Softball Heads South to Cardinal Classic

CHICAGO – The DePaul softball team returns to the field March 6-8 with five games on the slate over a three-day span.The Blue Demons will travel south down Interstate 65 to take part in the Cardinal Classic hosted by Louisville.

DePaul (5-4) will face the Cardinal for a matchup on Saturday, March 6 at 11 a.m. CT with coverage provided on ACC Network Extra. The Blue Demons will close out day one at Ulmer Stadium with a matchup against Miami (Ohio) at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. DePaul will wrap up play in the Bluegrass state with a meeting against the Redhawks at 11 a.m.

Before returning home, DePaul will make a pit stop in Peoria, Ill. for a doubleheader with Bradley. The first contest is set to begin at Noon with action televised on ESPN+.

DePaul at a Glance: The Blue Demons enter the weekend with a 5-4 mark after going 2-2 last weekend with action at Southern Illinois and Saint Louis. At the plate, Jessica Cothern and Angela Scalzitti are leading the Blue Demons with 12 hits apiece. Sophomore Tori Meyer has a team-high eight RBI's and boasts a .500 batting average. Scalzitti leads the squad with five doubles and two triples. In the circle, Krista Dalgarn and Natalie Halvorson have seen the majority of the work with the veteran duo combining for 49.2 of DePaul's 61.0 innings on the season. Dalgarn has tallied 23 strikeouts to Halvorson's 16.

Dalgarn Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week: Krista Dalgarn earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday, March 1.Dalgarn picked up wins over Ball State and Saint Louis in three appearances last weekend. In 14.2 innings of work, Dalgarn threw 14 strikeouts, including nine in a complete game victory over Ball State on Friday morning.The Orange, Calif. native did not allow an earned run in four innings of work against Saint Louis on Sunday as the DePaul recorded an 8-5 win. Monday marked the first Pitcher of the Week accolade for Dalgarn in her career.

Scouting Louisville: The Cardinal enter the weekend with a 3-6 record after playing their first nine games on the road in a three-week span. Junior Taylor Roby leads the way for Louisville with a .346 average to go with three home runs and 10 RBI's. Jennifer Leonhardt holds a 2.10 ERA in the circle and has struck out 15 in 16.2 innings of work. Head Coach Holly Aprile is in her third season at the helm of the Cardinal program.

Scouting Miami (Ohio): The Redhawks come into the Cardinal Classic with a 4-5 record. Miami returns to All-MAC selections to the circle in Brianna Pratt and Courtney Viestra while Kaylee Juarez leads the Redhawks behind the plate with a .414. batting average. Miami was selected to finish second in the 2021 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Kirin Kumar is in her first season as the Redhawks head coach.

Scouting Bradley: Bradley has played just three games in 2021 and brings a 1-2 record into the weekend. The Braves dropped two contests against common opponent, Western Illinois during their opener but took down Saint Louis, 5-4. Camryn Monteer leads the Braves at the plate with a .667 batting average through three games. Morgan Radford leads the pitching core for the Braves with a 6.63 ERA, three strikeouts and one win. Amy Hayes is in her 13th season leading the Braves.

Series Stuff: DePaul leads the all-time series with the Cardinal, 25-21 with a majority of meetings coming as friendly foes in Conference USA. The last meeting between the two programs came in April of 2015 when the Blue Demons won 5-0 at Cacciatore Stadium… DePaul and Miami will meet for the first time in program history this weekend… DePaul and Bradley will meet for the 23rd and 24th time on Monday afternoon. The Blue Demons hold the slight edge, 12-10. The last time the two programs met was in Las Cruces, N.M. in 2017. Monday marks DePaul's first trip to Peoria since 1997.

Next Up: After a weekend full of action, DePaul will prepare for their opening BIG EAST series at St. John's March 12-13.

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Cothern

Krista Dalgarn

Natalie Halvorson

Tori Meyer

Angela Scalzitti

DePaul University Athletics