St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Visits Villanova For Conference Doubleheader
4/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 12, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team (19-15, 7-5) looks to make a push toward a top-four seed in the BIG EAST Championship this Monday, April 13, when the squad travels to face the Villanova Wildcats (16-14, 2-10) in a two-game set at 1 p.m.
• Live stats will be available for the conference matchup between the Red Storm and the Wildcats, at www.RedStormSports.com.
• Villanova leads the all-time series, 30-19 but St. John's split its doubleheader a season ago in Queens, as STJ took game one, 2-1, but were topped, 3-1, in game two.
• St. John's is coming off a 3-1 record this past week including a sweep local-rival Saint Peter's and conference split with BIG EAST-foe Syracuse.
• Sophomore Kat Lawrence threw a one-hit shutout vs. Saint Peter's in game two on Thursday, striking out 10 in just five innings.
• Senior Roxy Struble and sophomore Kacee Cox pace the Red Storm offense as of late. Struble batted .667 (8-for-12) this past week and tallied six runs, three doubles, a home run and four RBI. Cox has been equally as impressive and boasts a .500 average (5-for-10) with four runs, two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.
STORM FRONT
• Struble continues to lead the Red Storm offense, pacing the team in batting average (.429), hits (45), RBI (27), total bases (75), walks (9), on-base percentage (.474) and slugging percentage (.714). The senior is now second in the BIG EAST and tied for 31st in the nation in batting average. Struble has also transitioned to shortstop after beginning the season as a corner infielder.
• Sophomore starter Linzee Sumrall leads St. John's with a 2.32 ERA and has a team-leading 165 strikeouts in 117.2 innings. Sumrall also has 14 complete games, four shutouts and three saves which are good enough for seventh in the nation. The Denham Springs, La., native is also 17th in the nation with 9.8 strikeouts per 7.0 innings and 26th with 165 total strikeouts.
• Classmate Lawrence has kept up in K department, striking out 127 in 105.1 innings this year. The right hander also has a 3.02 ERA to go along with a 9-8 record and 10 complete games.
• Sophomore leadoff hitter Chelsea Durning continues to be the sparkplug for the Red Storm offense. She leads St. John's in at-bats (105), runs (29), doubles (10), triples (1), and HBP (8) and is second on the squad in batting average (.352), hits (37) and on-base percentage (.438).
• Since transitioning to catcher after playing most of 2008 at third base, Cox is beginning to pick up where she left off last season at the plate. Cox, who was the team's offensive leader a season ago, has a .471 batting average, 10 runs, a three double, six home runs, 20 RBI, a 1.088 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage over her past 13 games.
• Junior transfer Stacia Dopudja has recently moved into the cleanup spot in the Red Storm lineup and has been pacing the offense in conference games this year. The Southeast Missouri State transfer leads the team with a .444 batting average along with 16 hits, three doubles, four home runs, 31 total bases and an .861 slugging percentage in BIG EAST play.
• Junior outfielder Shauntaine Harris has played well in BIG EAST games this season, upping her batting average 106 points to hit .304 in conference play. Harris also has four runs and a team-leading three steals against BIG EAST foes.
• Freshman Julia Sanchez has a handle on the hot corner and has used her speed to her advantage this season. Sanchez has eight runs, three doubles and three RBI along with a team-leading two sacrifice flies, four sacrifice hits and eight steals.
SCOUTING VILLANOVA
• The Villanova Wildcats are 17-15 and 3-10 in the BIG EAST this season after going 21-29-1, 7-15 a year ago.
• Nova is led by head coach Maria DiBernardi who is 625-491-9 in 25 years with the Wildcats.
• The team returns 13 letterwinners along with five starters and two pitchers.
• Villanova is batting .273 as a team and has an ERA of 2.89.
• Meghan Morese and Jess O'Boyle lead the Wildcats with identical .317 batting averages. Morese also paces the team with four home runs and 21 RBI. Boyle has 16 runs and eight doubles.
• Danielle Maricle is hitting .305 on the season and has been the team's best base runner, pacing the team with 15 stolen bases. • Caitlyn Delahaba leads the pitching staff with an 11-12 record. Delahaba boasts a 2.97 ERA and has a team-leading seven complete games, two shutouts and 127 strikeouts in 120.0 innings pitched.
• Megan Hord has 52 strikeouts in 49.2 innings and a 2.54 ERA this season while Molly Manning is third on the team with a 3.07 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.
ON DECK
The Red Storm continues its BIG EAST schedule on Wednesday, April 15, when the squad travels to Seton Hall for a doubleheader at 3 p.m.
If you would like to receive the most up-to-date information on the 2008-09 St. John's softball team, please send your e-mail address to michael.gambardella03@stjohns.edu.
