With two close wins against a strong Illinois Wesleyan University (15-7) team on Tuesday, the Tigers (19-7) had successfully rebounded from losing five of their last six games and seeing their national ranking drop from No. 4 to No. 19.
With scores of 7-6 in game one and 4-3 in game two, DePauw returned to a familiar form: having productive outings from both offense and pitching. In the Tiger's five losses last week, the offense scored less than five runs just once and it was pitching that led to the team's losses. In Tuesday's wins, pitchers sophomore Emily Bichler and freshman Megan Landahl were able to keep Illinois Wesleyan off the score board just enough and were complemented with a strong performance from the DePauw offense.
"She doesn't have to do it alone," said head coach Bonnie Skrenta of Bichler. "She had a great defense out there and she found the strike zone and reduced the walks and that is what we said she needed to do — put the ball in play."
Last weekend when the Tigers went 1-3 against SCAC rival Birmingham-Southern College, Bichler walked 11 batters and struggled to find the strike zone leading Skrenta's decision to bench her in the final game and put Landahl on the mound. Against Illinois Wesleyan, Bichler walked just one batter, and the offense, led by senior Emma Minx, was able to put up enough runs to win the game.
"It always does help when our team jumps on them early," Skrenta said. "It definitely helps to pitch with the lead."
The Tigers scored three runs in the first inning of game one and two runs each in the fourth and seventh innings. Minx led the Tigers with three RBIs including a two-RBI double.
"When we get that balance of our offense not giving up and continually setting that goal of scoring a run every inning and Amy [Hallett] and Emily limiting the runs they give up is really that winning combination," said Minx. "In the back of our minds on offense, we know we can't give up."
In game two, Skrenta chose to turn to her back-up pitcher, Landahl, to relieve Bichler. Landahl went five and one-third innings giving up just three runs on five hits.
"I think it will be a day-by-day basis," Skrenta said of the possibility of starting both Bichler and Landahl in doubleheaders. "Megan has really stepped up, what we have seen over these last weeks is her composure on the mound. We probably can't jump into it every single day, she's in great shape but she will get fatigued a little bit faster."
In the sixth inning, Skrenta pulled Landahl and handed the closing job to Bichler. Bichler threw one and two-thirds innings of perfect softball, striking out three and not letting any batter get on base for her first career save.
On the offensive side, the Tigers were led again by Minx, this time hitting a two-run homerun when junior Jen Kosinski reached first base on an error with two outs. In the two games, Minx went 4-8 with five RBIs including two doubles and a homerun.
"I'm just trying to stay relaxed," Minx said. "It really helps knowing that Rachel [MacBeth] has had a phenomenal year and Brianne [Weeks] has been putting up big numbers, I have Haley [Buchanan] right behind me and Amy and Holly [Paris] so that takes a lot of pressure off me knowing that if I don't get a hit, there are people in front and behind me that are producing as well."
The Tigers will look to continue their blend of pitching and offense this weekend against SCAC rival Centre College (13-15, 5-7 SCAC). The two doubleheaders will take place at Tigers Field, the DePauw softball field, Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon.