DePaul Softball’s Game at Northern Illinois on Wednesday Moved to 1 p.m.
4/19/2022 12:17:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Midweek matchup originally scheduled for 3 p.m. start
CHICAGO - DePaul softball's midweek contest set for Wednesday, April 20 at Northern Illinois has been moved to a 1 p.m. start time. Fans can follow the live action and live stats from Mary Bell Field at niuhuskies.com.
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The Blue Demons enter another busy week 20-19 on the season and 9-6 in BIG EAST play. DePaul has won eight of its last 10 contests including six-straight league games. Coming off a three-game series sweep of St. John's, the Blue Demons put up some serious offensive numbers including 34 runs on 40 hits including nine home runs. DePaul batted .482 as a team in the three-game set. Tori Meyer, Brooke Johnson and Anna Wohlers led the way with the trio batting over .630 for the series. Meyer earned herself a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second consecutive week after going 9-for-10 against the Red Storm, scoring eight times and driving in four runs. Johnson and Wohlers went yard three times apiece in the series as Johnson now leads the BIG EAST with 11 home runs on the season. Sarah Lehman earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row after throwing nine innings across two appearances and owning an ERA of 0.78. Over the last 24 innings pitched, the senior right-hander has given up just one earned run. Former All-American Tracie Adix-Zins is in her fourth season as the Blue Demons head coach and is 88-58 (.603) in her time at the helm.
Northern Illinois enters the non-conference meeting 11-21 on the season and 5-12 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies are coming off a three-game series with Kent State where the Flashes took two of the three meetings. NIU took down Butler 10-3 back in February at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Senior infielder Katie Keller sets the tone offensively for the Huskies, batting a team-best .424 while totaling 39 hits, three home runs and 29 RBI. In the circle, sophomore right-hander Emily Dato owns a staff-best 3.83 ERA with a 5-7 record in 18 appearances and 78.2 innings pitched. Christina Sutcliffe is in her ninth season leading the Huskies program.
DePaul leads the all-time series over Northern Illinois, 40-24. The Blue Demons have emerged victorious in the last 18 meetings between the two programs including a 6-5 victory on April 7, 2021 when Brooke Johnson's three-run homer put DePaul in the win column in walk-off fashion.
The Blue Demons will return home to Cacciatore Stadium for the final weekend series of the season, April 22-24, to host Georgetown. The series features three games over three days with the schedule mapping out for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Friday before a 1 p.m. start on Saturday and a 12 p.m. series finale on Sunday. It will be a busy weekend as the Blue Demons will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX on Friday, Senior Day on Saturday and Alumni Day on Sunday.