Saluki Invitational Up Next for DePaul

CHICAGO - DePaul softball is back this weekend and head down south to Carbondale, Ill. to face mostly in-state foes Western Illinois, IUPUI, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois in the Saluki Invitational Friday through Sunday.

The Saluki Invitational dates back to 1981. This season is DePaul's fourth appearance in the tournament and the first since 2011.

The Blue Demons went 2-3 at the Samford Tournament two weekends ago, taking down Georgia Tech and Samford. Senior third baseman Erin Andris leads the team with 17 hits, four home runs and 16 RBI. Sophomore utility Gabby O'Riley is right behind her with 15 hits, three home runs and 13 RBI.
Junior shortstop Maranda Gutierrez has crossed the plate a team-leading 16 times with a .325 batting average.

Senior Krista Dalgarn (4-3) leads DePaul's five-woman pitching staff with a 4.19 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched. She has tallied 23 strikeouts in 11 appearances. The Orange, Calif. native has thrown the sole shutout for DePaul through the season so far. Freshman Tori Meyer (0-1) and sophomore transfer Erin Hocker (0-2) have each earned a save and seven strikeouts apiece. Junior Natalie Halvorson (1-2) sits third in Blue Demon ERA with 6.56 and has tallied 20 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched.

SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS (4-10, 0-0 Summit League | Picked T-5th in SL)

Led by Alyssa Ealy who is hitting .349. She has tallied 15 hits and three RBI.
Kellie Marcheschi has a team-leading pair of home runs.
Welcomed three newcomers, lost five.
Returns 14 total players, eight starters.
Enters second season under head coach Beth Golitko who returned to her Alma Mater last season. She graduated from Western Illinois in 2011.

SERIES STUFF

This is the first time the Blue Demons will take on the Leathernecks since 2008.
DePaul has a 10 game winning streak against Western Illinois.

SCOUTING IUPUI (3-12, 0-0 Horizon League | Picked 6th in SL)

Entering second season under Elisabeth Beirne.
Eight starters returned with one lost.
Welcomed six newcomers this season.
Three Jaguars have hit a home run this season.
Jaida Speth and Rachael Gregory lead the team with 16 hits and nine RBI a piece.
Kayana Diederich is posting a 7.71 ERA through nine appearances. She's thrown 15 strikeouts and walked 13 through 39.2 innings pitched.

SERIES STUFF

The two faced off last season with DePaul claiming an 11-8 win over the Jaguars.
The Blue Demons are on a seven game winning streak against IUPUI.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (4-10, 0-0 Summit League | Picked T-5th in SL)

Won five straight games; 11 of their last 12 games.
Susie Baranski is batting a team-high .408 with 20 hits and four RBI.
Kyleigh Decker leads the squad with 19 RBI and a .723 slugging percentage. She sits behind Baranski with a .362 batting average.
Sarah Harness (7-4) is posting a 2.31 ERA and has struck out 65 batters through 60.2 innings pitched.

SERIES STUFF

This is the first matchup between the two since 2017 when DePaul earned a 2-1 win in nine innings.
Blue Demons are on a three game winning streak.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS (5-10, 0-0 MAC | Picked 7th in MAC)

Danielle Williams has a squad-highest batting average with .417.
Katie Keller leads the team with 11 runs, 20 hits, two home runs and seven RBI. She has a team-high slugging percentage (.627).
Amber Bumbalough is throwing a 5.63 ERA through 11 appearances in 32.1 innings pitched.
Delaney Ostrowski has earned a save and 16 strikeouts.

SERIES STUFF

First matchup since 2018. DePaul won that game 4-2.
Blue Demons own a 36-15 advantage and is on a 15 game winning streak.

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Players Mentioned

Erin Andris

Krista Dalgarn

Maranda Gutierrez

Natalie Halvorson

Erin Hocker

Tori Meyer

Gabby O'Riley