DePaul University
Oakland
Softball Travels to Orlando for Knights Classic
2/24/2022 7:36:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Blue Demons face Oakland, Ole Miss, UCF and No. 4 Florida in third weekend of the season
CHICAGO – The DePaul softball squad hits the road for the second time in as many weekends with a trip to Orlando, Fla. for the Knights Classic hosted by University of Central Florida Feb. 25-27. The Blue Demons will face four teams across five games including matchups with No. 4 Florida, Ole Miss, Oakland and UCF.Â
DePaul will face Oakland at 1:30 p.m (CT) on Friday before facing No. 4 Florida at 7:30 p.m. Saturday will see the Blue Demons take on Ole Miss at 10 a.m. and UCF at 3 p.m. DePaul will close out weekend competition against the Rebels on Sunday at 8 a.m.Â
Live updates can be found by following @DePaulSB on Twitter and live stat links can be found on the DePaul softball schedule page.Â
Last Time Out
The Blue Demons won their first five contests of the season, but have lost the last three at the Torero Classic in San Diego, Calif. Last weekend. DePaul took opening-weekend by storm going 4-0 at the DePaul Dome Tournament in Rosemont, Ill. with wins over Valparaiso, Murray State, St. Thomas and Western Michigan. In the inaugural game of the second weekend, the Blue Demons took down Iowa 13-0 in five innings. DePaul lost the ensuing three contests to San Diego, Oregon State and South Dakota State.Â
Johnson Selected to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Junior first baseman Brooke Johnson brought the fire to the plate last weekend, batting .455 with a league-leading eight RBI to land on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Johnson totaled five hits on the weekend, three of which were home runs and reached base at a .53 clip. The Chino Hills, Calif native leads the Blue Demons in seven offensive categories including batting average (.455), slugging (1.045), hits (10), home runs (four) and RBI (12.) Johnson has drawn four walks and struck out on just two occasions.
Scouting Oakland
Oakland will see its first action of 2022 at the Knights Classic. The Golden Grizzlies finished 2021 with a 26-16 record, reaching the Horizon League title game to close out their season. Oakland returns a quintet of All-Horizon League performers in Cammie Brummitt, Lauren Griffith, Madison Jones, Sydney Campbell and Jen Krizka. Oakland was picked to finish first in the Horizon League in their preseason coaches' poll, with a total of two first-place votes and 82 points. The Blue Demons hold the all-time series against the Golden Grizzlies 2-0 with the two previous meetings coming in 2002.Â
Scouting UCF
The Knights are 7-5 on the season and have tallied wins over then No. 12 Georgia, RV Liberty, RV Fresno State, No. 11 Texas and Texas Tech. Cindy Ball-Malone is in her fourth season at the helm of the Knights and is just the second coach in program history. In 2021, the Knights went 41-19-1 and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Saturday will mark the fifth meeting between the programs. DePaul holds the series advantage 3-1. The last matchup came in February of 2013 with the Blue Demons winning 5-3.Â
Scouting Florida
No. 4 Florida remains undefeated heading into the third weekend of the season. The Gators are 12-0 and surrendered just one run in its first four games while scoring 26 runs of their own. Florida has eight hitters batting over .300 so far, including three over .400. Kendra Falby leads the way with a .513 average through 39 at-bats, homering once and knocking in seven RBI. As a team, Florida is hitting .358. Freshman right-hander Lexie Delbrey has pitched the most innings earning a 1.06 ERA through 26.1 innings of work with 31 strikeouts. Tim Walton enters his 17th season at the helm and has led the Gators to national prominence. The Blue Demons and Gators last met in 2007 with DePaul holding the series edge 3-1.Â
Scouting Ole Miss
Ole Miss enters travels to Orlando with an 8-3 record to their credit. The Rebels have won four of their last five coming off an appearance at the Troy Invitational. Tate Whitley leads the way at the plate for Ole Miss, batting .500 with eight RBI. An additional three Rebels are hitting above .300 starting and playing in all 11 games. Savannah Diederich has pitched 24.1 innings with 26 punchouts for a 3-0 record. Jamie Traschel is in her second season leading the way in Oxford. Traschel led the Rebels to their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021 in her first season. The Blue Demons and Rebels have met just twice with DePaul taking the first two meetings. Saturday will mark the first matchup since 2014.
Leaders Lead
The Blue Demons return sixth-year senior Skylor Hilger in addition to a trio of fifth-year seniors Maranda Gutierrez, Kate Polucha and Natalie Halvorson. Add-in graduate transfer Lehman and the Blue Demons have experience up and down the lineup. Juniors Brooke Johnson, Grace Frazier and Tori Meyer saw their first taste of collegiate softball in 2021 and will bolster the veteran laiden-crew.Â
There's a First Time for Everything
A pair of Blue Demons notched the first hits of their collegiate careers last weekend at the DePaul Dome Tournament. Sophomore catcher Riley Pool knocked a single to center field in the season-opener against Valparaiso for her first base hit, while freshman Anna Wohlers sent an RBI double to center field in a win over Western Michigan to mark her first hit of a promising career.
Adix at her Alma Mater
The Blue Demons are led by former All-American pitcher Tracie Adix-Zins, now in her fourth year at the helm in Lincoln Park. Adix led DePaul to two appearances in the WCWS in 2005 and 2007 and finished her senior season with a .89 ERA and was honored as an NFCA Second-Team All-American. Since returning to Chicago, Adix-Zins has led the Blue Demons to a pair of BIG EAST Championships (1 regular season, 1 tournament), an NCAA Tournament Appearance whilst navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic. DePaul has amassed a 73-38 (.658) record under the direction of Adix-Zins.Â
Playing the Best
Adix-Zins assembled a strong 2022 schedule for the Blue Demons including contests with 12 NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago and 10 of those reigning from power five conferences. DePaul will host local foes Illinois and Northwestern at Cacciatore Stadium for midweek matchups while also traveling to Notre Dame.Â
Up Next
Following the weekend trip to the Sunshine State, DePaul will head to Oklahoma for the OSU/Tulsa Invitational. The Blue Demons will meet Tulsa for a pair of contests before facing Minnesota, Stanford and Oklahoma State.Â
