DePaul University
16-30, 0
Georgetown
16-32, 0
DePaul Claims Series Over Georgetown with 5-1 Win
5/6/2023 2:35:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Nigey throws career-high six strikeouts in complete-game win
WASHINGTON, D.C. – DePaul put themselves in the driver's seat to clinch a postseason berth with a 5-1 win over Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.
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The Blue Demons, in need of a series sweep to advance to the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament, started slow, but scored in the final three innings to claim the victory.
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Saturday's production came from the bottom of the lineup as Riley Pool and Addison Talbot combined for four of DePaul's five hits. Pool drove in two runs on a two-run home run while Talbot scored a run.
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Baylee Cosgrove and Brooke Johnson put the Blue Demons on the board in the fifth inning as Cosgrove was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Johnson lifted a sac fly to center.
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Senior Tori Meyer reached base twice on the afternoon, drawing a walk before adding the insurance in the seventh with an RBI-single to right center.
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Right-hander Bella Nigey was firing on all cylinders in the circle, surrendering just one unearned run on four hits. Nigey registered a career-high six strikeouts to earn her seventh win of the season.
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How it Happened
Both sides struggled to find their groove at the plate in the early stages of the contest as the teams combined for four left aboard through the first two innings. However, Nigey found her footing from the start, hurling five strikeouts through two frames.
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Georgetown hung a run in the third after loading the bases and bringing one across on a sacrifice fly. Nigey registered her sixth punchout of the contest to leave the bases juiced.
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The Hoyas had a pair of runners aboard in the home half of the fourth before Johnson wiped them off the base paths with an inning-ending double play.
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DePaul turned the page and pushed two across in the fifth to take a one-run lead. Pool sent a base hit to shallow left and Talbot followed up with a double to put runners in scoring position. Sullivan was hit by a pitch to load the bases and on the very next at bat Cosgrove pushed one across on another HBP. Johnson put the Blue Demons in front on a sac fly to center with pinch runner Gracie Jacobs crossing home.
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The Blue Demons added on in the sixth as Frazier worked a two-out, six-pitch walk before Pool sent one over the right field wall to widen the lead to 4-1.
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The seventh inning saw DePaul add an insurance run with Sullivan drawing a leadoff walk, Johnson reaching on a Georgetown fielding error and Meyer knocking one in on a single to right center to extend the advantage to 5-1.
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Nigey retired the final nine Hoya batters to clinch the victory.
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Up Next
The Blue Demons and Hoyas will close out the three-game set on Sunday, May 7. First pitch from the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is slated for 11 a.m. (CT). With a win, DePaul will clinch its 17th-consecutive berth to the BIG EAST Tournament.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nigey, Bella (7-7)
L: Brooke Plonka (7-13)
Batting:
2B: Talbot, Addison 1
HR: Pool, Riley 1
RBI: Cosgrove, Baylee 1 ; Johnson, Brooke 1 ; Meyer, Tori 1 ; Pool, Riley 2
SF: Johnson, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sullivan, Nicole 1 ; Frazier, Grace 1 ; Pool, Riley 1 ; Jacobs, Gracie 1 ; Talbot, Addison 1
CS: Meyer, Tori 1
HBP: Sullivan, Nicole 1 ; Cosgrove, Baylee 2
Batting:
RBI: Mae Forshey 1
SF: Mae Forshey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Claire Turner 1
SB: Claire Turner 1
