St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Providence
Providence Takes Two From St. John's
4/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 13, 2008
Providence, R.I. - The St. John's softball team (15-28, 2-12) finished its New England road trip with a doubleheader against the Friars of Providence (118-17-1, 4-6). A pitching duel highlighted game one in which the Red Storm fell 1-0. In game two, St. John's scored three early but were tripped up in the seventh inning, falling 4-3.
"This was a tough weekend for us," said head coach Amy Kvilhaug. "Our offense could not get it going in the first game. We came out with energy in the second but could not close it out when we needed to."
Pitching dominated the first three innings of game one at Raymond Field as freshman Kat Lawrence allowed just two hits and struck out three while not walking a batter.
The Red Storm offense threatened in the top of the fourth. Junior Roxy Struble singled with two outs to get St. John's second hit of the day. Back-to-back walks by Brandy Reyes and Alyson Funn loaded the bases for St. John's but Providence's Danielle Bertolette was able to get out of trouble inducing a fly-out to end the inning unscathed.
Providence got its third hit in the bottom of the fifth inning and it was a big one. A home run over the left field fence gave the Friars the first run of the day for either team and the 1-0 lead.
Bertolette and Lawrence continued to battle the rest of the game. Both pitchers finished with outstanding lines but Providence got the better of them as the Red Storm could not tack on a run in the next two innings. Bertolette finished strong, striking out seven and only allowed three hits. Lawrence was just as impressive giving up the one run on five hits, striking out five in six innings.
St. John's came out with energy in the second game and scored early. After a single by Funn and a walk by Kacee Cox, Reyes delivered with a single to right to give the Red Storm its first run of the day. Pitcher Lisa Geer followed with a single of her own to score Cox and push the score to 2-0. St. John's picked up its third run of the inning when a wild pitch allowed Reyes to score from third and put the Red Storm up by three.
Providence got a run back in the bottom of the third on an RBI single with two outs. Geer responded, striking out the next batter to end the inning with runners on first and second.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Friars tied the game at three on a two-run home run to center field. St. John's got into further trouble as Providence loaded the bases with two outs. Freshman pitcher Chelsea Plimpton, who entered in relief, was able to induce a fielder's choice to end the inning.
The game came to end in the bottom of the seventh when the Friars got a walk-off home run from Mary Rose Sheehy.
On the day, Reyes went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Geer also went 2-for-5 with an RBI and pitch 5.1 innings, striking out five.
The Red Storm head back to Queens and will host Marist on Wednesday at Red Storm Field. First pitch for the single game contest is slated for 3 p.m.
