Blue Demons Top Drake in NCAA Tournament Win
5/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
EVANSTON, Ill. The No. 19/21 DePaul softball team used timely hitting to defeat Drake 3-1 in the opening game of the Evanston Regional at the Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Friday. The Blue Demons (49-16) advance and play Regional host Northwestern at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Blue Demons notched just four hits in the win, but three of those were extra base knocks. Amber Patton, Stephanie Blagaich, Marie Thompson and Sandy Vojik all registered hits in the win.
Patton got the Blue Demon bats started in the first frame when she laced her second triple of the season over the pulled-in right fielder’s head to begin the game. Two pitches later Patton capitalized on a wild pitch to score the first run of the ballgame.
DePaul starter Becca Heteniak had some control problems early as she walked two of the first three batters she faced in the top of the second. With one out, Heteniak found her grove as she struck out the next two batters to get herself out of the jam.
The Blue Demons held onto their 1-0 lead until they added two runs in the fifth. With one out, Blagaich recorded the Blue Demons second hit of the day, a double off the left center field wall. With Blagaich in scoring position, DePaul head coach Eugene Lenti went to his pinch hitting arsenal.
Pinch hitter Annie Demas struck out; but Thompson came through with a single to left field. With Blagaich going on the pitch, she slid around the tag at home for the second run of the ballgame. With Thompson still on the run, Drake catcher Susan Slycord's throw sailed to the fence in centerfield which allowed a sprinting Thompson to score.
Drake (29-25) got a run back in the top of the sixth with a solo home run by Marilyn Buss. Buss sent the first pitch of the inning over the centerfield wall.
Vojik’s third triple of the season dribbled off the right field wall with one out in the sixth; but she was left 60 feet from home as Dordel retired DePaul’s next two batters.
The Bulldogs made things interesting in the top of the seventh as Elena Leon began the seventh with a single up the middle. Heteniak would get two of the next three batters to strikeout, while the other would fly out to DePaul catcher Jackie Tarulli-Fisher.
Heteniak finished with 10 strike outs, she walked three and scattered four hits. The sophomore All-American has won her last 14 decisions and improves to 32-6 on the season.
Dordel (19-11) took the loss for Drake. She struck out five and walked one in her complete game performance.
The Blue Demons' semifinal contest with Northwestern is the 40th meeting between the two ballclubs. The Wildcats hold 24-15 series advantage, but the Blue Demons won the season's earlier meeting 5-3 on April 29. No stranger to meetings in the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Demons advanced to the WCWS in 2005 after sweeping Northwestern in the Super Regional in Chicago.