St. John's University Athletics
St. John??' Softball Falls To Rutgers
4/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Piscataway, N.J. ??? The Red Storm softball team took a pair of hard-fought losses to BIG EAST foe Rutgers, 3-2 and 7-6 (9). Game two saw sophomore Roxann Struble homer in consecutive at bats, posting four RBI for the Red Storm. St. John???s is now 11-28 on the season, 3-9 in the BIG EAST.
Game One:
With two outs recorded in the first inning, Roxann Struble and Brandy Reyes singled back-to-back to get the offense charged for the Red Storm. Struble came around to score St. John???s first run of the day on a Rutger???s error in the outfield.
Rutgers Shantai Dixon???s RBI double in the bottom of the third inning tied the game at one run apiece. The Scarlet Knights scored its go ahead run on a wild pitch.
Rutgers held on to its one run lead until the Red Storm mounted a seventh inning rally when Shauntaine Harris led off with a stand-up double to center field. Tami Hill???s two-out double drove in Harris and tied the score. Loren Anguiano dropped a hit right outside the pitcher???s circle to put runners on first and third but St. John???s was not able to plate any more runs in the side.
The Scarlet Knights answered right back in the bottom of the frame as Kristin Madoch fired a walk-off home run, handing her team a 3-2 victory.
Red Storm pitcher Lisa Geer took the loss in the circle and falls to 5-13 on the season despite a solid performance where she gave up only three earned runs and struck out four.
Game Two:
The Red Storm once again jumped out to an early lead, taking a 1-0 lead when Struble came across the plate on a single from Spring Montgomery.
Rutgers didn???t waste any time getting on the board either, as Mallory Miller???s two-RBI double gave the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 lead. In the second inning, Rutgers tacked on three more runs.
Struble???s solo-homer in the third inning put St. John???s within three. The sophomore first baseman belted her second long-ball of the game in her next at bat during the fifth. The three-run shot tied the game up at 5-5.
The Scarlet Knight???s Dixon scored Rutgers sixth run of the game in the fifth as they went ahead 6-5.
The Red Storm would not go down with out a fight as it tied the game again in the seventh inning. Anguiano singled with one out, stole second and advanced to third on an illegal pitch. Reyes plated Anguiano with a single to left field, making it a 6-6 game.
The two teams took the tied game into the eighth, where Montgomery started the side with a single up the middle. Harris moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt and Melissa Pilley came in to pinch run. Bionka King picked the perfect time to come up with her first hit of the day, placing runners on first and third. Rutgers starting pitcher Christina Yard re-entered the game and closed out the inning without giving up a run.
Geer, pitching again in the second game after replacing starter Kim Lerch, retired the side in order and struck out the last two batters. Ultimately, in the ninth inning with two outs, Rutgers Madoch drove in the winning run. The final score of game two was 7-6.
The Red Storm fall to 3-9 in BIG EAST play, 11-28 overall.
