DePaul Bests Northwestern 9-5 in Purple Line Showdown

Wednesday, April 8

4 p.m.

DePaul University

14-24

Northwestern

17-19

Northwestern

DePaul

DePaul Bests Northwestern 9-5 in Purple Line Showdown

4/8/2026 6:44:00 PM | SOFTBALL

Box Score

Blue Demons pick up first win over Wildcats since 2019

CHICAGO – DePaul softball defeated regional rival Northwestern for the first time since 2019, earning a 9-5 victory Wednesday afternoon at Cacciatore Stadium.

The Blue Demons delivered a strong offensive performance, highlighted by Kali Blount, who went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in the third inning, her first of the season. Freshman Addy Poe added two RBIs with a pinch-hit inside-the-park home run. Brooke Cwick, Jolie Adams, and Chelsea Parker each drove in a run as DePaul narrowly out-hit Northwestern, 7-6.

Sophomore right-hander Gwen Baker made her third start of the season in the circle before Ava Gusel entered in relief after 2.0 innings. Gusel worked 1.0 inning, followed by Hannah Messer, who closed out the final 4.0 innings to secure the win and improve to 7-11 on the season.

How It Happened
Northwestern (17-19, 5-7 Big Ten) struck first in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to left-center for a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats added another run in the third to extend their advantage to 2-0.

DePaul (14-24, 4-11 BIG EAST) responded in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back hits from Katie Borges and Zoe Levine put runners on the corners before Levine's heads-up baserunning moved both into scoring position. Alexis Houge drew a walk to load the bases, and Jolie Adams delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1. Chelsea Parker followed with a hit-by-pitch to bring in the tying run. Houge then stole home to give DePaul a 3-2 lead before Blount broke the game open with a three-run homer, pushing the advantage to 6-2.
The Wildcats answered in the fourth with an RBI double and a run scored on an error to trim the lead to 6-4.

DePaul added insurance in the sixth when pinch hitter Brooke Cwick delivered an RBI double. Poe followed with a pinch-hit inside-the-park home run to extend the lead to 9-4.

Northwestern added a run in the seventh, but the Blue Demons quickly closed out the inning to secure the 9-5 victory.

Up Next
The Blue Demons return to action across town for the second of two games against local rival UIC on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is set for 4 p.m., and the game will stream live on ESPN+.

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