St. John's University Athletics
Softball Claims SJU Tournament Championship
3/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
In the first game, sophomore Meghan Allman (San Diego, Calif.) earned her first win of the year with a four inning, four-hit performance vs. LaSalle. Allman struckout two and allowed one unearned run to even her record at 1-1.
The Red Storm offense recorded 15 hits in the game and opened the scoring with two runs on three LaSalle errors in the bottom of the first. Freshman Megan Oliver (Endicott, N.Y.), batting in a new slot at the top of the lineup, led off the game with a single up the middle and would come around the score SJUs first run of the game. Oliver was 2-for-4 in the game with one run scored.
LaSalle made it a 2-1 game when Maureen Berard doubled and then scored on a botched pickoff play in the third inning. St. Johns would end the Explorers inning with a double-play by senior Jessica Shepherd (Akron, Ohio) and sophomore Allina Sainz (San Diego, Calif.). The Red Storm added runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-1 lead. LaSalle recorded a bases-loaded walk in the top of the sixth for its second run of the game.
Back-to-back homeruns to lead off the bottom of the sixth gave St. Johns the 9-2 advantage. Argeras knocked in her second homer of the game and Sainz followed with her first career shot.
Freshman Melanie Lehman (Placerville, Calif.) earned her first save in a three-inning, three hit, one run, two strikeout outing. Freshman Linda Reyes (Garden Grove, Calif.) was impressive at the plate, driving in one run on two hits.
In the championship game vs. Quinnipiac, the Red Storm took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on Argeras third homerun of the day and fourth on the year.
In their half of the fifth, St. Johns tacked on two more runs. Sainz and sophomore Jillian Sandoval (Orange, Calif.) each posted RBI singles in the inning to secure the lead for the Red Storm. Sandoval was 3-for-3 in the game with an RBI.
Fitzgerald (10-7) went to distance for St. Johns, earning her 10th win of the season. In the shutout, she allowed just four hits while striking out eight. Fitzgerald has not allowed an earned run in her last 36.1 innings spanning five games.
Argeras finished the day 4-for-6 with four RBI and five runs scored. Sainz was 3-for-6 with three RBI and one run scored.
In the tournament opener, Qunnipiac beat Fairfield by a 1-0 score on Valerie Muglias RBI single for the games only run. Alisha Zabel earned the victory for Quinnipiac, going the distance and allowing only three hits.
In the consolation game, Fairfield hung on to win the game by a 2-0 score over LaSalle. For Fairfield, Diana Fasano went 3-for-3, with one run and one RBI and Tara Hansen went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the game for the Stags. Christy Urban came into the game in relief of starter Melissa Santos in the fourth inning and got the victory going the rest of the way, giving up just two hits with four strikeouts.
The St. Johns softball team returns to action on Wednesday, March 26, when they host Marist College for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
