St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Butler
Red Storm Splits Two-Game Series with Butler
4/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
• Game One Box Score (PDF)
• Game Two Box Score (PDF)
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QUEENS, N.Y. -- After downing Butler, 6-4, in a resumed game on Sunday at Red Storm Field, the St. John's softball team dropped a 3-2 decision in the finale to snap the Red Storm's perfect home record and split a rain shortened two-game series with the Bulldogs.
St. John's is 19-17 overall and 3-5 in BIG EAST play, while Butler is 22-15 with a 5-3 conference record.
GAME ONE: St. John's 6, Butler 4
After a rain storm forced the umpires to suspend Saturday's game with the score tied at two heading into the fourth, St. John's resumed play on Sunday and scored one in the fifth and three in the sixth to defeat Butler, 6-4.
Grace Kramer (10-8) tossed a complete game to earn the win in the circle, allowing four runs on six hits with 11 strikeouts.
Kristin Gutierrez (8-7) suffered the loss as she surrendered six runs, five earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Kacey Stalwart did not allow a hit in 1.1 innings of relief.
Freshman Christina Melendez and junior Brittany Garcia led the offensive attack with two RBI apiece to go with a run scored. Krystal Puga drove in a run and scored, while Carly Williams went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Hannah Anderson and Savannah Warren each registered a hit and scored.
The Johnnies got on the board first with two runs in the second. Following a leadoff walk by Puga, Melendez crushed the first pitch she saw off Gutierrez over the left field fence for her fourth home run of the season.
Butler answered back with two runs in the third to tie the game. With a pair of runners on, Kaitlin Dowd drove in two on a two-out single through the left side.
St. John's retook the lead in the fifth when Williams brought in Warren on an infield single, her 20th RBI of the year.
The Red Storm added three runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 6-2. With Monique Landini and Anderson on-base, Garcia hit a two-run double to right center before scoring on Puga's sacrifice fly.
In the seventh, the Bulldogs rallied for two runs on Brandyce Sallee's two-run double before Kramer struck out the side to lift St. John's over Butler in the opener.
GAME TWO: Butler 3, St. John's 2
Tied at two in the seventh, Butler scored on a pair of St. John's throwing errors to win Sunday's second contest, 3-2, and end the Red Storm's perfect home record.
Kramer (10-9) was charged with the loss after giving up the game winning run in the seventh. The junior righty was solid in relief, giving up one run, none earned, in three innings of work. McKenzie Murray got the start and allowed two runs over four innings in the circle.
Mikeila Boroff (6-3) collected the win for the Bulldogs in a complete game effort. The sophomore righty struck out six and allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits.
Warren paced St. John's with a solo shot, while Anderson went 2-for-2 with a walk. Lauren Zick recorded a hit and the other run for the Johnnies.
Butler got the offense going early, scoring two runs in the first to go ahead. With two outs and the bases loaded, Chelsea Norwood hit a two-run single to right field to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the series.
In the bottom half of the first, the Red Storm pushed across a run to cut the lead to one. Zick singled and came around to score on a throwing error by Butler's Riley Carter on a double steal with Anderson.
Next inning, Warren smacked her third home run of the season to tie the game at 2-2.
The score would remain tied until the seventh when the Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of St. John's miscues to plate the game winning run. Jenna Foreman, who pinch ran for Brandyce Sallee after she reached on a leadoff single, stole second and scored on throwing errors by Kaitlyn Wilkens at catcher and Garcia at center.
Next up for St. John's is a three-game road series against Providence on April 16-17.
For all the latest news on the St. John's softball team, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team (@StJohnsSoftball) on Twitter. 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".
