Softball Opens 2026 Season in Rosemont

Friday, February 6

Rosemont, Ill.

2:30 p.m.

DePaul University

Detroit Mercy

2/5/2026 12:51:00 PM | SOFTBALL

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Blue Demons to play six games over three days

CHICAGO — DePaul softball is set to open the 2026 season by hosting the DePaul Dome Tournament at the Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois Feb. 6-8. The Blue Demons will welcome six teams for the three-day event: Detroit Mercy, Drake, Green Bay, Oakland, Valparaiso, and Western Illinois.

Single-game tickets and all-access passes can be purchased here. The event will not be streamed, but live stats can be followed through the links found here.

DePaul will play two games each day of the tournament, beginning with its season opener on Friday against Detroit Mercy at 2:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with Green Bay at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Blue Demons face Detroit Mercy again at 3 p.m. before taking on Oakland at 5:30 p.m. DePaul concludes the tournament on Sunday with games against Western Illinois at 11:30 a.m. and Green Bay at 2 p.m.

Demon Doings

DePaul enters the 2026 season with nine newcomers, including seven freshmen and two transfers in outfielder Jolie Adams and pitcher Gwen Baker.
The 7 members of the freshman class marks the largest for the Blue Demons since the class of 7 in 2021, featuring Kailie Westphal, Ella Burleson, Kailey Selvage, Camryn Eckhart, Emersyn Coulter, Addy Poe, and Katie Borges.
Head coach Liz Bouck-Jagielski returns for her second season at the helm after leading the Blue Demons to a 16–32 record in her inaugural campaign, marking a seven-win improvement from the previous season.
Four members of DePaul's pitching staff return after combining to start all 48 games last season: Bella Nigey, Kelly Greene, Hannah Messer, and Ava Gusel.

About Detroit Mercy

Detroit Mercy adds eight true freshmen to an already underclassmen-heavy roster for the 2026 season.
Junior Jada Davis returns as the Titans' most experienced bat, the lone player to surpass 100 at-bats last season while recording 11 multi-hit games.
Head coach Dan Vitale enters his third season at the helm after guiding the Titans to a 10-33 overall record, including seven conference wins, in 2025.

About Green Bay

Green Bay welcomes four freshmen to the roster ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Redshirt sophomore Sara Ebner and senior Kendal Herschbach return after appearing in all 51 games last season. Ebner led the Phoenix offensively with a .426 batting average and a 1.092 OPS.
Head coach Sara Kubuske returns for her seventh season, having led Green Bay to four Horizon League Tournament appearances in the past six years. The Phoenix posted a 19-32 record last season.

About Oakland

Six freshmen join the Golden Grizzlies for the 2026 season.
Senior outfielder Kamryn Troyer and junior outfielder Brooklyn Plitz return after being two of three Oakland players to post a batting average above .300 last season.
Chris Stelma returns for his second season as head coach after leading the Golden Grizzlies to an 18-28 record in his debut year.

About Western Illinois

The Leathernecks add two true freshmen and three transfers for the 2026 season.
Utility player Payton Brown returns for her junior year after transferring to Western Illinois prior to last season, leading the team offensively with a .413 batting average and 13 home runs.
Alisa Goler returns for her sixth season as head coach of the Leathernecks.

Series History

DePaul leads the all-time series against Detroit Mercy, 6-5, after opening the 2025 season with a win over the Titans at the Dome Tournament.
DePaul holds a 20-9 advantage over Green Bay, though the Phoenix snapped a seven-game DePaul winning streak with an extra-innings victory at last year's Dome Tournament.
The Demons are 2-1 all-time against Oakland, last meeting in Orlando in 2022, where DePaul lost 1-0 in extra innings.
DePaul leads the series against Western Illinois, 24-9, and is coming off an extra-innings victory over the Leathernecks at last year's Dome Tournament.

UP NEXT
Following opening weekend, the Blue Demons will travel to Tampa, Florida, to compete in the three-day Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF, where they will face Boston College, Indiana State, Kansas, Yale, and host USF.

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