April 15, 2005, Terre Haute, Ind. - The DePauw softball team scored seven runs in the top of the eighth to win the first game of its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader by a 7-0 score. The Engineers came back to win the second game, 6-5, in 12 innings which was the fourth extra-inning game of the series and the longest game in each school's history.

DePauw is now 19-14-1 overall and 4-8 in the SCAC, while Rose-Hulman is 15-11 overall and 11-1 in the conference. The Tigers can earn a spot in the SCAC tournament if there is a sweep or split in the Centre-Sewanee series or if Centre takes three of four.

The extra inning games marked the 11th for the Tigers this season and the seventh in 12 SCAC games this season.

DePauw's Laura Curosh and Rose-Hulman's Lauren Clark locked up in a pitcher's duel with seven scoreless innings before the Tigers broke through in the eighth. Whitney Sewell drove Clark's first pitch of the eighth inning over the left field fence for her first collegiate home run which made it 1-0.

Jessica Bowlds singled to center with one out and Annie Morgan came in to pinch-run for her. Morgan advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Nicole Kernan's two-out single. Kristy Mahon walked and Katy Lujan followed with a single that scored Kernan. Jessica Krueger singled to score Mahon before Curosh delivered a two-run single. Curosh then stole third and scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-0.

Luhan led the Tigers with three hits with Curosh adding a pair for the Tigers who finished with 12. The Engineers totaled eight hits with Katie Frey and Amber Hoke with two each. Curosh pitched the Tigers' first shutout of the season by allowing eight hits, striking out four and walking just two to improve to 12-7. Clark suffered the loss and dropped to 13-10.

The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game as Curosh doubled home Lujan who singled. Rose-Hulman took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning as Janae Chaney led off with a single and scored on Erin Locke's double. Clark then singled home Locke. Following a single by Nicole Sanders, Curosh replaced DePauw starter Hillary Enyart on the mound.

The Engineers made it 4-1 in the second when Laura Nash led off with a single and advanced to second on Amy Viles' bunt. Chaney moved Nash to third with a single and stole second before the throw went to the outfield allowing Nash to score. Chaney, who had advanced to third, scored on Ashley Montgomery's groundout.

DePauw scored three on the third to tie the score as Mahon led off with a walk and Lujan singled. Krueger's bunt moved them up a base and Curosh's single scored both. Curosh then scored on Whitney Sewell's double to left center.

The teams then battled through scoreless play until the tenth with outstanding defense dominating the game. In the tenth, Kernan was placed on second due to the internation tiebreaker rule. Mahon and Lujan laid down bunts that allowed Kernan to score. In the bottom of the inning, Locke was placed on second and moved to third on Clark's bunt. Frey's two-out double to right tied the game at 5-5.

The Engineers advanced the lead runner to third with one out in the 11th, but a popout to short and a foulout to first ended the threat. In the bottom of the 12th, Chaney was placed on second before Montgomery and Locke drew the first walks off of Curosh in 10 2/3 innings. Clark then drilled a line drive single to right to end the game.

Curosh finished with three hits and three RBI for the Tigers, while Lujan and Laura Schlensker each had two hits as the Tigers totaled nine. The Engineers banged out 15 hits led by Locke with three and Chaney, Clark, Sanders and Nash with two each.

The Tigers travel to Anderson on Saturday to face Adrian and Goshen.