St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Presbyterian
Walk-Off Winner Gives Red Storm Opening Day Sweep
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
· Tournament Central
· 2015 Overall Season Stats
· BOX SCORE: St. John's 4, Youngstown State 2
· BOX SCORE: St. John's 8, Presbyterian 7
· Follow St. John's Softball on Twitter
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Built up behind a five-run seventh inning, freshman Hannah Anderson was able to cap off a Red Storm rally with a walk-off single into left field to score Taylor Hill and give St. John's an 8-7 walk-off victory over Presbyterian, sealing an opening day sweep for the Red Storm.
"At the end of the day it doesn't matter what the score is in the first or fifth inning, it matters what the score is at the end of the day," said head coach Amy Kvilhaug. "The biggest thing about this win is that we overcame adversity and that we came in and did what we needed to do."
After battling back and forth with Presbyterian through the first six innings, the Red Storm found themselves trailing, 7-3, heading into their final three outs of the game against Presbyterian.
Senior Erin Burner got things going right away with a one-out single into right field, sparking the soon-to-be rally for the Red Storm. After a wild pitch and a walk to put two runners on, Monique Landini sent a RBI single up the middle to score Burner and an infield bunt single by Yvonne Rericha gave St. John's the bases loaded with only one out.
Still trailing 7-4, Carly Williams was able to pick up an infield single to score Brittany Garcia and Lexi Robles got a RBI on a groundout to second to bring the Red Storm to within a run.
With Taylor Hill in to pinch run for Williams, freshman Hannah Anderson sent a ball down the left-field line just far enough out of reach to allow Hill to score and give the Red Storm a walk-off victory.
Freshman McKenzie Murray (1-0) picked up the win after pitching 1.2 innings of hitless relief, allowing only one run while striking out three.
After seeing Youngstown State take an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one, senior Ellen Czuba was able to swing the momentum around in the top of the second, making a diving catch in shallow right field before junior Tori Free got a called strike to end the inning, stranding a pair of Penguins on base.
That momentum continued for the Red Storm offense in the bottom half of the frame as Monique Landini led things off with a base hit up the middle before junior Carly Williams connected on a full-count, sending an opposite-field, two-run shot over the left-field fence to put St. John's on the board leading, 2-1. The long-ball was the first home run for Williams in her three-year career.
Czuba continued to show her senior leadership with a stand-up double over the right fielder's head to lead off the third before fellow captain, Erin Burner, was able to put the senior duo into scoring position. With a the Red Storm threatening, Yvonne Rericha was able to lay down a base-hit bunt to score Czuba before Burner was able to cross the plate on a right-side ground ball to extend the St. John's lead to 4-1 after three.
After sitting down the Red Storm in order to end the third, Youngstown State was able to get back on the board as Kayla Haslett hit a solo home run over the left-field fence to cut the St. John's lead to 4-2. The Penguins continued to rally and load the bases with one out, but Free was able to end the inning with a strikeout and a grounder to short to preserve the 4-2 lead.
Sophomore Grace Kramer came in and picked up her first save of the season, pitching two innings of hitless relief to secure the win. Free (1-0) earned the first victory of the season for the Red Storm after finishing the game with nine strikeouts in five innings of work, allowing four hits and two earned runs.
"I thought the day was going to be about getting out, competing and getting out on the dirt," said Kvilhaug. "I know we have a good team so I was pretty confident they were going to come out and perform in situations and they did."
The Red Storm will round out the Campbell/Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday as it takes on Towson and UMES at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
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 the hashtag, #SJUSB. If you would like to be added to the
