Johnson's Walk-Off HR Present Propels DePaul

Chicago IL

08 April, 2021

7:15 AM

Description

"Happy birthday, mom," Brooke Johnson must have been thinking as she rounded the bases on her walk-off home run Wednesday. Johnson's seventh inning three-run blast gave DePaul a 6-5 win over Northern Illinois and her mother a wonderful birthday present. DePaul scored first in the third inning. A double steal saw Angela Scalzitti taking second, while Skylor Hilger stole home. NIU came right back to tie the game in the fourth thanks to a bases loaded walk. NIU scored three in the fifth and one in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. Things looked bleak for DePaul who had only one hit going into the seventh, but the Blue Demons and Carol Roode-Johnson would not be denied. In the seventh, Pearl Barroso got her second hit of the day, followed by a walk from Riley Pool. Scalzitti got an RBI single and Kate Polucha drew a walk to load the bases. Jessica Cothern hit a sac fly to bring in another run, making it 5-3. Johnson stepped to the plate and delivered a three run shot, giving mom Christy a thrilling birthday gift. Johnson's homer gave DePaul a comeback 6-5 win. Krista Dalgarn earned the win in relief to improve to 9-1 on the season. Dalgarn allowed no hits and one walk in 1.2 innings of work. The Blue Demons (15-7, 6-0 BIG EAST) extended their win streak to eight. DePaul travels to Villanova, April 10-11 for a three game BIG EAST weekend series. Johnson's blast really was a storybook ending. Earlier in the day, a DePaul fan friend wished mom Johnson a happy birthday with a walk-off homer from daughter Brooke. Carol Roode-Johnson summed it perfectly by exclaiming, "That was awesome." Yes it was awesome! Congrats to DePaul and Brooke Johnson and again, Happy birthday to mom Johnson!