Softball Heads West for Judi Garman Classic

CHICAGO - DePaul softball rounds out their tournament schedule with the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The Blue Demons will face their first ranked opponents of the season, meeting No. 13 Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. CT while facing No. 18 UCLA and No. 17 Texas A&M on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT and 7 p.m. CT, respectively. DePaul (3-11) will wrap up the tournament on Sunday, competing against San Jose State and Fresno State at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CT.

Coverage of all games can be found through StatBroadcast.

BLUE DEMON BITS

DePaul is second in the BIG EAST in batting average (.255) and third in slugging percentage (.395).
Brooke Johnson ranks first in the conference in hits (20), total bases (42) and home runs (6) while placing second in batting average (.444) and slugging percentage (.993). Johnson's six home runs rank 13th in the country and match her season total from a year ago while her 42 total bases are good for 17th in the nation.
Graduate pitcher Brenna Smith leads the team with a 1.04 ERA, which is good for first in the conference and within the top-65 in the nation.
Sophomore Bella Nigey threw the first shutout of the season and second of her career against Memphis on Feb. 25.
Freshman Morgan Rogers is fourth in the BIG EAST in stolen bases, totaling six through her first 12 games.

ABOUT FLORIDA

Florida is ranked No. 13 in the country and owns a 15-2 record.
Redshirt senior Skylar Wallace leads the Gators offense with a .532 batting average and a 1.021 slugging percentage.
Freshman Ava Brown paces the team in the circle, tallying a 6-0 record with a 0.22 ERA while ranking first in the nation.
The Gators are averaging 9.94 runs per game and holds a .388 batting average as a team, which ranks third nationally.
Tim Walton is in his 19th season leading the Gators.
DePaul leads the all-time series against Florida, 3-2. The last meeting between the two came on Feb. 25, 2022.

ABOUT UCLA

UCLA has a 7-5 record on the season and is ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Redshirt senior Maya Brady leads the team with a .395 batting average, notching 11 runs on 15 hits and owning a team-best slugging percentage of .816.
Sophomore Taylor Tinsley is the Bruins' leading pitcher with an ERA of 2.76 and throwing four complete games, three of which came last weekend.
Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her 18th season at the helm of the Bruins.
UCLA leads the all-time series, 7-1. This is the first meeting between the two programs since 2004.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M has an overall record of 15-1 and is ranked No. 17 in the country.
Junior outfielder Allie Enright leads the offense, batting .513 on the young season. Enright has recorded 13 runs on 20 hits and 21 RBIs while earning a 1.077 slugging percentage.
Junior Emiley Kennedy is the Aggies leader in the circle. Kennedy is 7-0 on the season with a 0.64 ERA pitching 43.2 innings and six complete games.
Trisha Ford is in her second season with the Aggies.
DePaul leads the all-time series, 2-1. The last meeting between the two programs came in 2008 in Fullerton, Calif.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE

San Jose State has a 5-4 record on the season, earning wins over Cal Poly and Seattle.
Junior infielder Taylor Squires leads the Spartans with a .444 batting average while sophomore Reina Zermeno has recorded 10 hits and a team-best slugging percentage of .667.
Junior Lacie Ham paces the team in the circle, recording an ERA of 3.36 while pitching two complete games, including a shutout against Seattle.
Tammy Lohmann is in her fourth season leading the Spartans.
This is the first meeting between San Jose State and DePaul.

ABOUT FRESNO STATE

Fresno State has started the season with a record of 11-4, including a 4-0 weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic.
Sophomore catcher/first baseman Kennedy Bunker leads the team on offense with a batting average of .500. She has 22 hits, 12 RBI and 31 total bases in addition to a team-high slugging percentage of .705.
Redshirt senior Taylor Gilmore has posted a 2.29 ERA, pitching 51 innings and two complete games.
Stacy May-Johnson is in her third season leading the Bulldogs.
The all-time series is tied, 6-6, between the two programs. This will be the first meeting since 2012.

UP NEXT
DePaul begins conference play as Georgetown comes to Chicago, March 8-10. All three games will be broadcast on FloSoftball.

FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
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2024 TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket packages for the 2024 DePaul Softball season are available now. Season ticket packages start at just $39 and for a limited time includes an exclusive DePaul mini bat. Single-game tickets and Group Ticket Offers are on sale now and start at $5. Fans can visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets for more information.