St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Readies For Road Rematch With Hofstra
4/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team looks to even its season series against Hofstra Wednesday when the Red Storm heads 17 miles to Hempstead, N.Y., to play the Pride for the second time this year.
Live stats will be available for both games free of charge through Hofstra's official website, www.gohofstra.com.
The Red Storm (16-23, 5-8 BIG EAST) and the Pride (31-7, 11-1 CAA) have squared off in 39 games all-time. Hofstra leads the series 26-12-1. The Pride has won the last eight times the two teams have met.
On March 21, St. John's fell, 6-2, to Hofstra at Red Storm Field. Sophomore third baseman Julia Sanchez hit the first home run of her St. John's career with one on and one out in the third inning. Sanchez hammered a 1-0 pitch off Pride starter Olivia Galati to straightaway center for a two-run shot. Junior pitcher Linzee Sumrall tossed a complete game, striking out five and allowing six runs (three earned) over seven innings.
Senior right fielder Shauntaine Harris owns a .400 career batting average against Hofstra in two career games against the Pride. Sanchez, Jenna Berger, Kristi Cady and Chrissy Montez each went 1-of-3 at the plate on March 21.
Wednesday's game will be STJ's first non-conference matchup since St. John's March 31 game at Fordham. In St. John's 26 non-conference games this season, junior catcher Kacee Cox owns a .429 batting average with four home runs, five doubles and 21 RBI. Cady is hitting at a .370 clip with three home runs, three doubles and 18 RBI in non-conference play. Junior left fielder Chelsea Durning is batting .342 with one home run, three doubles and nine RBI in non-BIG EAST games.
The Red Storm travels to Louisville, Ky., for a three-game set against Louisville April 24-25. STJ will play a doubleheader against the Cardinals on April 24 and wrap the series with a single game on April 25.
STORM FRONT
All The Singles, Ladies: St. John's played small ball in its 6-0 win over Pittsburgh on April 18. Nine of STJ's 10 hits in the game were singles and four of the Red Storm's six runs resulted from singles. In the third inning, Kacee Cox drove in two runs with a base hit to right field. In the fourth, Amber Curry had an RBI single to center field and Cox brought in another run with a single to right.
Strong Bats In Steel City: St. John's corner infielders led the team offensively in last weekend's three-game series at Pittsburgh. Sophomore third baseman Julia Sanchez had a team-best .600 batting average (3-of-5) with three runs scored. Senior first baseman Stacia Dopudja batted .375 (3-of-8) with one home run, two RBI and one run scored against the Panthers.
Lawrence Dominating In The Circle: Junior pitcher Kat Lawrence went 2-1 in the circle last week with a 2.29 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Lawrence struck out five and tossed a complete-game one-hitter in St. John's 2-0 win over DePaul on April 14. She threw seven scoreless fames with four K's in the Red Storm's 6-0 win over Pitt.
Dopudja's Power Surge: Dopudja was hot in the batter's box last week when she hit .308 with a pair of home runs and three runs batted in. The power-hitting senior ended a 23-game and 63-at-bat homerless streak when she clubbed a solo home run against DePaul on April 14.
Cox Moves Up STJ's RBI Record List: After driving in three runs against Pitt on April 18, Cox now has 39 RBI on the season, surpassing Jo Sherlock's 2005 total of 38 for sixth place on the STJ single-season record list. Lauren Lupinetti's 48 RBI in 2006 is the most by any St. John's player in a single season.
Tingley Reliable In Relief: Freshman pitcher Jordan Tingley was strong coming off the bench against Pitt. In two relief appearances against the Panthers, Tingley tossed 4.1 shutout innings with three strikeouts.
Keep The Hits Coming: St. John's out-hit Pitt 10-4 in its 6-0 win over the Panthers on April 18. The Red Storm is 15-6 this season when it has more hits than its opponent.
Cox Delivers In The Clutch: Cox has been the Red Storm's top hitter when she has teammates on base. With runners on base, Cox has a .508 batting average (31-of-61). With runners in scoring position, Cox is batting .551 (27-of-49). With a runner on third and two outs, she is batting .556 (5-of-9). Cox successfully advances runners 63.1 percent of the time she steps into the batter's box.
Cox Ranks Among NCAA's Best: Cox's .403 season batting average ranks 57th among NCAA Division I players. Her 1.00 RBI-per-game average is tied for 36th in the nation.
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
The Pride is 31-7 this season and 9-2 at home through games of April 19. Hofstra was riding a 13-game winning streak before falling at Towson, 4-3, on April 18.
Hofstra hosts Fordham at 4 p.m. on April 20.
The Pride is 6-0 against BIG EAST teams this season. Hofstra defeated Louisville, 2-1, on March 13 and took a pair of games from Connecticut in the Hofstra Invitational March 20-21. Hofstra topped St. John's, 6-2, March 24 and swept Rutgers in a doubleheader in Piscataway, N.J., April 7.
Hofstra's top offensive player is senior first baseman Michele DePasquale, who is batting .368 with seven home runs, seven doubles, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored this season. Freshman outfielder Tessa Ziemba leads the team with 29 RBI and is hitting at a .305 clip with four homers, seven doubles, 20 run scored and four stolen bases.
The Pride's top pitcher is Olivia Galati, whose 1.16 ERA ranks 15th in the nation.
Galati's 19 wins are tied for 23rd in the nation. She has 191 strikeouts this season and her 9.2 strikeouts per seven innings ranks 33rd among Division I pitchers. Hofstra also gets quality innings from Erin Wade, who is 11-4 on the season with a 2.89 ERA and 67 strikeouts.
