St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Villanova
St. John's Takes One Of Two Versus Villanova
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 27, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team (20-34, 5-17) took on BIG EAST opponent Villanova (18-28, 6-14) in the final conference doubleheader of the year for the Red Storm. Pitching dominated game one as St. John's went eight innings to win its first extra inning game of the year on Senior Day at Red Storm Field. Game two fell in favor of Villanova as the Wildcats got up early and kept the Red Storm rallies in check, taking the game by a score of 3-1.
"We played well in game one but could not make adjustments in time to finish our rally in game two," said head coach Amy Kvilhaug. "Kat [Lawrence] pitched great for us in game one and Kacee [Cox] came up huge. We had our chances in game two but Villanova reacted well to our offense."
In game one, freshman starter Kat Lawrence came out hot, setting down the side in order in the first three innings. Through the first three frames, Lawrence struck out four, all going down swinging.
Villanova got its first hit in the top of the fourth, but Lawrence was un-phased getting the second out on a fly out and then was helped by Brandy Reyes who threw out the Villanova runner attempting to steal second to end the inning.
The Red Storm struck in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by graduate student Alyson Funn. The shot was her third home run of the season and gave St. John's the 1-0 advantage.
Lawrence continued to groove through the game, facing the minimum into the seventh inning. The freshman flamethrower got two more outs, but Villanova's Meghan Morese was able to hit fly ball that just cleared the left field fence to tie the game at one.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Red Storm was able to get runners at second and third with one out. Reyes broke from third on the first pitch to senior Bionka King and got the catcher to throw down allowing Reyes to continue to home. Initially the throw was ruled late and a run was counted for Reyes, giving St. John's the 2-1 advantage and the win. However, a meeting by the umpires overturned the call and the run was taken away from St. John's. Villanova then struck out the next batter to send the game to extra innings.
In the eighth inning, Lawrence continued her great play, setting down the side in order, striking out the final batter.
With a chance to win in the bottom of the frame, freshman Chelsea Durning got the Red Storm started with a single up the middle. Third baseman Kacee Cox stepped up to play the hero and roped a double to left-center to score Durning and give St. John's the 2-1 victory. In between the games, the Red Storm celebrated the careers' of its senior class. The team honored King, Geer, and Danielle Estrada for all they have achieved in their four year's at St. John's.
In game two, Villanova was able to get on the board first. A bloop hit into right field with two outs popped out of the right fielder's glove and allowed the hustling runner to score, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Villanova added to its lead in the top of the fourth, getting a solo home run from Kirsten Jelinski. In the fifth, the Wildcats got another run on a bunt single with two outs, pushing the score to 3-0.
The Red Storm offense got it going in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on first and third and two outs, senior Lisa Geer hit a single through the right side to put St. John's on the board for the first time in game two, making the score 3-1.
Villanova threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Geer was able to stay poised in the circle striking out the next batter and inducing a fielder's choice to get St. John's out of the inning unscathed.
St. John's got a single up the middle from Funn with two outs in the bottom of the seventh followed by a single by Cox, giving the Red Storm runners on first and second. However, Villanova's Nicci Ward was able to pitch her way out of trouble and seal the victory for the Wildcats.
St. John's will play its final game of the season this Wednesday, April 27, at Red Storm Field. The softball team will take on the Pride of Hofstra in a single game at 4 p.m.
