St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Concludes 10-Game Road Swing At Syracuse
4/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2010
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team continues BIG EAST play April 7 at Syracuse for a doubleheader against the Orange starting at 2 p.m.
Live stats will be available free of charge through Syracuse's website at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/syracuse/softball/index.htm. Live video will be available for a fee at http://www.suathletics.com/showcase/#liveevents
The Red Storm trails the all-time series against the Orange, 7-11. Both teams have enjoyed more success on their home fields in the rivalry. Syracuse is 4-2 at home and St. John's is 5-5 at home. The Orange is 2-0 against the Red Storm at neutral sites.
St. John's split last season's doubleheader April 8, 2009, in Queens, taking a 4-3 win before falling 7-1. Kacee Cox had a three-run homer to right and Stacia Dopudja blasted a solo shot to right in the win. Linzee Sumrall earned the win after striking out eight over 6.1 frames with three runs allowed. Kat Lawrence picked up the save.
Cox and Dopudja have enjoyed success against Syracuse over the years. In five career games against the Orange, Cox owns a .333 batting average (5-of-15) with one home run, one double and three RBI. Dopudja is 3-of-5 with two solo home runs in two career games against Syracuse. Senior Shauntaine Harris, St. John's longest-tenured player on the roster, has seen a lot of Syracuse over the years. In seven career games against the Orange, Harris is 5-of-23 with one double.
St. John's returns to Queens this weekend for its BIG EAST home opener against Seton Hall. STJ will play a doubleheader against the Pirates on Saturday, April 10, starting at noon. The two teams will square off again for a single game on Sunday, April 11, at noon.
STORM FRONT
Red Storm Wins BIG EAST Season-Opening Series: St. John's took two of three against Connecticut in its first BIG EAST series of the season April 2-3. The Red Storm muscled its way to 5-2 and 9-6 wins to open the series before the Huskies came away with a 6-3 win in the third game.
Cox Earns Third BIG EAST Weekly Honors: St. John's junior catcher Kacee Cox was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season, as announced by the conference office Monday. Cox was St. John's top player last week, posting a .500 batting average (7-of-14) with two home runs, one double and 11 RBI. She also boasted a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage over the four-game stretch.
Cox Among The Best In The NCAA: Cox's .448 batting average ranks 22nd in the nation among all NCAA Division I softball players through games on April 4. Her 1.10 RBI per game average is tied for 25th in the country. Cox's .515 on-base pecentage is the 50th-best mark in the nation.
Cox And Montez Hammer The Huskies: Cox and freshman shortstop Chrissy Montez hit for power against UConn last weekend.
Cox went 6-of-10 with two home runs against UConn and drove in 11 of STJ's 17 runs. Cox accounted for just about all of St. John's offense in STJ's 5-2 win the Huskies, going 3-of-4 with one home run and five RBI. Her one-out RBI single up the middle gave St. John's a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Cox's two-run homer in the third allowed the Red Storm to retake the lead, 3-2. In the seventh, Cox hit a two-out single up the middle that plated two runs and push STJ's lead to 5-2. She accounted for three RBI in both Game 2 and Game 3 of the UConn series.
Montez had a monster game in STJ's 9-6 victory in Game 2 of the series, belting two home runs and driving in five runs. She gave St. John's a 3-0 lead when she blasted a three-run home run to center field. In the fourth Montez drilled a two-run shot to left, extending STJ's lead to 8-1.
Starting BIG EAST Slate On The Right Foot: Cox and Montez weren't the only St. John's players who enjoyed success against UConn. Chelsea Durning continues to be a force batting leadoff for the Red Storm. Against Connecticut, Durning hit .556 (5-of-9) with two runs, three walks and one steal. Shauntaine Harris batted .500 (4-of-8) with one run and one walk. Jenna Berger hit .333 (2-of-6) and Kristi Cady hit .300 (3-of-10) against UConn.
Finish Strong: Lawrence And Sumrall Pick Up Saves: St. John's pitchers Kat Lawrence and Linzee Sumrall each earned their first saves of the season in the UConn series. Lawrence tossed 1.2 scoreless frames with one strikeout in relief of Sumrall in St. John's 5-2 win on April 1. Sumrall threw one scoreless inning with three K's in relief of Lawrence in Game 2 of the series on April 2.
Stepping Up With Runners On: Cox and Cady, the Red Storm's top two sluggers, take their game to the next level when St. John's has runners on base. Cox is hitting .342 (13-of-38) when the bases are empty and .531 (26-of-49) with runners on. Cady has a .318 batting average (14-of-44) with nobody on and a .410 average with teammates on the bases.
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
The Orange is 15-15 this season, 2-0 at home and 1-2 in BIG EAST play.
Syracuse is coming off a three-game series at Georgetown April 2-3 in which it went 1-2. The Orange lost to the Hoyas 3-2 and 8-0 before winning the final game 6-0.
The Orange's top offensive player is sophomore outfielder Lisaira Daniels, who leads the team with a .380 batting average, 35 hits and 17 stolen bases. Freshman outfielder Veronica Grant ranks second on the squad with a .340 average, 33 hits and 16 steals. Grant leads the team with 12 doubles.
Junior third baseman Hallie Gibbs earned BIG EAST Weekly Honors for her performance last week against Georgetown. Gibbs, who leads the team with 27 RBI, batted .636 (7-of-11) with one home run and nine RBI.
Syracuse's has used three pitchers this season. Senior Brittany Gardner has gone 6-2 with 37 strikeouts, 52.2 innings pitched and a team-best 2.79 ERA. Sophomore Jenna Caira has thrown a team-high 85.1 innings with a 6-8 record, 3.04 ERA and 124 strikeouts. Freshman Stacy Kuwik has thrown 50.1 frames, going 3-5 with 36 strikeouts and a 3.48 ERA.
