May 21, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The DePaul Blue Demons (40-13) were able to squeeze out two runs on Indiana (37-17) and ace Morgan Melloh despite getting just one hit on the afternoon, taking advantage of three Hoosier errors to open the Columbia Regional with a 2-1 victory.
Indiana got on the board first after a scoreless inning and a half to go up 1-0. Melloh helped herself with a leadoff single into left-center field, collecting the first hit of the game for either team. Melloh then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt, and would advance to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Kelsey Stander executed a perfect slap single right in front of home plate, legging it out at first base for a single while Melloh scored on a play at the plate.
The Blue Demons got that run back in the next half inning, taking advantage of some sluggish defense by the Hoosiers. Brittney Yniguez took a leadoff walk on four pitches and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt to get into scoring position. A throwing error on a groundball to the shortstop by Alex Morocco allowed Yniguez to come around and score, evening the game at 1-1. A fielder's choice and a stolen base would give DePaul a pair in scoring position with just one out, but Melloh worked a foul out and a strikeout to avoid any further damage.
Neither team got much of a chance to score until the Hoosiers had their leadoff hitter reach in the bottom of the fifth by a hit by pitch. With one out, she'd advance to second on a wild pitch, but DePaul pitcher Lindsey Dean got a strikeout and a groundout to third, ending the inning.
DePaul finally got their first hit off Melloh with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, as Samantha Dodd roped a single down the line in left field. She'd advance to third after swiping second and moving to third after the shortstop misplayed the throw. The Blue Demons would put two in scoring position after a walk and another stolen base, but Melloh's 10th strikeout of the game kept the Blue Demons from taking the lead.
The Hoosiers' first two runners were put on base via a walk and a hit by pitch, but Dean got Amanda Wagner to line into a double play at first to quickly put two outs on the board. Dean then got Melloh to groundout back to the circle, ending the threat.
In the top of the seventh, DePaul finally broke through with a run, taking advantage of a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Marla Mathews. Megan Coronado would re-enter the game to run for Mathews, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, the Hoosiers intentionally walked Morocco, setting up a successful double steal by the Blue Demons to put two runners in scoring position. From there, Coronado scored on a wild pitch to put DePaul up 2-1.
Indiana led off the seventh with a double by Jenna Abraham into the right field corner, but she was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a single. Dean then got a line out and a ground out to secure the victory.
Dean improved to 11-6 on the year with a complete game performance, giving up just four hits and one run while walking two and striking out four. Melloh gave up just the one hit and one earned run but took the loss to fall to 32-16. She struck out 11 and walked four.
DePaul will play the winner of the Missouri-Illinois State game at 3 p.m. CT. Indiana falls to the elimination game, where they'll face the loser of the Tigers and Redbirds, beginning at 5:30 p.m.