DePaul Falls to Illinois, 6-1

Wednesday, April 27

Chicago, Ill.

2:30 P.M. CT

DePaul University

24-20

Illinois

30-16

Illinois

DePaul

4/27/2022 5:54:00 PM | SOFTBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Blue Demons bats go cold in midweek matchup with in-state rival

CHICAGO — On a brisk Wednesday at Cacciatore Stadium, the DePaul offense was cooled off as the Blue Demons mustered just one hit in a 6-1 setback to Illinois.

Nicole Sullivan's solo home run over the left field wall in the seventh inning put DePaul on the board to prevent the no hitter. The Blue Demons saw just three reach base with Maranda Gutierrez and Sullivan each drawing a walk.

Senior Erin Hocker went four innings in the circle, surrendering six runs on eight hits while Sarah Lehman threw three innings in relief and allowed just three hits and a pair of walks.

Illinois (30-19) took a 2-0 advantage after the second inning on a sacrifice fly to left field and an RBI-single to the left side. The Fighting Illini added four more runs in the fifth to push the lead to six runs on three hits and a DePaul fielding error.

Down to the final out of the contest, Sullivan recorded her fifth home run of the season with a two-out shot to left to put the Blue Demons on the scoreboard, but the rally was halted there.

Wednesday's decision snapped a seven game win-streak for the Blue Demons. DePaul (24-20) maintains hold of the all-time series with Illinois, 14-10-1.

DePaul will hit the road for its penultimate BIG EAST series of the season with a trip to Creighton for a three-game set, April 29-May 1, in Omaha. Friday's series opener is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with all three games streaming on FloSoftball.