DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Illinois State
"Carpe Diem Coronado" Seizes the Moment
4/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
April 12, 2011
CHICAGO - Let's just call this "Megan's Moment," and admire how the plucky freshman pulled off a softball "carpe diem" on Tuesday.
Coronado's three-run, pinch-hit home run set off a wild Cacciatore Stadium celebration and led DePaul to a 10-6 nonconference victory over Illinois State in a Wrigley-Field-wind-blowing-out slugfest.
The Blue Demons had a comfortable 7-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning when Abby Olson's two-run home run and Caiti Kopp's three-run homer made the home crowd a little nervous.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lynsey Ciezki coaxed a two-out walk from Redbird pitcher Taylor Baxter and Brittney Yniguez followed with a single to center field.
DePaul coach Eugene Lenti chose Coronado to bat for Allie Braden.
"As a pinch-hitter, you're just waiting for the call," Coronado said. "You have to be ready in the dugout and ready all the time.
"There's more momentum as a pinch-hitter. It's your one big at-bat, and you have to go hard."
Coronado blasted a 2-and-2 inside fastball over the right-center field fence and then sat back and watched relief pitcher Bree Brown strike out the side in the seventh.
"No, I wasn't nervous," said Coronado, who is batting .778 (7-for-9) as a pinch-hitter this season. "We had been hitting all day. When two people got on, I knew we'd pull through."
It was a Blue Demon offense that has scored 70 runs in the last eight games that carried the day again.
DePaul (24-11) scored twice in the first inning on a Lindsey Dean RBI sacrifice and an Illinois State error.
It was 6-0 after two innings thanks to Braden's RBI single, Dean's RBI walk and a two-run Samantha Dodd single.
Kara Nelson's solo home run in the third inning put Illinois State (23-13) on the board. But Lenti & Co. got that right back with Lynsey Ciezki's RBI single in the fourth.
After winning pitcher Kirsten Verdun (15-3) gave up the pair of home runs in the sixth, Brown was called upon to shut down the Redbirds. Brown struck out Shelby Music to end the sixth and whiffed three more in the seventh.
"I wanted to finish the game off because I haven't been doing too well for our team this season," said Brown, who earned her first save. "I've been wanting to pick it up for us, and this was my chance.
"So long as we stayed ahead, I wasn't going to let them pass us up."
Brown called upon her curveball for first-pitch strikes and then mowed the Redbirds down with her patented riseball.
"Bree was awesome," Coronado said. "It was kind of like me. When Bree was called upon, she was ready to go."
Make no mistake about it. When called upon in a pinch, Coronado and Brown were ready to seize the day.
The Blue Demons return to BIG EAST Conference action on Thursday with a 10 a.m. doubleheader at Pittsburgh.
NOTES: DePaul has scored 70 runs in its last eight games while going 7-1... the Blue Demons have hit .393 as a team and outscored opponents 70-25... Coronado is hitting .625 over the last eight games followed by Sean Plese (.571), Dodd (.560), Braden (.524), Verdun (.522), Dean (.389) and Alex Morocco (.346)... Verdun has 13 RBIs in eight games and Dodd has 10... Plese's eight-game hitting streak came to an end Tuesday, but Dodd, Verdun and Braden have now hit safely in six-straight games... Verdun and Yniguez were 2-for-3 against ISU and Morocco was 2-for-5... Dodd, Ciezki, Coronado and Braden each had one hit... Coronado had three RBIs while Dean and Dodd each had a pair... the Blue Demons took advantage of six walks... on the season, Plese leads DePaul in batting average at .449 followed by Morocco (.391), Dodd (.366), Verdun (.348), Braden (.296) and Coronado (.264)... Morocco is tops in hits with 45... Verdun leads in home runs (nine), RBIs (30), runs (22) and walks (29)... in the circle, Verdun is 15-3 with a 2.27 earned-run average while Dean is 4-4 with a 2.55 ERA... Brown is 5-4 with a 4.20 ERA.
