DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Georgetown
Blue Demons Win 10th Straight, Beat Georgetown 5-0
4/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
April 12, 2014
CHICAGO - Mary Connolly crushed her 10th homer of the season and Kirsten Verdun won her 20th game in shutout-style as DePaul beat Georgetown 5-0 to cap a doubleheader on Saturday at Cacciatore Stadium.
The Blue Demons won 7-6 in the day's opening game and beat the Hoyas for the ninth straight time to improve to 28-8 (9-0 BIG EAST). Georgetown dropped to 19-17 (7-4 BIG EAST) with the setback.
"I told our players this is the biggest weekend of the season and that we needed to be prepared to come out and play ball," said head coach Eugene Lenti. "This is a good Georgetown team that had beaten Creighton at Creighton. This was a critical doubleheader for us to sweep in terms of BIG EAST standings."
"Mary and Kirsten came through for us today. They are among the best players in the country -- both on the mound and in the batter's box."
Connolly provided her big blast in the first inning, staking the Blue Demons to an early 2-0 lead with a lofty shot over the left field fence.
"I saw the Georgetown pitcher liked to throw a lot of first-pitch strikes," said Connolly. "I hit it well and wanted to lift it a little bit because the wind was blowing out. Kirsten had gotten on base ahead of me, and it's my job to bring her in."
Verdun and Nicole Pihl also provided RBIs in the game as DePaul took advantage of some Georgetown miscues to score five times on just six hits.
Verdun (20-5) cruised in the circle, allowing just four hits and striking out eight Hoyas. She picked up her fourth win of the week and lowered her ERA to 1.80 with her sixth shutout of the season.
Leading 2-0, the Blue Demons added some insurance with a three-run fifth beginning with a double by Morgan Maize. Gena Lenti reached on an error and stole second before Verdun reached on a fielder's choice to score Maize. With runners on second and third and one out, Georgetown elected to intentionally walk Connolly to load the bases.
Dylan Christensen and Nicole Pihl followed with consecutive fielder's choice plays, allowing two more runs to cross before Hoya starter Megan Hyson could get out of the jam.
DePaul and Georgetown wrap up their series tomorrow with one more game at Cacciatore Stadium. First pitch is set for Noon CT.
Notes: DePaul is 20-0 when holding its opponent to two runs or less... it was the 11th shutout of the season by DePaul and the sixth by Verdun... DePaul improved to 9-0 in the all-time series against Georgetown... Connolly extended her season-high hitting streak to 11 straight games... she is batting .528 (19-for-36) with four homers during that stretch... her homer was the 10th of her season and 25th of her career... Braden extended her season-high hitting streak to 10 straight games... Christensen's double was the 11th of her season, she leads the team and BIG EAST in that category... DePaul has out-scored its opponents 53-16 in the first inning of games this season... the win was Verdun's 20th as DePaul's senior ace improved to 20-5... it is the fourth straight year with 20+ wins for Verdun... DePaul is riding a season-high 10 game win streak...
