St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Notre Dame
St. John's Edged By Notre Dame
4/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 5, 2008
Box Score: St. John's 0 - Notre Dame 5
Box Score: St. John's 4 - Notre Dame 8
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team (15-21, 2-6) faced off with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (20-10, 3-1) in a BIG EAST doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Red Storm Field. Notre Dame touted a 24-0 lifetime record versus the Red Storm and was determined to improve upon that mark. St. John's got a great pitching performance in game one, but could not muster the runs to support it, falling 5-0. In game two, St. John's played in its longest game since April 24, 2000. St. John's went 12 innings before finally ceding to the Irish 8-4.
In game one, freshman flamethrower Kat Lawrence came out hot in the first frame setting down the side in order, striking out the last two batters in the top of the first inning. Lawrence continued to roll in the next inning, retiring the side in order again, recording her third strikeout in just two innings.
St. John's was the first team to register a hit in the game when graduate student Alyson Funn singled to the shortstop with two outs in the bottom of the second. Notre Dame's Brittney Bargar was able to settle down and get the final out of the inning.
Notre Dame jumped out to the early lead with two outs in the top of the third when a single followed by a double gave the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead. The Irish added one more in the top of the fourth with no outs when an unlucky bounce by a ball that hit the top of the center field fence went over for a home run, putting St. John's in a 2-0 hole. Lawrence was able to keep her cool and set down the next three batters to get the Red Storm out of the inning.
Notre Dame was able to tack on a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh to give St. John's too large of a hill to overcome in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Fighting Irish's Bargar proved that she is one of the BIG EAST's best, finishing with a complete game shutout, striking out seven and improving to 14-6 on the season.
Lawrence pitched well for the Red Storm, striking out eight in a complete game effort.
The bottom of the first in game two was the first time St. John's got multiple base runners on all day. With one out and two on, junior Roxy Struble came up to bat and the first baseman was able to work a walk and load the bases. Notre Dame's Jody Valdivia was able to regroup and set down the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Notre Dame struck first in the next inning when a home run gave the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead.
Pitching dominated for the next three innings, but in the top of the fifth the Irish were able to load the bases with one out. Notre Dame registered a run on a fielder's choice to second in which the runner beat the throw home. The Fighting Irish tacked on another with a sacrifice fly to take a 3-0 lead.
Notre Dame added a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single but the St. John's offense responded in the bottom of the inning. After sophomore Shauntaine Harris was hit by a pitch, senior co-captain Lisa Geer came up and smashed her third home run of the season to dead center.
Senior co-captain Bionka King followed Geer's blast with a bunt single to the pitcher. Freshman Chelsea Durning delivered with an RBI double to left center and then advanced to third on the throw. Senior co-captain Danielle Estrada, the next batter, tapped a slow roller in between the pitcher and catcher, and with two outs, Durning took off for home. The speed of both runners paid off as Durning reached home to score without anyone covering and Estrada made it to first base without a throw, tying the game at four.
Geer set the side down in order in the top of the seventh, but Notre Dame's Bargar returned the favor, sending the game to extra innings.
Bargar and Geer battled back and forth for an astounding five innings, pitching wonderfully for their respective teams.
In the top of the 12th inning, Notre Dame was the first to get the offense back on track as they were able to score four runs on three hits and an error in the inning, going on to take the 8-4 victory.
The Red Storm will continue its BIG EAST weekend as they take on No. 18/25 DePaul in a doubleheader in Queens. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. at Red Storm Field.
