Jacksonville, Ill. - DePauw dropped the opening game of a doubleheader at Illinois College by a 4-3 score but came back to split the twinbill with a 5-2 victory in game two. The Tigers are 9-0 overall, while the Lady Blues are 4-6.

It didn't take long for the Tigers to take the lead in game one as Sammi Bell led off the game with a homer which marked the fourth game in the last five that's she's clubbed a long ball. Taylor Golden followed with a double and moved to third on Gabby Smart's sacrifice bunt. Linsey Button then laid down a bunt that plated Golden and made it 2-0.

Illinois College matched that in the bottom half of the inning as Courtney Kwasnitza led off by reaching after being hit by a pitch. She stole second and scored on Brittany Fanella's single. Fanella stole second before Paige Meyer walked. A wild pitch allowed Fanella to advance to third. Fanella scored when Meyer was thrown out at second attempting to steal.

The Lady Blues gained the lead in the fourth when Meyer drew a one-out walk and scored on Alese Speckhart's double. Paige Cullison doubled home Kwasnitz in the fifth to make it 4-2.

Jennifer Ridge led off the DePauw seventh with a triple and scored on an outfield error when Megan Landahl flied out to left. Lauren Krumwiede followed with a double, but the Tigers could move her past second.

Golden and Krumwiede each had two of the Tigers' six hits, while four different Lady Blues had one hit each.

Kahla Nolan dropped to 6-6 after allowing just four hits with six strikeouts and six walks. Speckhart improved to 1-2 after striking out six and walking two.

In the nightcap, the Tigers scored all of their runs in the second and third innings. In the second Button walked with one out and moved to second on Landahl's single. Grace Hendrickson followed with a double that scored Button before Bell tripled with two outs bringing home Landahl and Hendrickson.

Smat led off the third with a single and pinch-runner Julia Waggoner moved to second on Ridge's sacrifice bunt and scored on Krumwiede's single. Krumwiede, who advanced to second on the throw, stole third and scored on an error by Illinois College's catcher.

Cullison walked with two outs in the third and came home when Fanella tripled. The Lady Blues' final run came in the sixth when Cullison drew a bases loaded walk. Fanella struck out to end the hosts' threat.

Bell paced the Tigers with three of their nine hits, while Landahl added a pair. Kwasnitza and Fanella each had two of Illinois College's six hits. Hailey Freres improved to 1-2 with the win, while Leah Shumaker dropped to 1-3. Noan picked up the save after pitching the final three innings.

DePauw returns to action on Sunday when it opens North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Kenyon. The games were originally scheduled for Saturday, but were moved due to weather forecasts of rain and snow on Saturday. Sunday's originally scheduled doubleheader with Illinois Wesleyan has been moved to April 27.