St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Syracuse
Red Storm Drops Two Games In Doubleheader Vs. Syracuse
4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 7, 2010
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team dropped both games of its doubleheader against Syracuse on Wednesday at SU Softball Stadium.
The Red Storm fell, 3-2, in the first game after Syracuse scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth. The Orange took Game 2, 6-2.
Sophomore third baseman Julia Sanchez hit .500 in the series after going 3-of-6 with one double. Junior catcher Kacee Cox hit .429 (3-of-7) over both game with a double in Game 1 and a solo home run in Game 2. Freshman second baseman Amber Curry was .400 (2-of-5) from the plate with one walk, one run scored and three stolen bases.
GAME 1: SYRACUSE 3, ST. JOHN'S 2
The Red Storm jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. Catcher Kacee Cox ripped a one-out double to left center for St. John's first hit. Two batters later, center fielder Kristi Cady connected for a two-out double to the same spot in left center, scoring Cox from second and putting St. John's up, 1-0.
St. John's tacked on another run in the second. Second baseman Amber Curry led off the inning with a walk, stole second base in the next at bat and escaped a rundown two batters later to swipe third base. Designated player Meghan Gwynn laid down a bunt single, plating Curry as STJ's lead grew to 2-0.
STJ starter Linzee Sumrall escaped a jam in the bottom of the second, keeping Syracuse off the scoreboard. After Syracuse's Jenna Caira walked and Stacy Kuwik singled to lead of the inning, third baseman Julia Sanchez made a quick play on a groundout down the left infield line, tossing the ball to shortstop Chrissy Montez covering third base for the force out. Sumrall induced a swinging strikeout in the next at-bat, but walked Veronica Grant to load the bases. St. John's got out of the inning on a lineout by Rachel Helman to left field.
The Red Storm put runners on in the third inning, but was unable to add more runs. Cox led off the inning with a single through the left side and Jenna Berger entered to pinch run for her. Montez followed with an infield single to the shortstop. However, STJ came up empty after two strikeouts and Berger got caught in a rundown between third and home plate.
In the bottom of the third, Syracuse scored its first run. With two outs, Kuwick singled up the middle to drive in Lisaira Daniels from third base and bring the Orange to within 2-1. With runners on first and second, St. John's avoided falling behind when Cady robbed Kelly Saco of a home run, making a reaching grab at the top of the center field wall for the third out.
St. John's left another runner in scoring position stranded in the sixth. Curry hit a one-out infield single to short and stole second base in the following at-bat. She advanced to third on a groundout to short by Harris, but STJ could not drive her in for a run.
Syracuse took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Orange tied the game when Grant hit a one-out single up the middle, scoring Saco from third base. SU went up 3-2 two batters later when Daniels hit an RBI triple to right center.
Cox finished the game 2-of-4 with one double and one run scored. Montez went 2-of-3 from the plate. Cady went 1-of-3 with an RBI double. Curry was 1-of-2 with one runs scored and three steals. Gwynn recorded one hit and one RBI.
Sumrall (5-10) took the loss after striking out four over six frames and allowing three runs (one earned). Caira picked up the win, improving to 7-8 after throwing seven innings with two runs given up and 12 strikeouts.
GAME 2: SYRACUSE 6, ST. JOHN'S 2
Syracuse took a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. With one out and the bases loaded, St. John's starter Kat Lawrence walked Lacey Kohl, bringing in Veronica Grant for the Orange's first run. SU scored its second run on a sac fly to deep center by Jenna Caira that plated Rachel Helman from third.
The Orange grew its lead to 3-0 in the second inning after Meghan Boston hit a leadoff, solo home run to right center.
St. John's offense started to heat up the third inning. With one out, Julia Sanchez reached with a single to center field and Chelsea Durning followed with a single through the left side. However, STJ could not bank any runs as Kacee Cox grounded into a 5-3 double play.
The Red Storm got on the scoreboard in the fourth. With two outs, Stacia Dopudja ripped a single through the left side. She advanced to second on an infield single by Amber Curry in the next at-bat. Shauntaine Harris reached on a throwing error by Syracuse shortstop Morgan Nandin and Dopudja scored from second base to bring STJ to within 3-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, Syracuse added three runs when Grant hit two-out, three-run homer to right center, plating Kelly Saco and Boston.
With two outs in the fifth, St. John's drew to within 6-2 when Cox blasted a pitch off Orange starter Stacy Kuwik to straightaway center for a solo home run and her seventh round-tripper of the season.
Linzee Sumrall entered the game in relief of Lawrence in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and runners on first and second. After hitting Saco with a pitch to load the bases, Sumrall induced a 4-6 groundout to get out of the inning.
Sanchez knocked a two-out double to right center in the seventh and finished 2-of-3 from the plate. Cox finished 1-of-3 with the solo home run. Dopudja went 1-of-2 with one run scored and one walk.
Lawrence (7-5) took the loss after throwing 4.2 frames with two strikeouts and six runs allowed. Sumrall tossed 1.1 innings of relief with one strikeout. Kuwik (4-5) earned the win for Syracuse after seven innings with five strikeouts and one run allowed.
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.
NOTES: With a solo home run in Game 2, Kacee Cox now has 33 RBI, tying for 10th on the St. John's all-time single-season record list. As a freshman in 2008, Cox tied for seventh all-time with 34 RBI...After going 3-of-7 on Wednesday, Cox improved to her career batting average against the Orange to .363 (8-of-22).
