DePaul University
Rutgers (Quarterfinals)
Ciezki Sparkles in BIG EAST Championship Opener
5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
May 12, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's a good thing Lynsey Ciezki came to play on Thursday.
The junior third baseman sparkled in the field and had two clutch RBI singles in leading DePaul to a 5-2 victory over Rutgers in the BIG EAST Conference Championship tournament at Ulmer Stadium.
The Blue Demons advance to the 1:30 p.m. semifinal game on Friday to face Syracuse (42-11) and BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Jenna Caira.
"I was feeling real loose in the field because of the warm weather," said Ciezki, who was 2-for-3 with the two RBIs and a walk.
"My first hit, Rutgers had been pitching me outside. So, I crowded the plate and hit it hard."
That was in the bottom of the first inning when DePaul (39-12) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead.
Alex Morocco was hit by a pitch, and Sean Plese and Kirsten Verdun walked. Samantha Dodd's sacrifice fly scored Morocco and Lindsey Dean's squeeze bunt brought home Plese.
That's when Ciezki ripped a shot to right field.
"Lynsey came here focused and ready to go," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti. "She came up in big RBI situations and came through for us. On defense, she was spectacular at third.
"Thank goodness Lynsey came to play today."
For her second hit, Ciezki played a hunch.
"In the previous at-bat, Rutgers had thrown a changeup that got me off-balance and I grounded out," Ciezki said. "I saw their catcher look at the pitcher and say something that was covered up by her glove.
"I had a hunch the changeup was coming again. When it did, I hit it to the opposite field."
That brought home Samantha Dodd in the sixth inning to account for the final margin.
Verdun singled in the fourth with one out and Dodd followed with a triple to right-center. That gave DePaul a 4-2 lead.
The Scarlet Knights had bases loaded with no outs in the second. Ashley Bragg scored on a groundout before Dean closed out the inning. Rutgers closed to 3-2 on Kaci Madden's RBI single in the third.
Dean escaped out of a jam in the first inning. Rutgers had runners on first and third with one out when the senior right-hander induced a groundout to first baseman Megan Coronado and a fly ball to Dodd.
Lenti had a lengthy postgame meeting with his team in left field, and was demonstrative in his gestures.
"We didn't play anywhere near our capability, especially for this time of the year," Lenti said. "I thought the seniors let us down today. It's upsetting when you have a talented team like this and they don't play well.
"I told them before the game to come out and play angry and play hungry. They did neither, and Rutgers (19-30) had a better focus than us.
"It was like somebody had kidnapped our spirit."
The Blue Demons would do well to follow Ciezki's lead on Friday.
"It's do-or-die now," Ciezki said. "We have to make every moment count---especially for the seniors."
NOTES: DePaul is now 9-4 overall in BIG EAST tournament games... the Blue Demons are 6-0 in first-round games... Morocco was hit three times by Rutgers pitchers... in the bottom of the first, DePaul sent five batters to the plate without an official at-bat... Morocco was hit by a pitch, Plese and Verdun walked, Dodd hit a sacrifice fly (RBI) and Dean had a sacrifice bunt (RBI)... the first official at-bat was Ciezki's RBI single... the Blue Demons left five runners in scoring position in the first three innings... overall, DePaul stranded 11 runners... in addition to Ciezki's two hits and Dodd's triple, Megan Coronado, Plese and Verdun also had base hits... winning pitcher Lindsey Dean improved to 10-5, holding the Scarlet Knights to a pair of runs on seven hits... she allowed one earned run with one walk and no strikeouts... DePaul and Syracuse did not face each other this season in the BIG EAST... the Blue Demons are 1-1 against the Orange in BIG EAST Championship play.
