JACKSONVILLE, ALA. – The DePaul Blue Demons dropped a pair of contests Saturday at the Jax State Tournament, falling 8-6 to the Northwestern State Demons before a 3-0 setback against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the nightcap.
 
Junior Lydia Ettema led the way offensively, driving in four runs, including a two-run single in the seventh inning of the opener that brought the Blue Demons within two. Freshman infielder Katie Borges recorded the first RBI of her collegiate career, while Emersyn Coulter and Jolie Adams each scored multiple runs as DePaul plated six in the first contest.
 
In game one, right-hander Bella Nigey dropped to 1-1 on the season after 2.1 innings of work, allowing three earned runs on five hits. In the nightcap, Kelly Greene took the loss after surrendering three runs over 3.2 innings, with sophomore Gwen Baker providing steady relief.
 
How It Happened
Game 1 – Northwestern State 8, DePaul 6
DePaul (7-8) struck first in the third inning as Coulter scored on a groundout by Adams before Ettema followed with an RBI single to give the Blue Demons a 2-0 advantage. Northwestern State answered with a four-run fourth inning to take control.
 
Borges delivered an RBI in the bottom half of the fourth to cut the deficit to one, and Ettema evened the score in the fifth with a sacrifice fly that brought home Adams, making it 4-4.
 
Northwestern State (5-10) regained the lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, then added two insurance runs in the seventh. DePaul mounted one final rally in its last at-bat, highlighted by Ettema’s two-run single that scored Adams and Houge, but the comeback attempt fell short.
 
Game 2 – Jacksonville State 3, DePaul 0
Jacksonville State (10-4) opened the scoring in the first inning with a run that came home on a groundout. A solo home run in the second extended the lead to 2-0, and an RBI single in the fifth pushed the margin to three.
 
DePaul was limited to two hits in the contest as Jacksonville State’s starter tossed a complete-game shutout. Greene allowed three runs in 3.2 innings before Baker closed out the game in relief.
 
Up Next
The Blue Demons close out their stay at the Jax State Tournament Sunday morning with a game against Northwestern State at 10 a.m.
 
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