Softball Hosts Northern Illinois on Wednesday

Wednesday, April 7

Chicago, Ill.

2:30 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Northern Illinois

Softball Hosts Northern Illinois on Wednesday

4/6/2021 6:21:00 PM | SOFTBALL

Blue Demons and Huskies to meet for 64th time

CHICAGO – DePaul softball returns to Cacciatore Stadium on Wednesday as Northern Illinois visits Lincoln Park for a 2:30 p.m. non-conference matchup.

DePaul (14-7, 6-0 BIG EAST) looks to continue an impressive win streak that dates back to March 13. The Blue Demons have won seven in a row behind series sweeps of conference opponents St. John's and UConn and a single-game victory over local rival Loyola.

Wednesday's action can be followed on DePaul All-Access by visiting depaulbluedemons.com.

DePaul at a Glance: The Blue Demons boast a potent offense with four batters recording 20 or more hits on the season. Senior Kate Polucha leads the way as the left fielder has amassed a team-high in hits with 22, RBI with 16 and home runs with five. Fellow senior Jessica Cothern paces the Blue Demons with a .362 batting average and .456 on-base percentage. The Blue Demons rank first in the BIG EAST in scoring with an average of 5.48 runs per game. In the circle, DePaul relies on a mix of experience and youth. Krista Dalgarn and Natalie Halvorson lead the way with nine starts apiece. Dalgarn is 8-1 on the season while Halvorson is 4-3. Freshman Julyana Gomez picked up her second win of the season on Friday, April 2 in a 6-4 victory over UConn. Gomez allowed just one hit in 4.2 innings of work and threw a career-high six strikeouts.

Pair of Blue Demons Earn #BIGEASTsb Weekly Honors: Maranda Gutierrez and Natalie Halvorson were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon for their performances in last week as DePaul posted a 4-0 mark. Gutierrez posted team-best .455 average and a slugging percentage of .909 on the week. The shortstop totaled five RBI on five hits through four contests. Halvorson went 1-0 and earned a save in three appearances last week. Halvorson threw for 11.0 innings and totaled five strikeouts while surrendering just one walk. The senior pitcher allowed just one earned run on four hits in five innings of work in Friday's 5-1 victory over UConn.

Scouting the Huskies: Northern Illinois enters the midweek contest with an 8-18 record on the season including a 3-9 mark in the MAC. The Huskies dropped a three-game series to Toledo, April 2-4. Katie Keller has proven to be an offensive threat for NIU. The junior leads the team with a .403 average to go along with 29 hits and 20 RBI. Freshman Claire Norred has seen the bulk of the work in the circle with 78.1 innings pitched on the season in 20 appearances. Norred has thrown 56 strikeouts and holds a 3-10 record in the circle.

Series Stuff: DePaul leads the all-time series over Northern Illinois, 39-24. The Blue Demons have emerged victorious in the last 17 meetings between the two programs. The squads last met in 2020 at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Ill. where DePaul won 6-0.

Last Time Out: DePaul claimed the series sweep over UConn on Saturday, April 3 with a 4-2 victory at Cacciatore Stadium to extend its win streak to seven. Facing a 1-0 deficit after the first inning, the Blue Demons put up four runs across the next three innings to secure the victory. Gabby O'Riley tallied a two-run home run in the second inning while Angela Scalzitti blasted a solo homer in the bottom of the third. Skylor Hilger crossed the plate to add an insurance run in the fourth inning after an infield single off the bat of Kate Polucha.

Next Up: The Blue Demons resume BIG EAST play with a trip to Villanova, April 10-11. The Wildcats were voted preseason favorite in the league's coaches' poll while DePaul was selected second. Saturday will feature a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. CT while Sunday's single game is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. from the Villanova Softball complex.