April 12, 2008

GREENCASTLE, Ind. – On a chilly Saturday afternoon with mixed sleet and rain, sophomore All-American Megan Soultz scattered nine strikeouts in two complete game performances and received help on the other side from Millsaps’ defensive miscues, as host DePauw pushed its win streak out to 31 games with a doubleheader sweep, 5-0, 5-3, over the Majors.

“DePauw did a great job of taking advantage of every mistake we made,” second-year head coach Roland Rodriguez said. “Whether it was a pitching mistake, an error or just a lapse in our defense, they found a way to capitalize and put runs on the board. I feel that our hitters lacked the composure necessary to be effective against a quality pitcher (Soultz) but I feel confident that our girls will get things back in order on Sunday.”

Playing its first games in two weeks after a twinbill sweep over the Ozarks at home on March 29, Millsaps had its school-best 13-game winning streak snapped with the losses but will have a chance to pull even in the series as the two teams will play a Sunday doubleheader beginning at noon. The winner will carry the No. 1 East seed in the upcoming SCAC Tournament in Danville, Ky.

Soultz, a two-time NFCA National Player of the Week selection in 2008, retired the first 16 batters she faced in Game 1 and was on her way to a perfect game before sophomore Morgan Ladner sent a shot to centerfield with one out in the sixth to break it up.

DePauw gave Millsaps starter Kasey Thibodeaux (7-3) trouble early but couldn’t get the runs across the plate, stranding the bases loaded in the first inning en route to leaving 12 stranded on the game. The Tigers scored their first run of the game off a Chelsy Patterson RBI-single up the middle in the second to break a scoreless tie minutes before Amanda Berry and Sam Hill connected on an inning-ending double play from short to catcher.

The Tigers chalked up two more runs in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth to make the final margin 5-0, taking advantage of three Millsaps miscues in addition to 10 hits of their own including two apiece from Rachel Gill and Carolyn Bartlett.

Ladner and Karoline Kremers managed the lone two hits for Millsaps, with Kremers picking up a single to left center in the top of the seventh behind Ladner’s single in the sixth.

Game 2 saw DePauw plate five runs in the third inning and then hang on for a 5-3 win after Millsaps rallied for two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh behind a pair of RBIs from Sam Hill and Jen McKinley. Hill helped the Majors plate their first run of the day with a line drive up the middle, while McKinley followed with an RBI down the leftfield line.

Freshman hurler Laura Litton (6-2) did a nice job of keeping the Tigers off the bases the opening two innings, giving up just one hit, before DePauw took advantage of an Emma Minx leadoff walk in the third and turned it into five runs. The Tigers picked up three hits in the inning, coupled with a costly Millsaps error, and got RBIs from Gill, Minx and Ashlee Anton to chase Litton at the end of the inning.

Sophomore Brittney McAllister tossed the final three innings, scattering three hits, two strikeouts and no runs as she helped the Majors stay in the game late after DePauw and Soultz had already done their damage.

Millsaps (16-9, 4-2 SCAC) and 3rd-ranked DePauw (31-1, 6-0 SCAC) will wrap up a 4-game weekend series tomorrow with weather permitting. First pitch is scheduled for noon.