St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Renews Rivalry With Longtime Foe Seton Hall
4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 5, 2011
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's softball team will renew its 27-year-old rivalry with BIG EAST foe Seton Hall on Wednesday when the teams square off in a doubleheader at Ivy Hill Park in South Orange, N.J.
Live stats for both games will be available free of charge through SHUPirates.com. The first game is slated to start at 3 p.m.
The Red Storm (13-21, 0-4 BIG EAST) leads the all-time series, 37-22, and the Pirates (12-19, 0-6 BIG EAST) are its third-most-faced opponent. STJ, then known as the Regals, won the first game between the two teams, 9-0, on April 13, 1984. St. John's 37 victories against Seton Hall are its most against any one opponent.
Seton Hall took last season's series at Red Storm Field, 2-1, as the Pirates took 3-2 and 4-0 victories on April 10, 2010. The Red Storm closed out the series with a 4-0 win on April 11, 2010, thanks to a two-run homer by Amber Curry and 5.2 shutout relief innings from Kat Lawrence.
The Red Storm last played at Seton Hall on April 15, 2009, when the teams split a doubleheader. STJ took the second game, 9-0, as Lawrence no-hit the Pirates and struck out 13.
St. John's and Seton Hall are both looking to bounce back from rough weekends against DePaul and Louisville, respectively. STJ opened its BIG EAST road schedule with three losses to DePaul last weekend in Chicago. The Pirates were also swept over the weekend, falling three times on the road to Louisville.
St. John's returns to Red Storm Field to host Providence for a three-game series from April 9-10. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game will both start at noon.
NOTABLE NOTES
The Red Storm offense, which has generated 4.8 runs per game, has been impressive so far in 2011. St. John's ranks among the BIG EAST's best in a slew of offensive categories, including:
o On-base Percentage: .366 (4th)
o Runs Scored: 163 (4th)
o Hits: 251 (T3rd)
o RBI: 141 (4th)
o Doubles: 40 (5th)
o Triples: 4 (T6th)
o Home Runs: 19 (T5th)
o Total Bases: 356 (4th)
o Walks: 107 (4th)
o Hit By Pitch: 20 (T3rd)
St. John's sophomore Chrissy Montez is enjoying a monster season at the plate. Montez leads the team and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with a .382 batting average (39-of-102) and her team-high 34 RBI ranks fourth in the league. She has recorded a hit in 25 of the 32 games she has played this season. Montez also has 11 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games this year.
St. John's 2011 offense is deeper and more likely to get clutch hits than it was in 2010. Last year, STJ hitters combined for just 33 individual multi-RBI performances. Through just 34 games this season, the Red Storm has 34 individual multi-RBI performances. In 2010, St. John's players had 83 multi-hit showings and 11 with three or more hits. This year's STJ squad has fired off 61 multi-hit performances with 17 three-hit showings.
Junior left fielder Fachon Jones and sophomore Amber Curry are enjoying offensive hot streaks. Over her last 11 games, Jones is hitting .367 (11-of-30) with one double, seven runs, five walks and two stolen bases. Her on-base percentage in that stretch is .457 and her slugging percentage is .400. In her last 12 games, Curry is batting .382 (13-of-34) with one home run, six RBI, seven runs, two doubles two walks and eight stolen bases. Curry has a .405 on-base percentage and a .529 slugging percentage over that stretch.
Junior Kristi Cady ranks 21st in the BIG EAST in conference-only batting average after hitting .417 (5-of-12) through four games of league play.
Red Storm senior right fielder Chelsea Durning continues to make her mark in the St. John's record books. Durning's 79 career walks and 20 times hit by a pitch are school records. Her 42nd career double in game two against DePaul on April 2 set the new St. John's record.
SCOUTING SETON HALL
Seton Hall is 12-19 this season and 0-6 in BIG EAST Play. The Pirates are coming off of three losses to Louisville last weekend.
The Pirates went 19-31 in 2010 and finished 10th in the BIG EAST with an 8-14 conference record. Seton Hall returned 13 letterwinners from last year's squad, including nine position starters and three pitchers.
Senior outfielder Nalin Bennett and freshmen third baseman Meredith Henze have been the Pirates top hitters. Bennett is hitting .295 (23-of-78) with five RBI, four doubles, one triple, nine runs scored and 11 walks. Henze is batting .273 (18-of-66) with a team high 11 RBI, two homers, two doubles and five runs scored. Sophomore Brittany Hammer and junior Marissa Muoio have shined in limited playing time as each have hit .345 while playing in under half of SHU's games.
Freshman Jen Metzger has been the Pirates' best pitcher this esason, going 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 59.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Hannah Hill has taken the bulk of the work, making 15 starts and tossing 82.2 innings with a 5-11 record and a 5.50 ERA.
