DePaul University Athletics
Brown Honored as BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
CHICAGO - Just 24 hours after DePaul won its third BIG EAST regular-season title in the last four years, more good news found its way to Lincoln Park.
Bree Brown was named BIG EAST Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday and second baseman Brittney Yniguez was selected for the Honor Roll.
That meant two of the top seven performances in the conference last week came from the hottest team in the league.
Brown (16-5) retired 23 consecutive Syracuse batters on Saturday and was one pitch away from an eight-inning perfect game.
But on a 3-and-2 count, Syracuse's Jenna Caira hit a double. Brown proceeded to strike out the final batter in the 1-0 victory and finished with 17 strikeouts and no walks.
"Bree was just incredible," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti. "You don't see a pitcher getting 17 strikeouts very often at this level of softball."
For the week, Brown was 2-0 with a save against talented Northwestern. In addition to the win over Syracuse, Brown also beat No. 17 Illinois 3-2 and limited the potent Illini attack to a pair of unearned runs and four hits.
The freshman from Texas had an earned-run average of 0.00 last week with 34 strikeouts and no walks in 19 innings.
This is the second time Brown has been chosen Pitcher of the Week. She also won the award on April 26.
Yniguez drove in the winning run in the 1-0 victory over Syracuse and followed up with a two-run home run in the nightcap as DePaul took game two of the road doubleheader 4-0.
Last Tuesday, Yniguez smashed a solo home run in the Blue Demons' 4-0 victory over Loyola-Chicago. She went 2-for-3 against Illinois and wound up batting .375 for the week with two home runs, four RBI and two runs.
This is the second time Yniguez has been selected for the league's Honor Roll, also being chosen on March 22.
DePaul (37-15, 18-3 in the BIG EAST) has won eight in a row and 16 of its last 17 games.
During the winning streak, Yniguez is batting .360 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Brown is 3-0 during the streak with a 0.88 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 24 innings. Opponents have batted .146 against her in that span.
The Blue Demons are the No. 1 seed and open up against Rutgers at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the opening round of the BIG EAST Championship at Louisville, Ky.
