St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Opens 2008 Season At LSU Tiger Classic
2/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 14, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. -
• St. John's opens up the season against Tennessee-Chattanooga at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. The two teams have never met before.
• The Red Storm faces off against No. 7/9 LSU in its second game of the season at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. St. John's and LSU have never faced each other before. The Tigers are one of four ranked opponents that the Red Storm is scheduled to face this year.
• In the second day of play, the Red Storm will face off against Ball State for the first meeting between the two schools. The game is scheduled for 11:15 a.m.
• St. John's finishes its second day of the tournament with a match-up versus Nicholls State at 6 p.m. The contest is also the first meeting between the schools.
• The final of day will see two bracket games scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., with the winners advancing to the championship at 2 p.m.
STORM TRACKER
• Second-year head coach Amy Kvilhaug is looking to build on her 145 career victories. Her seven BIG EAST victories last season were the second most by a head coach in their first year at St. John's.
• The Red Storm returns half of its infield this season. The group is headed by senior co-captain Danielle Estrada who will return for her second season at shortstop and will be expected to carry a heavy leadership role. Estrada enjoyed her best season with St. John's last year, leading the team with 13 doubles and one triple. She also ranked second with 26 runs and was third with 24 RBI. Estrada has excellent range and quickness and led the team with 91 assists a season ago.
• Junior Roxy Struble will start at first base after beginning last year at the hot corner. Struble had an outstanding sophomore campaign in 2007 and was named to the All-BIG EAST third team after hitting .276 with 13 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBI.
• After transferring from Iona College, graduate student Alyson Funn is penciled in to take over for last year's co-captain Tami Hill at second base. Funn missed her senior season at Iona due to a wrist injury but was a second team All-MAAC selection in 2004 and 2006. Funn brings three years of Division I experience and a career .340 batting average to the Red Storm.
• At third base, freshman Kacee Cox has to fill the large shoes of last year's co-captain and third team All-BIG EAST selection Loren Anguiano. Cox was a two-time offensive player of the year for her high school team in California and played for the No. 2 ranked team in the country during the 2005 season.
• Behind the plate for the Red Storm will be sophomore Brandy Reyes who had an outstanding season and was rewarded by being named to the All-BIG EAST second team. Her 64 hits, 13 doubles, .448 on-base percentage and .398 batting average all paced the Red Storm offense for the 2007 season. Runners were caught stealing 17 times last year by Reyes, which led the BIG EAST.
• Senior co-captain Bionka King heads the outfield and will start in right field for the Red Storm. King enjoyed her best statistical season with the Red Storm, starting in 50 games. She set career highs in nearly every category while hitting .287 and leading the squad with 10 stolen bases.
• Sophomore Shauntaine Harris will start her second season in center field for the Red Storm. After replacing All-BIG EAST center fielder Jo Sherlock last season, Harris has proved that she can more than fill her shoes. Harris is an excellent defensive player who can cover a great deal of ground quickly.
• In the left field spot for the Red Storm, five athletes will have a chance to see significant time in the lineup. Freshman Chelsea Durning is a favorite to see a lot of action. Sophomore Ona Halladay, junior Melissa Pilley and freshman Erin Harris will all vie for playing time.
• Senior co-captain Lisa Geer returns to the circle for St. John's and anchors a young staff. Geer set career highs with 188 innings pitched and 19 complete games while striking out 134 batters on the season. Geer will also hit in the designated player spot when not pitching.
• Behind Geer, freshmen Kat Lawrence, Chelsea Plimpton and Linzee Sumrall will look to improve upon strong fall outings,s which saw all of them go 2-0.
