Friday’s meeting between DePaul and Mississippi Valley State is the first meeting between the two teams. It is also the first time in DePaul’s 30 year softball history that it faces a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Devilettes (29-25) have won the last four SWAC Tournament titles to make their fourth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. Mississippi Valley State is 2-6 in their previous three tournament showings. The program’s two, NCAA Tournament wins came in 2004 knocking off Missouri 4-3 and Cornell 6-3 at the Region No. 2 Tournament. The Devilettes have a team .266 batting average and their pitching staff has registered a combined 2.78 ERA
The winner of the DePaul-Mississippi Valley State game faces the winner of the Missouri-Southern Illinois match up on Saturday. Missouri (38-22) received an at-large bid and are led by Micaela Minner. Minner has a team best .352 batting average and has 57 hits this season. Host Southern Illinois (40-14) also received an at-large bid after making it to the Missouri Valley Championship game and spent the majority of the season ranked in the national polls. Alicia Garaza leads the Saluki’s with 62 hits and a .367 average.
The Blue Demons are a combined 7-7 against Southern Illinois and Missouri. DePaul holds a 3-1 series lead over the Saluki’s and are 4-6 against the Tigers.
The winner of the Carbondale Regional plays the winner of the Amherst Regional. Oklahoma is the top seeded team in that region and is joined by Colgate, Long Island and host Massachusetts. Super Regionals are scheduled to run May 25-26 at selected campus sites
Carbondale Regional Schedule
| Friday, May 18
Game 1
Game 2
Saturday, May 19
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Sunday, May 20
Game 6
if Game |
No. 14 DePaul vs. Mississippi Valley St.
Missouri vs. Southern Illinois
Winner G1 vs. Winner G2
Loser G1 vs. Loser G2
Winner G4 vs. Loser G3
Winner G3 vs. Winner G5
Winner G6 vs. Loser G6
| 2 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
12 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
12 p.m. |
