DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Loyola Chicago
Blue Demons Suffer Letdown at Loyola
4/3/2012 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
April 3, 2012
CHICAGO - It's the oldest conundrum faced by coaches everywhere---how do you combat the dreaded letdown?
After a pyrotechnics kind of a weekend, DePaul could not light up the scoreboard Tuesday at Loyola Chicago in a 1-0 loss.
The steep downturn came just 48 hours after the Blue Demons had taken two out of three from then-No. 11 Louisville at Cacciatore Stadium.
DePaul (18-12) did give it one final shot in the top of the seventh inning. Paige Peterson led off with a single that deflected off Loyola starter Brittany Gardner, and an error on the play sent Peterson to second base.
Brittany Boesel sacrificed her to third. Bree Brown hit a grounder to second and Jessica Balzano's throw home cut down Peterson at the plate.
"They're kids, and they played like that today," said DePaul coach Eugene Lenti. "This was one of our worst losses ever.
"We're trying to build up our resume for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, and our RPI was 15 going into today's game. Losing to a team with a 206 RPI certainly isn't going to help.
"How do you avoid a letdown like this in the future? You find a way to get their attention."
Lenti called for a pre-dawn practice on Wednesday.
"For one thing, it's the only time we can get them all together," Lenti said. "We'll have time for a good, solid four-hour practice. I guess we have to work harder than we've been working."
Singles by Kirsten Verdun and Mary Connolly along with a Loyola error loaded the bases for the Blue Demons with no outs in the top of the second inning. But Gardner wriggled out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a popup.
The Blue Demons had two runners on with two out an inning later and wound up stranding them.
"We only had three hits, and two of them were in the infield," Lenti said. "Our offense did not take advantage of its opportunities. We had the bases loaded, no outs, and we couldn't put the ball on the bat."
Loyola (10-15) led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt. That's when the bulldog in Verdun came out as the sophomore lefty bore down and got a groundout and a strikeout.
Loyola loaded the bases with one out in the fourth as DePaul continued living on the edge. Once again, Verdun was up to the task as she induced a pair of groundouts.
A Rambler error, a sacrifice bunt and a groundout left Bree Brown on third base with two out in the fifth. Unfortunately, Samantha Dodd struck out.
The Ramblers broke through in the bottom of the fifth after an Annie Korth walk and Lauren Zaworski's RBI double to right field.
"Verdun only made one bad pitch, but it cost her the game," Lenti said. "She left too much of the ball over the plate, and you can't do that.
"We're still striving for some consistency. As great as we played over the weekend against Louisville, we played that poorly against Loyola."
The Blue Demons will look to regain their energy and intensity with a three-game, BIG EAST Conference series at Georgetown that begins with a noon doubleheader on Good Friday.
NOTES: DePaul's RPI of 15 going into the week is the highest it has been this season... it would have helped if the Blue Demons had scored first... when the Ramblers score first, they are 8-1 this season... Verdun was 1-for-2 with a walk... Connolly and Peterson were both 1-for-3... Verdun pitched six innings and gave up one run on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks... DePaul committed two errors and failed to take advantage of Loyola's four errors... the Blue Demons left five runners in scoring position, including two at third base.
