It seemed unlikely after a poor non-conference season that DePaul would even be contending for an NCAA tournament spot in 2016. They were 11-22 heading into Big East play, but then they went on a tear, going 16-3 in conference play and earned the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
But on one Friday afternoon at the Ballpark at Rosemont, their season came to a sudden end.
“We were playing with house money,” head coach Eugene Lenti said. “The fact that we won 27 games and won the Big East (regular season), it’s the closest thing that’s ever happened to a miracle for DePaul softball.