DePaul Falls to Illinois State, 7-2

Tuesday, April 13

Normal, Ill.

5:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

16-9

Illinois State

21-5

DePaul

Illinois State

4/13/2021 7:51:00 PM | SOFTBALL

Box Score

Blue Demon bats struggle in midweek matchup

NORMAL, Ill. – DePaul softball fell behind early and struggled from behind the plate in a 7-2 setback at Illinois State on Tuesday evening.

The Blue Demons tallied just three hits in 23 at bats on the afternoon while the Redbirds knocked in nine hits on 28 opportunities.

Senior Kate Polucha provided the offense for DePaul with a solo home run and a sacrifice RBI. Angela Scalzitti tallied a hit in the sixth inning and Hilger recorded a base knock in the top of the seventh inning.

Illinois State (21-5, 7-1 Missouri Valley) took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning behind a leadoff walk and three hits.

Polucha put the Blue Demons on the board with a solo shot to left field for her team-leading sixth home run of the season.

DePaul (16-9, 7-1 BIG EAST) senior pitcher Krista Dalgarn retired nine straight Illinois State batters across the third, fourth and fifth innings to keep the Redbirds at bay.

In the top of the sixth, Scalzitti tapped a single to left field before being advanced to third on a fielding error and throwing miscue. At the next at bat, Polucha flied out to left field and scored Scalzitti to make it a one-run ball game.

The bottom half of the inning saw the Redbirds score four insurance runs behind two solo home runs, a DePaul throwing error and a total of five hits.

Hilger slapped a bunt down the third base line in the top of the seventh inning but it was not enough to spark a Blue Demons rally.

Redbirds pitcher Morgan Day threw 15 strikeouts on the outing to improve to 12-4 on the season while DePaul's Natalie Halvorson fell to 5-4 in 2021 with the decision.

DePaul returns home to Cacciatore Stadium as Creighton travels to Lincoln Park for a weekend series, April 17-18. Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at Noon with coverage on DePaul All-Access.