DePaul Defeats Minnesota, 2-0 in 12 Innings

Lindsay Chouinard

It took 12 innings before a run scored, but the second-seeded DePaul (48-9) softball team finally pushed two runs across defeating third-seeded Minnesota (38-20) 2-0 in NCAA play. The Blue Demons are now 2-0 in the region after the longest game in DePaul postseason history and are 5-1 against Big Ten teams this season.

Gina Ramacci led off the 12th inning with a single and was pinch run for by Molly Sircher. Sarah Douglas and Dana Kenney followed with two bunt singles loading the bases. Jenny Doezie was retired on the infield fly rule, but the shortstop dropped the ball allowing Sircher to come home with the first run of the ball game. After Bouck popped out, Sarah Martz followed with a single to left field bringing home Sarah Douglas and giving the Blue Demons’ a 2-0 lead.

Lindsay Chouinard retired the side in the bottom half of the 12th inning giving DePaul the victory. Chouinard struck out 10 Gophers giving up only seven hits and walking one. She improves to 30-4 this season and tossed her 31st complete game of the season, a new single-season record. Her ERA sits at 0.40 heading into tomorrow’s game.

Minnesota starter Piper Marten (23-12) didn’t allow an earned run in 12 innings. She struck out 11, walked one and gave up eight hits.

Liz Bouck and Shavaughne Desecki both picked up two hits for the Demons and Sarah Douglas finished with a hit and a run scored.

Both teams had several opportunities to score beginning In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and Gopher Anne Thul on second base, Angie Recknor singled off April Valdez’s glove. Bouck retrieved the ball in center field and fired a strike home and Gina Ramacci put the tag on Thul pushing the game into the tenth inning.

The Blue Demons threatened in the top of the ninth when Desecki singled with one out and was pinch ran for by Ashley Parker. Valdez laid down a sacrifice bunt reaching on an error by second baseman Shelly Nichols, moving runners to second and third. Marten escaped the jam striking out Ramacci and getting Sarah Douglas to fly out to right field.

In the eighth, DePaul threatened again when Sarah Douglas reached on an error opening the inning. Kenney sacrificed her to second and Bouck beat out a bunt putting runners on the corners with two outs. Martz popped out to third base ending the threat.

Up next, DePaul faces the winner of tonight’s Arizona vs. Penn State game tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. The Blue Demons defeated Penn State in the opener of regional play 3-1.