Softball Faces Kentucky in Do-Or-Die Sunday in Lexington
5/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
May 18, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. - After winning back-to-back elimination games yesterday, DePaul softball will look to do the same against hosting Kentucky as the team continues its NCAA Tournament run on Sunday at John Cropp Stadium.
The Blue Demons (43-10) and the 14th-seeded Wildcats will get started at Noon CT. Should DePaul prevail in game one, a winner-take-all contest would follow at 2:30 p.m. CT for the right to advance to Super Regionals.
Kentucky (46-15) has advanced to Sunday with a 2-0 Friday win over Ohio and a 2-1 comeback victory yesterday against James Madison. If the Blue Demons can hold UK to the same score it bodes well as DePaul is 29-0 this season when holding its opponent to two runs or less.
After falling 6-1 on Friday against JMU, the Blue Demons rebounded to defeat Ohio 5-1 and got back at the Dukes in a wild 4-3 win -- eliminating both teams and setting up today's do-or-die games with UK.
The Blue Demons are 2-1 over the weekend and have gotten big efforts from the top of their order.
Junior slugger Mary Connolly is hitting .600 for the weekend, while senior Kirsten Verdun and Allie Braden both boast averages over .500. Braden's two-run homer and game-winning sacrifice fly in the sixth made the difference for DePaul in the win over JMU yesterday.
In the circle, Verdun won both games yesterday and will look to repeat the feat. She is 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 innings. She fanned 11 Bobcats over six shutout innings in the Blue Demons early win yesterday.
