DePaul Advances To NCAA Softball Super Regional, USF Falls To Bethune-Cookman In Final

Megan Huitink

It took a pair of games, but the DePaul Blue Demons clinched a spot in next weekend's inaugural NCAA Softball Super Regional action with an 8-6 victory over Oregon State in Madison, Wis., on Sunday. The Beavers blanked DePaul 7-0 to force the second and decisive game of Region No. 8 action at the University of Wisconsin.

DePaul will face cross-town rival Northwestern in a best-of-three series to reach the NCAA Softball College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., on June 2-8. Site and game times are to-be-determined for series between the Blue Demons and Wildcats.

After building leads of 4-0 and 8-2, the Blue Demons survived a late rally by the Beavers to clinch the regional title. Centerfielder Linda Secka put DePaul on the scoreboard in the first with a three-run homer and a four-run fourth inning gave the Blue Demons a six-run cushion.

Senior first baseman Saskia Roberson belted a two-run double in the fourth to become C-USA's all-time leader in RBI with 177. Leftfielder Dana Kenney was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, all singles, and scored three runs.

Sophomore Megan Huitink won her second game of the regional after scattering seven hits in the contest. Just one of the six runs Huitink allowed was earned after the Blue Demons overcame four fielding errors to secure the title.

In Gainesville, Fla., USF needed to beat Bethune-Cookman twice on Sunday to reach the Super Regional round, but the Bulls fell short in game one dropping a 5-2 decision to the Wildcats.

The Bulls dug themselves a three-run deficit in the top of the first inning, but answered with two runs of their own to only trail by one. Those would be the only two runs USF could muster though as the Wildcats won their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament.

Centerfielder Samantha Ray went 3-for-4 at the plate for the Bulls, while Tiffany Stewart added a 2-for-4 effort to collect five of the Bulls' six hits.