DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Heads to Atlanta to complete in I-75 Challenge
2/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
DePaul at Georgia State
CHICAGO - The DePaul softball team hits the road for its fourth tournament of 2018 on Thursday as the Blue Demons head to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the I-75 Challenge against Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, and Georgia State over a three-day period.
On Friday, the Blue Demons will square off against Georgia Tech in doubleheader action starting at noon. Next, Eugene Lenti's squad will head just north of downtown Atlanta to face Kennesaw State of the Atlantic Sun conference in a twin bill set for a 1 p.m. start. DePaul will conclude the I-75 Challenge on Sunday morning when the Royal Blue and Scarlet battles Georgia State at 11 a.m. at the Robert E. Heck Softball Complex in Decatur.
The Blue Demons are off to the program's best start since the 2011 season, posting an 11-3 record through 14 contests. Last weekend, DePaul recorded a 3-1 mark at the UTA Maverick Tournament where the Blue Demons outscored opponents 18-4, tallying three shutout victories. In 14 games, DePaul has overpowered their opponents on the scoreboard, tallying 51 runs compared to opponents' 24. The Blue Demons are doing most of their offensive damage in the third and first innings, scoring 16 and 13 runs, respectively.
Over the weekend, freshman shortstop Maranda Gutierrez posted a .308 batting average through four games at the UTA Maverick Tournament in Arlington, Texas. On Saturday, the shortstop hit her first collegiate home run against Sam Houston State as the Blue Demons defeated the Bearkats 5-0. Later that day, Gutierrez tallied a second home run on the weekend against UT Arlington to lift DePaul over the Mavericks in its 1-0 victory. Classmate Pat Moore compiled a 1-0 record in two appearances during the tournament, tallying five strikeouts in seven innings of work to push her team-high mark to 46 on the season. The Medford, Ore., native allowed just seven hits on the weekend without surrendering a run to post an 0.00 ERA. For their performances, the two were named to the BIG EAST's Weekly Honor Roll on Monday.
Right fielder Megan Leyva is catching her focus at the plate after struggling during opening weekend. The senior rebounded with a 4-for-8 performance during the UTA Maverick Tournament, tallying a team-best four RBIs off a double and home run. She slugged a perfect 1.000, collecting eight total bases in three games. Sophomore Missy Zoch continues to be the pitching staff ace, carrying a 6-2 record and 1.38 ERA in 10 appearances. Like Moore, Zoch has tallied 46 strikeouts on the season over 50.2 innings of work. The right-hander has only allowed 28 hits that have scored 10 earned runs. To date, Zoch has four individual shutouts while tallying two combined shutouts on the season.
Georgia Tech is off to a 6-6 start in 2018, picking up wins against Indiana, Fairfield, La Salle, and Campbell. Prior to meeting with the Blue Demons on Friday, the Yellow Jackets will battle Kennesaw State on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT. Outside of meeting DePaul, Georgia Tech will host Connecticut and Detroit Mercy during the I-75 Challenge at the Shirley Clements Mewborn Field in downtown Atlanta.
Junior infielder Katie Krzus has been on a tear for the Yellow Jackets, collecting a team-best 10 hits and 12 RBIs in 12 games. The Orland Park, Ill., native is hitting .303 on the season, posting a .758 slugging percentage while scoring on nine occasions and belting five home runs. She is joined by Cameron Stanford and Rebecca Prairie as Tech's trio of damage at the plate. Stanford boasts a team-high .333 batting average with eight hits, including three doubles and two home runs. Prairie has driven in eight runs on eight hits while tallying 37 putouts and six assists in the field for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In the center circle, Emily Anderson leads the Yellow Jackets with a 1.35 ERA and 4-3 record in eight appearances. Anderson has struck out 54 batters in 46.2 innings, allowing just nine earned runs on 34 hits. While Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with DePaul 4-3, the Blue Demons have won two straight against the Yellow Jackets, including a 4-2 victory in their last meeting on Feb. 24, 2012, at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla.
Kennesaw State enters the I-75 Challenge with a 4-5 record. The Owls open the Challenge with a doubleheader against Detroit Mercy on Friday before squaring off with DePaul on Saturday. KSU has had limited action in the 2018 as its opening weekend tournament in Louisiana was rained out. The Owls opened 2018 with an 8-0 loss to Hofstra but responded with a 9-7 victory against Bethune-Cookman in game two of the Orange Blossom Tournament. Kennesaw State currently has a two-game winning streak, defeating Florida A&M (6-1) and Morehead State (4-0) in its last two contests.
The Owls are led by sophomore outfielder Olivia Tamewitz and freshman catcher Patricia Awald at the plate. The duo has combined for 19 of KSU's 65 hits on the season and nine of the Owls' 29 RBIs. They have a combined .380 batting average while tallying 27 total bases. Awald has a squad-high .591 slugging percentage while Tamewitz's 11 hits are a team-best. Kennesaw State's four-woman pitching rotation has combined for a 2.73 ERA with junior Hailey Andrews leading the way with an 0.64. As a unit, the foursome has struck out 36 batters in 59 innings where opponents are hitting .254 against them. Saturday's meeting is the first-ever between DePaul and Kennesaw State.
Georgia State has battled through one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA to open the season with a 7-8 record. The Panthers have faced five Top 15 ranked programs, including No. 2 Florida, No. 9 Florida State, No. 10 Alabama, No. 13 Auburn, and No. 18 Michigan. In its 15 games, GSU has picked up wins against UAB, Georgia Tech, St. Francis, Delaware (twice), and Northern Iowa (twice).
The Panthers are paced by senior Ivie Drake as the catcher carries a Panther-best .405 average at the plate. The right-hander has driven in 15 runs on 17 hits, including five doubles, a triple, and three home runs. This combination has garnered Drake a .786 slugging percentage where she has only struck out on six occasions. Junior Remington Hasty has also swung a hot bat for the Panthers where she has connected for 15 hits and a .341 batting average in 15 games.
GSU's one-two punch in the center circle, consisting of Emily Soles and Kinsley Jennings, has posted a 7-4 record between the two where the hurlers have struck out 49 batters in 62.1 innings of work. Opponents are batting .290 against the Panthers' pitching unit, tallying 113 hits. DePaul leads the all-time series with the Georgia State 3-1. The two teams last met in 1986 where the Blue Demons defeated Georgia State 2-1. The Blue Demons look to extend their winning streak against the Panthers to three games on Sunday, having won the last two meetings.
