St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Set For Sixth-Annual Bulldog Invitational
2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 27, 2014
- GAME NOTES: Sixth-Annual Bulldog Invitational
- 2014 Season Stats
- Tournament Central (Live Stats & Live Audio)
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Leading Off
- This weekend marks the first ever meeting between St. John's and both UAB and Western Carolina, while the Red Storm is 0-3 when playing against the now-nationally ranked Bulldogs. In those three games, Georgia has outscored the Red Storm, 17-4, including a 2-1, eight-inning walk-off victory in Athens in the their last meeting on Feb. 11, 2012.
- Ashley Beza pitched a complete game for the Red Storm in that game, allowing only one earned run against the then-No. 10 Bulldogs, while striking out four batters along the way.
- This marks the third meeting between St. John's and a C-USA opponent this season (Feb. 7 vs. now-No. 22/21 Tulsa, L, 5-1; Feb. 8 at FAU, W, 3-2) and second against a SEC opponent after a pair of losses to now-No. 24 Arkansas (Feb. 14-15).
- The Red Storm will be the visiting team in its first four games before playing as the home team against Western Carolina on Sunday, March 2.
- St. John's is 2-6 when playing in a Georgia-hosted tournament, picking up wins against Iowa State (Feb. 27) and Charleston Southern (Feb. 28) at the Seventh-Annual Georgia Softball Classic in 2010 while dropping all four games at the Red & Black Showcase in 2012.
- Live audio will be available for the Red Storm's games against Georgia on the GTV network. Link available on RedStormSports.com.
- Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com and fans can join in the conversation on Twitter (@StJohnsSoftball) by using #SJUSB.
Storm Tracker
- Junior Erin Burner, a 2014 Preseason All-BIG EAST selection, has been coming up in clutch situations for the Red Storm this season. After a 2-for-3 performance in a win over Ohio State on Feb. 7, Burner blasted a three-run walk-off home run with two outs on a 2-2 count to give the Red Storm a 3-2 win over host-FAU in the bottom of the seventh on Feb. 8. The following weekend, the junior went 3-for-5 with a double in a win over UMKC on Feb. 14 and 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and a double in a 4-3 victory over Jackson State on Feb. 15.
- Senior Jackie Reed is leading the team early in 2014, going 9-for-23 (.391) with three home runs, a double and a team-leading eight RBI. The senior first-baseman has reached base in each of the Red Storm's nine games this season and her last three of 2013 to give her a 12-game reached-base streak, dating back to May 4, 2013.
- Freshman Grace Kramer (0-0) leads the Red Storm with a 2.92 ERA after earning her first collegiate save in a 4-3 win over Jackson State on Feb. 15. The freshman is second on the team with 10 strikeouts and has only allowed three walks through 12.0 innings of work.
- Sophomore Tori Free (3-3) has recorded 24 strikeouts through 21.2 innings this season and has held opponents to a team-leading .188 average after starting in five of her six appearances in 2014.
Heart of the Order
- The "heart of the order" has been solid all season long for the Red Storm in 2014, with Burner, Reed and Kaitlin Fitzgerald starting in the 3-5 spots for all nine games this season, respectively.
- Through nine games, the trio is 27-for-77 (.351) with six home runs, six doubles, a triple and 16 RBI for a .688 slugging percentage this season. With runners in scoring position, the heart of the order is 7-for-12 (.583) and is 5-for-6 (.833) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
Scouting UAB
- UAB is 3-8 heading into the Bulldog Invitational after playing five games against nationally ranked opponents already this season. Of their 11 games, the Blazers have played in six extra-inning games and one game that ended after six innings of play.
- The Blazers opened the season ranked No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, but heading into the weekend are only receiving one vote in the latest poll (as of Feb. 25).
- UAB finished the 2013 season with a 40-19 record and took the Conference USA regular season title with a 19-4 mark, leading to a 3-3 finish in the NCAA Regional to earn 16th place in the final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.
- The Blazers' offense is led by sophomore Caitlin Attfield who has a .425 average with three doubles and a home run for a .575 slugging percentage and leads the team with three stolen bases on the season.
- UAB's pitching staff is led by senior Leigh Streetman who is 3-4 with a 1.68 ERA, two complete games, a shutout and 53 strikeouts through 41.2 innings of work, while holding opponents to a .208 batting average.
- Head Coach Marla Townsend is in her 16th season with UAB, leading the Blazers to a 423-404 (.511) record during that time. Since founding the program in 1998, Townsend has led 58 student-athletes to all-conference honors and the Blazers to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Scouting No. 17/18 Georgia
- Georgia is 12-1 heading into its home event this weekend after suffering its only loss of the season to then-No. 19/19 South Alabama, 3-2, on Feb. 23 at the Citrus Classic.
- The Bulldogs have shut out eight of their 13 opponents already this season, ending the game before the full seven innings three times (Feb. 7 vs. North Texas, W, 10-2, 6 inn.; Feb. 21 vs. NC State, W, 8-0, 5 inn.; Feb. 23 vs. Fairfield, W, 10-0, 5 inn.).
- UGA finished the 2013 season with a 40-21 record, including a 14-9 SEC mark, and went 2-2 in the 2013 NCAA Regional. The Bulldogs finished the 2013 season ranked 22nd in the ESPN.com/USA Softball ranking, received votes in the final USA Today/NFCA poll and held n RPI of 28 heading into the spring.
- The Bulldog offense is led by sophomore Geri Ann Glasco who has a .457 average (16-for-35) and an .857 slugging percentage with four home runs, two doubles, 16 RBI and 10 walks this season. Glasco is also second on the team in ERA with a 0.63 and a 5-0 record when pitching, holding opponents to a .159 average.
- Georgia's pitching staff is led by sophomore Chelsea Wilkinson (7-1, 0.34 ERA) who has four complete games, three shutouts and a save through 41.1 innings of work, striking out 62 batters while holding opponents to a .069 average
- Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer is in her 14th season with the Georgia softball team, leading the Bulldogs to a 650-234 record (.735), 12-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, a pair of SEC Championships, six NCAA Regional Championships and back-to-back Final Four showings in 2009 and 2010.
Scouting Western Carolina
- Western Carolina is 3-8 heading into the weekend after dropping its last two games to in-state foe South Carolina on Tuesday, 6-3 and 5-0.
- Western Carolina finished the 2013 season with a 20-26 record, including a 9-15 conference mark, to finish seventh in the Southern Conference.
- The Catamounts' offense is led by freshman Kara Salvo who has a .310 average including a double, a home run and four walks for a team-leading .444 on-base percentage and a .448 slugging percentage.
- Western Carolina's pitching staff is led by junior Jordan Garrett who has a 2.71 ERA with a pair of complete games in six starts, striking out 37 batters through 31.0 innings of work while holding opponents to a .272 average.
- Head Coach Jim Clift is in his third season with Western Carolina, leading the Catamounts to a 47-78 (.376) record during that time.
On Deck
After the conclusion of the Sixth-Annual Bulldog Invitational, the Red Storm heads straight to Clearwater, Fla., for spring break where it will play against the three-time (2009, 2011, 2013) European Champion Dutch National Team in an exhibition game (March 5) before heading to the USF-Under Armour Invitational on March 7-9 to take on Boston College, Toledo, Indiana State, Kansas, Cleveland State and Quinnipiac.
For all the latest news on the St. John's softball team, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team (@StJohnsSoftball) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with #SJUSB. If you would like to be added to the St. John's softball mailing list, send an email to stjcommunications@stjohns.edu with the subject line "Softball Mailing List".
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