DePaul softball ended a seven-game losing streak with an 11-3 win against the University of Illinois Chicago on Tuesday, completing a season sweep of the Flames.
Tied at one run apiece going into the fourth inning, DePaul got an unusual boost from two freshmen: Addi Burdick and Chelsea Parker.
First, graduate student Kelly Beaupre scored off of a passed ball while two Blue Demons secured bases one and two. Next, Parker took the plate for just the 27th time this season as a pinch hitter. For reference, DePaul’s leader in at-bats is senior Baylee Cosgrove with 119.
Parker slammed a line drive into deep left field, advancing to second while tallying an RBI in one swift motion as DePaul’s lead advanced to 3-1.
With two still on base, sophomore Brooke Cwick batted in another as Parker advanced to third base. Then came the other pinch-hitting freshman Burdick, who sent a rocket bouncing down center field in her only at-bat of the game to score Parker and Cwick. It was just her 19th at-bat of the season.
DePaul head coach Liz Bouck-Jagielski said that Burdick prefers not to have her name called off the bench to pinch hit until the very last second to avoid overthinking her next at bat. Burdick was ready and disciplined at the plate.
“Focusing on making contact with the ball and not the outcome of it has really helped me a lot staying focused on my at bats and not stressing myself out about what’s going to happen,” Burdick said.
As the inning closed, DePaul cruised to a 6-1 lead.
“(Parker and Burdick) have been clutch all season, and they usually come up with a quality hit,” Bouck-Jagielski said. “So, being pinch hitters in that situation, I trust them 100%.”
Bouck-Jagielski said the team’s goal of “getting the lead early” is why she went to her pinch hitters despite playing in just the fourth inning. “We were gonna go all in when we had runners on, when we had the chance, and they delivered.”
DePaul finished strong behind the steady pitching of junior Bella Nigey and another freshman, Hannah Messer. Like Parker and Burdick, Messer also had her number called in the fourth inning and made plays to close out the game.
DePaul played UIC on March 18 on Roosevelt Road, winning a narrow 9-8 game thanks to — you guessed it — another freshman. In the seventh inning of their first matchup, catcher Zoe Levine nailed a three-run homer to cap off the victory.
Snapping the seven-game skid, DePaul is back in familiar territory against UIC, getting a much-needed win. As an added bonus, it was DePaul’s first home game since March 26 — their most recent victory — and they only have one away game for the rest of April: a short trip to Urbana-Champaign to play Illinois next Tuesday.
With what remains of her first head coaching season, Bouck-Jagielski hopes to use this lengthy home stand to improve DePaul’s current 14-24 record and show their fans the culture of the team.
“We’re building,” Bouck-Jagielski said. “Our seniors have led the way as far as fighting every single pitch, fighting to the last out. And they’re going to show the younger ones, and we have really good recruits coming in, so building the culture is the hardest part. You can’t run before you crawl.”
DePaul’s youth after putting on a show for the fans also gave credit to the team’s seniors for the culture they are beginning to build, Parker and Burdick each echoing Bouck-Jagielski.
“Fight to the last pitch,” Parker said. “They really taught us to not give up and fight to the last pitch of the game.”
DePaul will host the UConn Huskies in a three-game Easter weekend series, opening with a double header on Friday at 1 p.m.
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