St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Pittsburgh
Red Storm Drops Pair Of Games At Pittsburgh
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 17, 2010
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The St. John's softball team dropped two games of a doubleheader at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The Panthers (22-16, 6-4 BIG EAST) used a five-run fourth to take the first game, 7-2. In the second game, St. John's first baseman Stacia Dopudja clubbed a solo home run in the fifth and had an RBI single in the seventh, but the Red Storm (15-23, 4-8 BIG EAST) came up short in a 7-2 loss.
GAME 1: PITTSBURGH 7, ST. JOHN'S 2
St. John's took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After Amber Curry drew a one-out walkd, Kacee Cox advanced her to second on a sac hit to first. Chrissy Montez ripped a single up the middle to drive in Curry. The Red Storm's lead grew to 2-0 in the third. Julia Sanchez led off the inning with a single through the right side. Sanchez advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a sac hit to first by Chelsea Durning.
The Red Storm's sophomore third baseman scored on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, sliding hard at the plate.
Sanchez made a great defensive play for the first out of the third, diving for a short foul ball down the third base line. After STJ starter Linzee Sumrall sent Holly Stevens down swinging, Pitt evened the game at 2-2 when Yvette Bravo hit two-run home run to right, plating Reba Tutt.
The Panthers scored five runs in the fourth to take a 7-2 lead. With one out and the bases loaded, Tutt singled to right field, bringing in two runs to push Pitt ahead, 4-2. Holly Stevens followed with a three-run home run to left center. Jordan Tingley entered the game in relief of Sumrall to get the final two outs of the inning.
Montez finished 2-of-3 at the plate with one RBI. Curry and Sanchez each recorded one hit and one run scored in the game.
Sumrall (5-13) took the loss after striking out seven over 3.1 innings of work with seven runs (two earned) given up. Tingley tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in relief with two K's. Pittsburgh's Alyssa O'Connell (10-8) earned the win after throwing seven innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts.
GAME 2: PITTSBURGH 7, ST. JOHN'S 2
Pitt went up 2-0 in the first inning. With one out, Holly Stevens hit a two-run home run to left off St. John's starter Kat Lawrence. Lawrence finished the inning strong, striking out Yvette Bravo and inducing a pop-up to short.
The Panthers extended their lead to 3-0 in the second when Ciera Damon hit a two-out solo home run to center field.
Stacia Dopudja got St. John's on the board in the fifth inning. With two outs, Dopudja drilled a solo home run off Pitt starter Cory Berliner to left center to bring STJ to within 3-1. The homer was Dopudja's third on the season.
In the bottom of the fifth, Stevens hit her second home run of the game with a two-run shot to left center that plated Reba Tutt. Three batters later, Jordan Tingley entered in relief of Lawrence with one out and one on. The Panthers' lead grew to 7-1 when Damon singled to left to score Jessica Rhodunda and Kristen Cheesebrew.
St. John's tried rally back in the seventh. Amber Curry drew a leadoff walk to lead off the inning. Three batters later, Kristi Cady singled through the left side to advance Curry to second. Dopudja ripped an RBI single to left field to plate Curry bring STJ to within 7-2. Shauntaine Harris followed with a walk to load the bases, but the Red Storm could not plate any more runs.
Dopudja finished 2-of-3 with one home run, two RBI and one run scored. Cady went 1-of-3 at the plate.
Lawrence fell to 9-7 with the loss after she threw 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and seven runs allowed (six earned). Tingley tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout. Berliner (10-7) earned the win after throwing seven frames with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed.
The Red Storm concludes its three-game series against Pittsburgh at noon on Sunday.
