St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
DePaul
DePaul Takes Two From St. John's In Doubleheader
4/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2011
CHICAGO - The St. John's softball team fell to DePaul twice in the teams' doubleheader on Saturday to open the weekend's three-game series at Cacciatore Stadium.
In the first game, DePaul ace Kirsten Verdun held St. John's batters in check and the Blue Demons (19-10, 0-3 BIG EAST) scored every inning as the Red Storm (13-20, 0-3 BIG EAST) fell, 12-2, in its BIG EAST road opener.
Verdun earned a second win over the Red Storm in the second game. The Blue Demons used the momentum of a four-run first to pull away with a 7-2 victory over St. John's.
GAME 2: DEPAUL 7, ST. JOHN'S 2
DePaul took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With no outs, Lynsey Ciezki drew a bases-loaded walk off St. John's starter Linzee Sumrall to bring in Alex Morocco. Katelyn Braget hit into a no-out fielder's choice to drive in DePaul's second run and Lindsey Dean followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Kirsten Verdun. Two at-bats later, Ciezki scored as the Red Storm defense caugh Samantha Dodd in a 2-6-4 rundown.
The Red Storm plated one run in the top of the third. Michelle Tilson led off the inning with a single to center field and stole second base. Three batters later, Chrissy Montez singled to center field to score Tilson from third.
DePaul extended its lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs in the third, Megan Coronado hit pinch-hit, RBI double to left, plating Sarah Shizas. Two batters later, Morocco hit an RBI single to short to plate Coronado.
St. John's had two runners on in the top of the fifth but could not produce any runs. Meghan Gwynn was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Tilson reached on a no-out fielder's choice. Following a groundout to the catcher, STJ had runners on second and third. DePaul closed out the inning with a 3-2-5-2-6 rundown and a flyout to center field.
In the bottom of the fifth, DePaul's lead grew to 7-1 when Dean hit an RBI single to right field.
The Red Storm responded with one run in the top of the sixth to pull within 7-2. Kristi Cady hit a leadoff double down the left field line and slid into second base. Two batters later, Amber Curry ripped another double down the left field line to plate Cady.
In the seventh, Chelsea Durning set the new St. John's career doubles record. Durning, who entered the game tied with Teresa DiRoberto with 41 career doubles, launched a shot off the wall in center and motored to second for her 42nd career two-base hit.
Curry finished the game 2-of-3 with one RBI and one double. Montez went 2-of-4 with one RBI. Cady was 2-of-4 with one double and one run scored. Durning finished 2-of-4 with one double.
Sumrall took the loss after tossing six innings with four strikeouts and six earned runs allowed.
Verdun improved to 11-3 after throwing five innings with one earned run allowed. Bree Brown allowed one earned run over two relief frames.
St. John's and DePaul will conclude their season series with a single game on Sunday starting at 11 a.m. (Central Time).
GAME 1: DEPAUL 12, ST. JOHN'S 2 (5 INNINGS)
The Red Storm (13-19, 0-2 BIG EAST) missed out on an opportunity to take an early lead in the first, leaving three runners stranded. With two outs, Kristi Cady singled to shallow right field off Verdun. Jackie Reed followed with a hard-hit double down the left field line to give St. John's two runners in scoring position. Meghan Gwynn drew a walk on a full count to load the bases. Verdun escaped the inning unscathed with a strikeout.
DePaul (18-10, 3-2 BIG EAST) took control with four runs in the first inning. With one out and two on, Lynsey Ciezki hit a single to left off of STJ starter Ashley Beza to plate Sean Please and give the Blue Demons a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Ciezki scored from third base on a wild pitch. Katelyn Braget hit a two-run homer to right to give DePaul a 4-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, the Blue Demons added two more runs to extend their lead to 6-0. With two outs Verdun hit a two-RBI single to center field.
DePaul poured on five more runs in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Allie Braden hit a two-RBI single to right field. Morocco hit a two-RBI single to second base to push DePaul's lead to 9-0. Two batters later, Verdun hit an RBI single to center field and Ciezki followed with an RBI single to left. Aleshia Link entered in relief of Beza. Gwynn made a great diving catch at short and made a toss from the ground to Julia Sanchez at second to end the inning.
The Blue Demons added one more run in the fourth. With one out, Marla Matthews hit a sac fly to left field to plate Samantha Dodd from third base.
St. John's scored two in the bottom of the fifth. Britni Hawley scored from third after a passed ball and Chelsea Durning scored on a 4-3 groundout by Sanchez.
Durning and Sanchez each went 1-of-3 with one RBI. Beza (1-7) took the loss after striking out three and allowing 11 runs (eight earned) over 2.2 innings of work. Link tossed 1.1 innings of relief, allowing one unearned run and striking out one.
Verdun improved to 10-3 in the win after tossing three scoreless frames with five strikeouts.
