DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Providence
Stunning Ending Finishes Off Blue Demons
3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
March 26, 2011
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - For five innings on Saturday, Bree Brown was unhittable.
Then, it all came crashing down in the sixth inning.
That's when the sophomore right-hander gave up four runs as DePaul was stunned 4-1 by Providence in the second game of a BIG EAST Conference-opening double-header.
DePaul (16-8, 1-1) won the opener 3-0 as Kirsten Verdun fired a four-hitter and slugged a solo home run.
Game two looked so promising after Alex Morocco led off with a solo home run to center field.
The way Brown (5-2) was mowing down the Friars, it appeared Morocco's first homer of the season would be enough.
Providence (11-16, 1-1) had other ideas.
Stephanie Kiesel led off the sixth with a single that broke up the no-hitter, and two batters later, Jen Abrams delivered a one-out single.
All of a sudden, that one-run lead was in big-time jeopardy. Michelle Huber's RBI single made it a new ball game, but the worst was yet to come.
Up stepped Justine Stratton, who slugged a three-run homer---the first time in 2011 she has trotted around the bases.
"It's the same old stuff," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti. "There were a couple of bloop hits and then we gave up the bomb.
"It's happened before with Bree, and it's going to happen again if she doesn't increase her focus in the late innings.
"She doesn't execute the pitches that are called. As a result, you give up the big hit. There was no doubt about that one, right off the bat."
DePaul is having difficulty generating a consistent offense. The Blue Demons had a total of four hits in the double-header including solo home runs from Morocco and Verdun.
"The hitting is terrible right now," Lenti said. "The only way we scored were those two home runs and manufacturing two runs in the first game on double steals.
"And, this was against pitchers with earned-run averages in the threes and fours."
Verdun and Brown combined for 12 consecutive scoreless innings before the bottom fell out.
"The pitching was good today, and we actually only had one bad inning," Lenti said. "But when you're hitting like we are, you can't afford even one bad inning. Your defense and pitching have to be airtight.
"We're not very good right now. If we don't straighten things out, it could be a struggle all year.
"It's up to the players to pull themselves out of it."
NOTES: The Blue Demons were 4-for-46 (.089) in Saturday's double-header... DePaul came into the double-header at Providence batting .251 as a team... after the two games, the Blue Demons were batting .239... Verdun and Morocco each had a home run in the double-header while Samantha Dodd and Verdun each had a single... Verdun pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk... Brown went six innings and gave up four runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and one walk... on the season, Morocco leads DePaul with a .395 batting average and is also tops in hits with 32 and runs with 13... Sean Plese is batting .360 followed by Samantha Dodd at .329 (26 hits), Verdun at .286 and Ali Warren at .273... Verdun leads the team in home runs with five, RBIs with 14 and walks with 17... Verdun is 9-2 with a 2.01 ERA and Brown is 5-2 with a 4.06 ERA... Dean is 2-4 with a 2.50 ERA... Brown has the best strikeout ratio with 56 in 51.2 innings.
