The Blue Demons (44-11) were eliminated Sunday in the regional’s of the NCAA tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, losing 10-1 in an elimination game to Kentucky. DePaul had avoided elimination three separate times during the weekend, but fell in the game that would have caused them to advance.

In the first game of the weekend, DePaul fell 6-1 to James Madison and faced an early exit if they lost to Ohio the following day. The Blue Demons, however, rebounded and beat Ohio, 5-1. They then were setup for a rematch against James Madison.

This time the Blue Demons were successful, prevailing 4-3 and advancing them to play Kentucky. DePaul again pulled out another nail-biting victory with a 2-1 walk-off hit in the 10th-inning. DePaul senior Kirsten Verdun hit the winning run to centerfield and scored Hannah Penna.

The Wildcats would get revenge shortly after. Verdun, who threw 166 pitches in the first Kentucky game, let up six unearned runs before being yanked in the third.  Eventually trailing 10-1, the mercy rule ended the game after the fourth inning.

This was DePaul’s 8th appearance in a regional final.