DePaul Blue Demons Women's Softball Team On the Rise!

On Saturday, I watched the DePaul Blue Demons softball team sweep a doubleheader from Providence. They won the first game 8-0 and followed it with an 8-2 win to complete the day.

On Tuesday, I watched the Blue Demons beat Illinois State 6-5 in extra innings. Angela Scalzitti doubled to score Kate Polucha in the bottom of the ninth to get the thrilling win.

These three wins brought my DePaul record to 5-0 this season. Of course, I cannot take all the credit for the team's success. To be fair, DePaul is 29-9 overall and 8-1 in conference play. I guess my perfect record is more a matter of their fantastic season than my mere presence.

All joking aside, the Blue Demons are having a special season. They have won 8 in a row and currently sit in second place in the Big East Conference. St. John's is in first place with a 10-1 conference record, but their overall record is 22-16. Providence is in third place at 5-6. Villanova, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Creighton and Butler round out the rest of the Big East standings.

DePaul is #77 in the NCAA rankings. That seems a bit low to me, but there is still plenty of time for DePaul to move up in the rankings and they will. As expected, very little separates teams in the rankings. Florida State at 38-5 is #1.

Statistically the pitching staff is comprised of sophomore Natalie Halvorson 17-5 and junior Krista Dalgarn12-4. The two ladies have been workhorses, shouldering the entire pitching load. Combined, they had a 2.77 ERA with 163 strikeouts against 79 walks. Getting this type of production from a two person rotation is very impressive.

Offensively, senior Morgan Greenwood leads the team with a .360 batting average, narrowly ahead of junior Jessica Cothern at .357. Cothern also leads the team with 41 rbi's and 46 runs scored. Sophomore Maranda Gutierrez leads the team with 8 home runs, while hitting .328. Freshman O'Riley is hitting .343 and sophomore Kate Polucha is at .322, to round out the .300 hitters on the club.

There are 11 games left in the regular season. DePaul travels to St. John's for a 3 game series starting today. DePaul hosts Creighton for 3 games on Saturday, 4/27 and Sunday, 4/28. DePaul then travels to Illinois, Loyola and Villanova for the final 5 games. That's 3 more home games but only on 2 days, plus a close game at nearby Loyola.

DePaul plays at Cacciatore Stadium, a beautiful hidden gem of a ballpark nestled within the confines of the ever-expanding DePaul campus. The El train running along the thrid base side is a cool piece of Chicago almost part of the park.

All the games I have attended have had large crowds, filled with students, players' families and simply softball fans. As I have previously written many times, I never expected to find such pleasure in women's collegiate softball, but here I am seeing as many games as my schedule permits.

The athleticism and pure enthusiasm of the players is wonderful to see. The fantastic ballpark with Chicago's skyline as a backdrop is the perfect setting for a completely relaxing couple hours. I really cannot get enough.

At the recent extra inning spectacular against Illinois State, the Big East champion Blue Demons women's basketball team threw out the first pitch. The last time I saw this team, I was celebrating their Conference championship on the court at Wintrust Arena. It was cool to see them get a thunderous round of applause and it was one of those sports moments that made me recall the thrill of their championship ride. As the Blue Demons softball squad tries to replicate the women's basketball team, the buzz is starting to grow.

Former DePaul All-American pitcher Tracie Adix-Zins is in her first year as DePaul head coach. Adix-Zins was the 2007 Big East Pitcher of the Year, after compiling a 22-4 record with an .89 ERA. She went on to assistant coaching stints at assistant coach at Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and North Carolina State, before landing her first head coachinbg job back at her alma mater.

Aside from guiding the team, Coach Adix-Zins has been a big supporter of DePaul sports, both on social media and in person. It makes it all feel like one big DePaul family. As an alum myself, I find that support contagious. Over the last couple seasons, I have added DePaul women's basketball and softball to my regular sports rotation.

It is shaping up to be an exciting last few weeks of softball and I will be following it closely. I will be in attendance as DePaul finishes their home schedule and I will follow online when they are out of town. I will be reporting back here as the season winds down.