St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Western Carolina
Red Storm Offense Thrives In Saturday Afternoon Split
3/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2014
- BOX SCORE: St. John's vs. No. 17/18 Georgia
- BOX SCORE: St. John's vs. Western Carolina
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ATHENS, Ga. - After being held scoreless on Friday, the Red Storm offense turned things around with an afternoon split on day two of the Sixth Annual Bulldog Invitational, combining for 19 hits in its two games on Saturday.
The Red Storm (5-8) started things off against No. 17/18 Georgia, picking up 10 hits in five innings, the most hits the Georgia pitching staff has allowed all season. Despite its 10 hits, however, the Red Storm was unable to hold off the nationally-ranked Bulldogs, falling 13-3 in five innings on Saturday.
Three St. John's batters finished perfect in the game as Yvonne Rericha and Jackie Reed each went 2-for-2 while Erin Burner finished 3-for-3 for the second time this season. Burner would end up finishing the day 6-for-7 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and five RBI in two games.
The Red Storm saw many opportunities throughout the opening game, stranding nine runners on base over five innings, but its time finally came in the top of the third as Burner and Reed got things going with back-to-back singles before a Fitzgerald walk allowed freshman Brittany Garcia to rip an RBI single up the middle and put the Red Storm on the board.
Rericha was able to put up the other two St. John's runs in the game, sending an RBI single into center later in the third before hitting a sac fly to right in the fifth to round out the three runs for the Red Storm.
Sophomore Tori Free took the loss after only 0.2 innings of work, allowing six runs (only two earned) on four hits. The Red Storm pitching staff held Georgia's Geri Ann Glasco, a member of the Preseason USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 "Watch List," hitless (0-for-4) for the day.
Later in the day, Burner continued her hot hitting, ripping a two-out liner past the Western Carolina first baseman to send Robles to the plate and put the Red Storm on the board in the top of the third with an early 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, senior Kelsey Moyer was able to work a one-out walk and let Garcia drive her home on a RBI single right inside the left field line. Burner wouldn't let the Red Storm offense end there, however, as she ripped an RBI double to the left center wall to score Garcia and give St. John's a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
True to her nature, Burner did it once again after back-to-back hits by Monique Landini and Garcia as she ripped a first-pitch deep over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run to lead St. John's to an eventual 6-0 win over Western Carolina.
Free (4-5) turned it around in the second game for the Red Storm as well, pitching her third complete game and first shutout of the season with eight strikeouts.
The Red Storm wraps up the weekend on Sunday with a single game against Western Carolina at 10 a.m.
After the conclusion of the 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.
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".
