In their effort to exorcise the DePaul Blue Devils, the Irish softball team finished up in purgatory Thursday, winning the first game 5-1 before falling in the second game of the doubleheader, 4-3.

Notre Dame, 32-10 overall, ended its nine-game winning streak with the loss while DePaul moved to 16-15 overall.

"This is gonna be really important for us," said head coach Liz Miller before the games. "They have good pitching and we need to see how we adjust to strong pitching."

And adjust they did, as Irish freshman Andria Bledsoe gave Notre Dame a start with a fifth-inning double and scored on a single by Lizzy Lemire. Freshman Andrea Loman sent the ball over the fence for the fifth time this season, driving in three runs. Then Lemire, batting for the second time in the inning, slammed another home run, putting the Irish up 5-0.

Pitcher Jennifer Sharron struck out ten and held the Blue Demons hitless until the seventh inning. Sharron is now 17-5 on the season.

In the second game, DePaul jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first and added another in the fifth. Notre Dame rallied in the bottom of the inning as junior Melanie Alkire swatted her seventh homerun of the season, a three-run blast that tied the game.

DePaul, however, came back in the seventh to take the lead, and held on for the win.

The Irish will face rival Boston College Saturday. The Eagles, 8-13 on the season, were picked to finish second in the conference, behind Notre Dame, in preseason polls. Sunday Notre Dame takes on Loyola (16-11) in a doubleheader.

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