April 17, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. —  The 19th-ranked Tigers posted a pair of shutouts over visiting Centre College to improve to 10-4 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play and earn the top seed in the East Division for the conference tournament which starts Friday at DePauw.

DePauw swept Centre by scores of 8-0 and 3-0 in the doubleheader, improving to 23-7-1 this season. Meanwhile, the losses dropped Centre to 13-21 overall and 5-11 in SCAC action.

In the afternoon's first contest, DePauw got on the board early. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Jen Kosinski lined a double to left and scored on Emma Minx's single. Minx then advanced on Haley Buchanan's single to left and scored on a passed ball to put DePauw up, 2-0.

DePauw added to its lead in the bottom of the second as Rachel MacBeth plated three runs on a double down the right field line. MacBeth scored on a fielder's choice by Brianne Weeks, giving the Tigers a 6-0 advantage.

Centre had two runners in scoring position in the top of the fifth with no outs, but DePauw pitcher Emily Bichler retired the next three hitters to end the threat.

In the bottom of the inning, Holly Paris hit an RBI single to extend DePauw's lead to 7-0.  DePauw's defense held Centre scoreless in the top of the sixth and Cymone Allen led off the bottom of the inning with a base hit to left. A sacrifice bunt by MacBeth moved Allen to second and she advanced to third on a single by Weeks. After Centre intentionally walked Kosinski, Allen was able to score on a fielding error by the shortstop, sealing DePauw's 8-0 victory.

DePauw tallied 11 hits in the win, led by Minx's 3-for-4 performance. Paris added two hits, while MacBeth posted three RBI. Three different Centre players had one hit apiece in the contest.

Bichler earned her sixth shutout of the year, improving to 20-7. She gave up just three hits while recording five strikeouts. Emily Meador took the loss for Centre and dropped to 8-11 on the season.

In the second game, DePauw again took the early lead as Minx scored on a base hit by Paris in the bottom of the second inning to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage. Centre put a baserunner in scoring position with no outs in the top of the third, but failed to advance her any further.

DePauw had a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the fourth, but were unable to plate a run. In the fifth, Weeks led off with an infield single and stole second. Kosinski and Haley Buchanan drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Paris hit a sacrifice fly to score Weeks, extending the Tigers' lead to 2-0.

Allen led off the bottom of the sixth with a base hit to right, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by MacBeth. Weeks followed with a single to center to score Allen as DePauw took a 3-0 lead. The Tigers held Centre scoreless in the top of the seventh to preserve the 3-0 victory.

Weeks posted two of DePauw's five hits, while Paris had two RBI. Centre totaled seven hits, including two each by Mary Saylor and Ashley Coomer.

Bichler improved to 21-7 on the season with the win, while notching her seventh shutout. She allowed seven hits and tallied four strikeouts in seven innings of work. Centre's Emily Landherr was credited with the loss, dropping her to 4-10 on the year.

DePauw hosts the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, April 22-24. For more information, please visit the official site.

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