SU Softball to Open 2006 BIG EAST Championship Versus DePaul
5/9/2006 10:26:24 AM | Softball
Weekly Release
Tournament Bracket
BIG EAST Championship Central
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange softball team (36-20, 15-7) earned the fourth seed in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship and will face fifth-seeded DePaul (32-21, 13-9) in the opening game of the eight-team, single-elimination tournament at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 11 at the Belleville Softball Complex in South Bend, Ind. The winner of the championship receives the BIG EAST's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
Four quarterfinal round games are slated for May 11 beginning with SU's clash against the Blue Demons. The two semifinals will take place on Friday, May 12 at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. with the championship game scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 13. Free live audio broadcasts of all four quarterfinals and both semifinals will be available via Notre Dame's web site (www.und.com). College Sports Television (CSTV) will televise the championship game on Saturday and a free live video feed of the game will be available on Notre Dame's web site. There will be no audio broadcast of the title game.
Tickets to the championship are available through the Notre Dame web site or by contacting the Notre Dame ticket office at 574-631-7356. Tickets can also be purchased at the Belleville Softball Complex. Ticket prices are $4 for adults, $2 for seniors (55 and older) and children (12 and under). Students from BIG EAST Conference institutions will be admitted free of charge with a valid school ID.
The Louisville Cardinals overtook South Florida on the final day of regular-season action to claim the regular-season title with a 19-3 mark in BIG EAST play, earning the tournament’s top seed. The Cardinals will take on No. 8 seed St. John’s at 12:30 p.m. on May 11 in the quarterfinal round.
The other tournament qualifiers are South Florida (No. 2 seed), Notre Dame (No. 3 seed), Providence (No. 6 seed) and Pittsburgh (No. 7 seed).
ORANGE ALL-TIME IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
This is the second consecutive season the Orange have qualified for the BIG EAST Softball Championship and the third time in team history that it has earned a bid. SU won its first post-season game last season, defeating Villanova, 5-1. In addition to 2005, SU’s only other championship appearance came in 2002. SU is 1-4 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament.
SU RPI RANKED 43RD
SCOUTING DEPAUL
The Blue Demons earned the fifth seed in this year’s conference championship in their first season in the league. They posted a 32-21 overall record and finished 13-9 in the BIG EAST after sweeping St. John’s and Seton Hall on the final weekend of conference play.
DePaul finished the regular season third in the conference in team pitching with a 2.07 team earned run average. Tracie Adix leads the team in ERA at 1.76 and owns an overall record of
11-8. Stephanie Blagaich is 14-5 in 26 appearances. Opponents are batting .236 against each pitcher and hitting .240 against the Blue Demons’ entire staff.
Offensively, Amber Patton leads the Blue Demons with a .320 batting average (41-128). All but one of her 41 hits have been singles. Blaigaich has also done the job with the bat. She is batting .281 with two homers and 18 RBI. She also leads the BIG EAST in stolen bases versus conference opponents with 11.
Jackie Tarulli-Fisher provides the pop in the Blue Demons’ lineup. She leads the team and is tied for fifth in the conference with 10 homers. She has 27 runs batted in. Marcy Wilus also has 27 RBI as does Sandy Vojik. Wilus is the only other Blue Demon hitting better than .300 (.318, 34-107). Kate Sheaks leads the club with 28 runs batted in.
The Blue Demons rank third in the conference with 74 stolen bases in 99 tries. DePaul is also the top team in the conference in fielding double plays, turning 33 on the season.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Syracuse has won the only two previous meetings between the two teams, sweeping a doubleheader versus the Blue Demons on April 9, 2006. SU won the first game, 5-4, and posted an 8-1 decision in the nightcap. Senior Alexis Switenko earned her first career save in the opening game. The Blue Demons were ranked 25th at the time and the two victories represent SU's only wins over a ranked opponent this season.
