St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
USF
St. John's Tripped Up By The Bulls
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 28, 2008
Box Score: St. John's 1 - USF 2
Box Score: St. John's 0 - USF 8
Tampa, Fla. - The St. John's softball team (13-17, 2-2) traveled to Tampa to continue BIG EAST action against the University of South Florida (27-12, 2-0) on Friday afternoon. In game one, St. John's stayed with USF until the final inning of play, but could not close the door in the 2-1 loss. In game two, USF took the early lead and St. John's could not come back, as the Bulls won 8-0 in six innings.
"We had a tough day, but we can rebound and play like the team we are," said head coach Amy Kvilhaug. "We are as good as any team we face when we do four specific things. Good pitching, defense, execution and timely hitting makes all the difference. We are still learning and getting better everyday."
In game one, the Bulls were the first to threaten when they were able to load the bases in the bottom of the third inning with one out. Freshman pitcher Kat Lawrence then hunkered down to get the next two batters to pop out to third and keep the game scoreless.
In the bottom of the fifth, USF put runners on first and second with no outs. Lawrence was once again able to settle down to induce a foul-out by the cleanup hitter to get the first out of the inning. A close call on ball four, the Bulls once again had the bases loaded with one out. Lawrence got the next batter to fly out to right field but the runner from third was just able to beat the throw home. After a second fly out to right, the inning ended, but the Bulls held the 1-0 advantage.
In the top half of the sixth inning, sophomore Shauntaine Harris got things started for the Red Storm with a double down the left line. Harris was then able to steal third to give St. John's its best scoring opportunity of the day. Two batters later, a passed ball allowed Harris to score, tying the game at one apiece.
The game was tied until the bottom of the seventh with one out. BIG EAST Player of the Week Roxy Struble came within three feet of giving St. John's the lead when she blasted a shot that was caught just in front of the green padding in center. A hit over the center field wall by USF's cleanup hitter Jojo Medina ended game one for the Red Storm, who battled all game but came up just shy of the victory.
In game two, USF got on the board early when it scored on a fielder's choice. Shortly after the Bulls loaded the bases with one out. Freshman Linzee Sumrall kept firing and struck out the next two Bulls to get St. John's out of the inning.
USF was able to put another run on the board in the bottom of the second when an RBI single scored the runner from second. Again, with bases full, Sumrall was able to pitch her way out of the jam, getting the final out on a pop fly to right.
After giving up four runs on three hits in the bottom of the third, St. John's loaded the bases with two outs in the top of fourth, but could not bring any runners home.
Harris, the center fielder, finished the day 3-for-4 with a run, a double and a stolen base. Left fielder Alyson Funn went 2-for-4 with a walk. Freshman pitcher Chelsea Plimpton threw 2.2 innings in relief and struck out one while allowing no walks.
St. John's will continue its BIG EAST road trip this Sunday when it takes on the Cardinals of Louisville at Ulmer Stadium. Game one of the doubleheader is slated for 11 a.m. in Louisville, Ky.
