DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Villanova
DePaul Defeats Villanova Behind Lenti's Grand Slam
4/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
Box Score: DePaul 5, Villanova 3Â 
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Ali Lenti stepped to the plate and showed her senior leadership by blasting a grand slam to push the DePaul softball team to a 5-3 victory over Villanova on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Demons (19-21, 10-3 BIG EAST) touted a balanced attack at the plate as seven different players picked up a hit en route to the team's third league win in a row.
Despite Lenti's grand slam shouldering a majority of the RBI load, Sabrina Kuchta added a RBI single to give DePaul its fifth run.
Mary Connolly went the distance on the mound for the second straight game on the afternoon, striking out five and limiting the opposition to three run across the seven innings of play.
Villanova (22-26, 8-9) opened the scoring in the home half of the first with a run-scoring single up the middle to make it 1-0.
The next two innings came and went with only one hit gathered between the two teams.
Following a leadoff double by Kali Gardner and a sacrifice bunt by Megan Leyva that shifted Gardner to third, the Blue Demons finally got on the board. Kuchta drilled a single through the middle to knot the game at 1-1.
After a clean fifth, the sixth inning provided the most drama.
The first three runners of the frame reached base for DePaul before Lenti toed the batter's box. The senior then put a drive into the ball and hit her first career grand slam to put the Blue Demons up, 5-1.
The Wildcats brought a pair in in the home half following a two-run homer by Lauren Herschberg to make it a 5-3 game in favor of the road team.
Mirroring that of the first game, Villanova again loaded the bases down by two runs. Following suit with the morning game, the Wildcats were unable to push a run across as DePaul took the result, 5-3.
The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
Notes: This was the 17th meeting between the programs all time... DePaul leads the series, 16-1, having won the last nine matchups... Villanova's lone win in the series came in 2010... Ali Lenti hit her first career grand slam and second career home run... Mary Connolly and Morgan Maize their 17 game streaks of reaching base safely snapped... Sabrina Kuchta is on a three-game hitting streak... DePaul moved to 10-2 when leading after the fifth inning this season... the Blue Demons picked up their first win of the season against a left-handed starter.
