University of Louisville
DePaul
Softball Sweeps DePaul Doubleheader
March 30, 2011 | Softball
March 30, 2011
CHICAGO - - The University of Louisville softball team swept host DePaul 2-1 and 13-2 Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader. The Cards improve to 23-10, while the Blue Demons drop to 17-10 on the season.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Cards took advantage of three DePaul errors to score two runs in the sixth to give Louisville a 2-1 win over the Blue Demons.
The teams played through two scoreless innings before DePaul broke through with a run in the third. Lynsey Ciezki drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Marla Mathews groundout. A passed ball sent her to third and she came home when Alex Morocco beat the throw on a two-out infield single.
The Cardinals answered in the top of the sixth. Hannah Kiyohara reached on an error. A two-out error allowed Colby Wherry to reach. Maggie Ruckenbrod followed with a single to centerfield bringing Kiyohara home and Wherry crossed the plate on the third miscue of the inning to give Louisville a 2-1 lead.
Caralisa Connell (9-4) got the win, allowing one unearned run on four hits and striking out two in 7.0 innings.
Kirsten Verdun (9-3) took the loss, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and striking out five in 7.0 innings. Morocco was 2-for-3 with two runs to lead DePaul at the plate.
In game two, the Cards took a 1-0 lead in the second when Chelsea Bemis drilled a one-out shot over the left field fence for her team-leading fifth home run of the season.
U of L took advantage of three errors and a hit by Hannah Kiyohara to score a pair of runs in the third. Katie Keller reached on an error and moved to second on another error when Jennifer Esteban reached on a fielder's choice. Both runners advanced on Hannah Kiyohara's bunt single and took another base on a throwing error to increase the Cards' lead to 2-0. Alicja Wolny walked to place runners on the corners for a double steal which sent Esteban home and made the score 3-0.
DePaul got a run back in the home half of the third. Megan Coronado drew a leadoff walk, took second on Sarah Shizas' sacrifice bunt and scored on a Louisville error to make it a 3-1 game.
Louisville used five hits, two walks and two errors to score eight runs in the fourth. Bemis and Kristin Austin delivered back-to-back singles to start the inning. Taner Fowler's double plated pinch runner Chelsea Jordan. Katie Keller's walk loaded the bases. Esteban's groundout scored Austin for the first out of the inning. Wolny walked and Wherry followed with a two-run single. Maggie Ruckenbrod's two-run single sent Wolny and Wherry home. Bemis came back to the plate for the second time in the inning and reached on a three-base error and crossed the plate on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 11-1.
The Blue Demons added a run in the bottom of the fourth. Kristen Verdun and Katelyn Braget opened the innings with hits and advanced on Samantha Dodd's groundout. A two-out error plated Verdun to make the score 11-2.
The Cards tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Fowler and Christina Roesel walked and two illegal pitches moved them around and allowed both runners to cross the plate for the 13-2 final.
Connell (10-4) got the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits and striking out two in 5.0 innings. Bemis was 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs. Wherry and Ruckenbrod each had a hit and two RBIs.
Bree Brown (5-3) took the loss, allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits and striking out three in 3.0 innings.
U of L will resume BIG EAST Conference action this weekend when they play host to Seton Hall in a three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader at noon Saturday and a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.
