St. John's University Athletics
STJ Closes Road Schedule With Three Games At Louisville
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2010
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Live Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team concludes its 2010 road schedule this weekend with a three-game series at Louisville.
The Red Storm (16-24, 5-8 BIG EAST) and the Cardinals (29-15, 8-5 BIG EAST) will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon at Ulmer Stadium. On Sunday, STJ and Louisville will play a single game at noon.
Gametracker live stats will be available for all three games free of charge through Louisville's official website, www.uoflsports.com.
CBS All-Access video will be available for all three games for a fee through www.uoflsports.com.
The Red Storm and the Cardinals have played 10 games all-time. Louisville leads the series 7-3 and owns a 3-1 advantage at home.
On Feb. 19, the two teams played in a non-conference matchup as part of the Charleston Southern Tournament in North Charleston, S.C. St. John's fell, 16-2, to then-No. 16/15 Louisville in five innings. The Red Storm took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Kacee Cox belted a two-run home run off starter Chelsea Leonard. Cox finished the game 2-of-3 with one homer, one double, two RBI and one run scored. Stacia Dopudja also went 2-of-3.
The last time St. John's and Louisville squared off in BIG EAST play on March 28, 2009, at Red Storm Field. STJ defeated the then-No. 14/16 Cardinals, 5-4, in the second game of their doubleheader. Dopudja went 4-of-4 in the game with three RBI. Cox was 2-of-3 with one RBI. Chelsea Durning was 2-of-4 at the plate with one RBI and a pair of runs scored. Kat Lawrence earned the win after tossing 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts and four runs allowed. Linzee Sumrall got the final two outs of the seventh to pick up the save.
Cox and Dopudja have enjoyed much success against the Cardinals in their careers. Cox owns a .429 career batting average (6-of-14) against Louisville with two home runs, one double, four RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Dopudja is batting at a .700 clip (7-of-10) with three RBI against UofL.
The Red Storm's remaining eight regular season contests are all home games. St. John's returns to Queens, N.Y., on April 28 to host Iona. STJ will face LIU on April 29 before resuming BIG EAST play with a three-game series against Rutgers May 1-2.
STORM FRONT
St. John's Concludes Non-Conference Road Play: The Red Storm wrapped its non-conference road schedule at Hofstra on April 21. STJ went 10-14 in non-conference games that were either on the road or at neutral sites. In those contests, junior catcher Kacee Cox led the way with a .443 batting average, four home runs, four doubles and 19 runs batted in.
Curry And Dopudja Heat Up In Batter's Box: Freshman second baseman Amber Curry and senior first baseman Stacia Dopudja have been the Red Storm's top offensive players over the past six games. Curry is batting .438 (6-of-17) with two doubles, three RBI, five runs scored and four stolen bases in that stretch. Dopudja has a .333 batting average (5-of-15) with two home runs, one double, four RBI and two runs scored.
Curry Showers April With Runs And Steals: Curry has been on fire in the month of April. Through 14 games this month she is hitting .324 with one home run, five RBI, 12 runs and 11 stolen bases.
Cox Reaches 40-RBI Mark: After hitting an RBI single in the third inning against Hofstra, Cox now has 40 RBI on the season. Cox is just one of six STJ players all-time to reach the 40-RBI mark in a single season. The single-season record is 48 runs batted in, set by Lauren Lupinetti in 2006.
BIG EAST Beasts: Cox, Chelsea Durning, Julia Sanchez and Jordan Tingley have performed well in conference play this season. Cox is hitting .357 with three home runs, four doubles, 18 RBI and six runs scored over 14 BIG EAST contests. Durning is batting .333 with two doubles, one RBI, eight runs scored and two stolen bases. Sanchez is hitting at a .300 clip with one double, seven runs scored and a pair of steals. Tingley has been strong as relief pitcher with a 0.75 ERA, five strikeouts and just one run allowed over 9.1 innings of work.
2 Is The Magic Number: St. John's hitters have rewarded stellar performances by their pitchers this season. STJ is 11-0 when opponents score two or fewer runs.
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 .500 batting average (32-of-64). With runners in scoring position, Cox is batting .538 (28-of-52). With a runner on third and two outs, she is batting .556 (5-of-9). Cox successfully advances runners 63.2 percent of the time she steps into the batter's box.
Cox Ranks Among NCAA's Best: Entering the week, Cox's .403 season batting average ranked 57th among NCAA Division I players. Her 1.00 RBI-per-game average was tied for 36th in the nation.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals are 29-15 this season and 8-5 in BIG EAST play. Louisville is 9-7 in games at Ulmer Stadium.
Louisville is receiving 13 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll.
Louisville is coming off of doubleheader sweep of Syracuse. The Cardinals defeated the Orange 6-2 in the first game and 7-4 in the second game.
The Cardinals' top offensive player is senior catcher Melissa Roth. Roth is hitting .442 this season with 14 home runs, two doubles, 41 RBI, 46 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. Freshman Jordan Trimble ranks second on the team with a .320 batting average and 30 RBI. Senior Vanessa James is htting at a .310 clip with a team-high 15 stolen bases. Junior infielder Chelsea Bemis ranks second on the team with six home runs.
UofL's top pitcher is senior righty Kristen Wadwell, who leads the team with a 15-9 record, 151.1 innings pitched and 122 strikeouts to go with a 3.10 ERA. Sophomore lefty Tory Collins ranks second on the team with a 10-4 record, 109.0 innings pitched and 109 strikeouts. Collins ERA on the season is a team-best 3.02.
