DePaul University Athletics
Voss Leads DePaul to BIG EAST Conference Semifinals
5/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As Tara Voss came rounding third base after her game-breaking two-run home run Thursday, DePaul coach Eugene Lenti called out: "If I ever move you out of the seventh spot, you can shoot me."
Voss could only shake her head and laugh after her fourth-inning blast led DePaul to a 3-0 victory over Rutgers in the opener of the BIG EAST Championship tournament.
The Blue Demons' season-high ninth win in a row and 17th in their last 18 games advances them to Friday's 1:30 p.m. semifinal matchup against Syracuse (30-24).
Voss had been in a slump when Lenti moved her down to the seventh spot in the batting order on May 1. The junior shortstop and second-team All-BIG EAST selection responded by hitting a home run in three-straight games in a weekend sweep of Georgetown.
Voss had primarily batted leadoff and in the third spot during the season. After that home-run binge, Lenti moved Voss to the five-hole.
Wouldn't you know it---Voss came into the BIG EAST Championship opener with one hit in her last nine at-bats.
"I don't know what it is, but I'm going to bat seventh the rest of the season," Voss said. "When Eug said that, I definitely laughed and said okay.
"It's just a good feeling when I bat seventh. On both the home run and the single I hit, the pitches were low.
"On the home run, I elevated it and the ball just kept on going."
Winning pitcher Becca Heteniak chimed in: "I thought it was a fly ball"
"So did I," Voss said. "It was big because our team wasn't as intense as normal."
That could have been the result of a one-hour, nine-minute rain delay after DePaul (38-15) had started off with a potentially big inning.
Alex Morocco was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and onto third after Lynsey Ciezki's groundout.
That's when a steady downpour and lightning forced the delay.
When play resumed, Brittney Yniguez's single down the left-field line scored Morocco for a 1-0 Blue Demon lead.
"We didn't have our usual fire after that," Lenti said. "The rain delay and some poor baserunning cost us big innings.
"But Tara came through for us with that home run. It was as big a hit as Tara has had this season."
It was more than enough for Heteniak (20-9) for win her 12th game in a row on a two-hitter. Bree Brown pitched the final inning.
Heteniak has now won 20 or more games in every season at DePaul. She was 20-6 as a freshman, 33-8 as a sophomore and 26-9 last year.
"I felt a little off after the rain delay and was closing my hip too fast," said Heteniak, who finished with nine strikeouts and one walk. "I kept trying to fix things throughout the game and felt better in the fifth and sixth innings."
DePaul walked onto the Ulmer Stadium softball field on Thursday as the team to beat in the BIG EAST Championship tournament.
At least, that's the way the rest of the eight-team field looked at it after eight Blue Demons were selected to the all-conference team---the most of any BIG EAST softball program.
"Everyone wants to be the team that knocks out the No. 1 seed," Heteniak said. "That means we're going to get the best game out of everyone we face.
"We need to come out with more enthusiasm and intensity in our semifinal game."
NOTES: The Blue Demons are now 8-3 in BIG EAST Championship play and remain undefeated in first-round games... in addition to Voss' two hits, Ciezki, Yniguez, Marie Thompson (double), Samantha Dodd and Marla Mathews had one hit each... in opening-round BIG EAST Championship games, DePaul has outscored its opponents 26-5... Heteniak is now 6-2 overall in BIG EAST tournament play... on the season, Sean Plese leads the team in batting average at .356 while Morocco is second at .338... Morocco leads the team in hits with 50... Voss is batting .324 and leads the team in home runs with nine and runs with 40... she is second in RBI with 33 and second in hits with 48... Yniguez is hitting .320, leads the team in RBI with 33 and is second in homers with seven... Heteniak is hitting .311 and leads the team in walks with 43... Samantha Dodd is batting .289 followed by Shea Warren at .288, Thompson at .284 and Ciezki at .274... DePaul had 14 of its 18 players named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team with the four freshmen ineligible for that honor... the Blue Demons are hitting .286 as a team compared to .198 for their opponents... they have outscored the opposition 256-128... Heteniak is 20-9 with a 1.73 earned-run average and 199 strikeouts and 57 walks in 173.2 innings... opponents are hitting .183 against her... Brown is 16-5 with a 2.42 ERA... she has 185 strikeouts and 45 walks in 147.2 innings... opponents are batting .207 against her... in the BIG EAST season, DePaul is 2-0 against Syracuse, beating the Orange 1-0 in eight innings and 4-0 in a doubleheader last Saturday at Syracuse... in the first game, Brown had a perfect game going after retiring the first 23 Orange batters... Jenna Caira spoiled it with a double in the bottom of the eighth inning on a 3-and-2 count.
