St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Providence
St. John's Splits Conference Doubleheader at Providence
4/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
• Box Score Game One (PDF)
• Box Score Game Two (PDF)
• Follow @StJohnsSoftball on Twitter
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The St. John's softball team split Saturday's BIG EAST doubleheader against Providence at Glay Field, opening with a 4-0 win before being edged, 3-2, in game two to set up a crucial Sunday showdown.
The Red Storm moves to 20-18 overall and 4-6 in the BIG EAST, while the Friars sit at 15-21 with a 2-8 conference mark.
GAME ONE: St. John's 4, Providence 0
Grace Kramer (11-9) was dominant in the circle, striking out six in a one-hit, complete-game shutout performance to help St. John's take the opener over Providence, 4-0.
Taylor Huntly (4-11) was the losing pitcher as she allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Despite giving up four hits, no runs were charged to Megan McCune in 2.2 innings of relief.
In her first game back from injury, Yvonne Rericha did not miss a beat as she registered three hits and drove in a run. Savannah Warren went 3-for-4 with a career-high three doubles and scored twice to lead off the offensive attack for the Red Storm. Krystal Puga posted two hits, two RBI and a run, while Lauren Zick tallied the other RBI for St. John's.
After three scoreless innings, St. John's scored two in the fourth. Warren doubled and scored on Puga's RBI single. Back-to-back hits by Rericha and Kaitlyn Wilkens loaded the bases for Zick, who walked to plate the second run.
In the fifth, the Red Storm added two more runs to make it 4-0. Warren registered her second double of the game and scored on another single by Puga. McCune then came in for Providence and gave up an RBI double to Rericha, her third hit of the game.
Kramer recorded her ninth complete-game and fourth shutout of the season with a 1-2-3 seventh inning that included a pair of strikeouts.
GAME 2: Providence 3, St. John's 2
A solo home run by Vanessa Portillo in the sixth was the difference in game two as the Friars edged the Red Storm, 3-2, to tie the series.
Kramer (11-10) suffered the loss as she gave up a solo shot in the sixth with the score tied at two. McKenzie Murray does not get the decision as she was charged for two runs on two hits in 4.2 innings. Madison Morris finished the game off for St. John's and struck out two in one inning of relief.
Christina Ramirez (7-6) picked up the win for the Friars after allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits in the complete game effort.
Puga now has eight multi-hit games this season after getting two more hits and scoring a run. Christina Melendez also tallied two hits for St John's. Wilkens drove in a run on a single, while Brittany Garcia notched a hit and scored a run.
Following a pitcher's duel through three, the Red Storm plated two runs in the fourth to score the first runs of the game. Puga led the inning off with her seventh double of the season before coming around to score on a throwing error by catcher Nicole Lundstrom on a failed pickoff attempt. Garcia's single turned into another run when Wilkens hit a liner to left to make it 2-0.
Providence evened the score in the fifth. Two hits and a single forced St. John's to go to Kramer with the bases loaded and two outs. Nicole Lundstrom then singled in two runs to tie the game at two apiece.
Despite having the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the sixth, St. John's could not answer back as Ramirez got the lead runner out at home on back-to-back ground outs before Warren's groundball up the middle ended the inning.
The Friars took its first lead of the day in the sixth when Portillo hit a leadoff home run to put her team ahead, 3-2.
Both squads return to Glay field tomorrow at noon to close out the series.
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".
