Demons take down Panthers in three game series, 2-1

Kirsten Verdun did not have the type of weekend at the plate that she’s accustomed to.

On Sunday, Verdun had to step it up on the mound. And did she ever.

Verdun pitched a complete game shutout as DePaul defeated Pittsburgh 1-0. The Blue Demons (25-13, 7-2 Big East) also picked up the series win despite scoring a total of six runs in all three games.

The sophomore ace of the Blue Demons staff struck out ten Panther batters, walking one and giving up three hits.

“The biggest thing from today was that I came back with some stuff they didn’t see yesterday,” Verdun said about her adjustments from Saturday, when she allowed nine hits. “Today I had a different game plan, and it was obviously more effective than yesterday.”

Verdun failed to record a hit in the three-game series. Because of that, she said it was important to step up in other facets of the game.

“I had to do my job on the mound because I wasn’t doing it in the box,” Verdun said “It was kind of a rough offensive weekend for me, so I had to know my role and what I had to do.

Mary Connolly was the only Blue Demon with multiple hits in the game, going 2-3. Amanda Mener pinch ran for Connolly after she doubled and scored the only run of the game on an errant Pittsburgh throw to first base. Allie Braden, Samantha Dodd and Staci Bonezek each collected hits for DePaul in the game.

Head coach Eugene Lenti was a considerably better mood Sunday afternoon, even though he wasn’t totally satisfied.

“The win was nice but still not the type of performance we were looking for from a group that should be better at this point in the season,” Lenti said.

He also had a pretty simple philosophy in telling Verdun how to approach a game like Sunday’s.

“I told her when we score one you better give up none if we’re going to win the game.” Lenti said.

Pittsburgh (23-19, 6-8 Big East) never had a runner advance past second base on the day.

DePaul will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to take on UConn in a doubleheader. The Huskies are right behind the Blue Demons in the standings, making this a crucial set of games.