DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Pittsburgh
Dean Has a Grand Old Time in Pittsburgh
4/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
April 14, 2011
PITTSBURGH - DePaul student-athletes are known nationwide for their stellar academics, but sometimes it's better not to think too much.
Case in point: Lindsey Dean.
Swinging free and unencumbered, Dean blasted a grand slam home run Thursday in leading the Blue Demons to a 7-2 victory over Pittsburgh.
It gave DePaul (26-11, 10-1) a BIG EAST Conference sweep with its ninth win in the last 10 games.
"I was thinking too much and struggling before today," Dean said. "Believe me, it wasn't pretty.
"My coaches told me to just bring the barrel of the bat to the ball."
Even better, with DePaul clinging to a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning and Allie Braden, Alex Morocco and Kirsten Verdun on base, Dean went after the first pitch.
"There wasn't time to think," Dean said with a laugh. "We're taught to go after the first good pitch you see.
"It felt very good when I hit it. I knew it was going far, but wasn't sure how far."
Coupled with a 6-2 win in the opener, the Blue Demons have now scored 83 runs in their last 10 games.
"I'm really happy about the way we played today," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti. "Playing on the road in this conference is never easy, and to sweep a good team on its home field is quite an accomplishment.
"I thought we should have been more consistent early, and there some base-running mistakes. It took us a while to get going.
"But in both games, the hitting showed up late and showed up big."
Leading by the identical 3-2 score in the first game, DePaul scored three runs in the top of the seventh with Kirsten Verdun's two-run double the telling blow.
Bree Brown picked up her second consecutive save in relief of winning pitcher Verdun (16-3) with no runs or hits and four strikeouts in two innings.
"Scoring late in both games shows that this team keeps battling and never gives up," Lenti said. "And we had two more games without any errors."
In the last 10 games, the Blue Demons have made just two errors compared to 17 by their opponents.
In that same span, they are batting .373 as a team and outscoring the opposition 83-29.
Trailing 1-0, DePaul took full advantage of a pair of Pitt errors to score three times in the third inning with Verdun drilling an RBI single.
The Panthers (24-13, 3-5) made it a one-run game in the fourth on Kelly Hmiel's solo home run.
Winning pitcher Brown (6-4) went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Dean picked up a two-inning save in relief.
The senior right-hander had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth before inducing back-to-back groundouts. In the seventh, the bases were loaded with two out when Dean struck out Hmiel.
"Yes, I helped my own cause with the grand slam," Dean said. "But I think I gave Eug (coach Lenti) and Nancy (assistant coach Nancy Evans) a heart attack in those last two innings.
"Our offense is coming together real well and everyone is hitting their stride at the same time. We were a little slow making adjustments in both games today.
"But in the end, those adjustments came and we made things happen."
The Blue Demons can fine-tune their batting strokes until next Wednesday when they travel to downstate Champaign for a 6 p.m. game against NCAA tournament contender Illinois.
NOTES: The grand slam was Dean's first home run of the season, and the save was also her first... Morocco was 3-for-4 with two runs and Dean 2-for-4 with four RBIs and one run... Verdun had the only other hit and extended her hitting streak to eight games... Braden and Samantha Dodd had their hitting streaks snapped at seven games... Morocco went 5-for-8 on the day with four runs scored while Verdun was 3-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs... Dean was 3-for-8 with five RBIs and a run... Braden was 2-for-5 with four runs and an RBI... Sean Plese had two hits and two RBIs... during this 10-game offensive barrage, Megan Coronado is batting .625 followed by Verdun (.536), Plese (.500), Braden (.500), Dodd (.469), Morocco (.412) and Dean (.385)... Verdun has three home runs and 17 RBIs in the last 10 games while Dodd has two home runs and 10 RBIs... Dean has one homer and 10 RBIs... on the season, Plese leads DePaul at .429 and Morocco is batting .407... Verdun is at .361 followed by Dodd (.353) and Braden (.303)... Verdun tops the team with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and 32 walks... Morocco leads in hits with 50 and runs with 25... in the circle, Verdun is 16-3 with a 2.29 earned-run average while Brown is 6-4 with a 3.99 ERA... Dean is 4-4 with a 2.43 ERA.
