St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Drops Two to Villanova
4/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game One Box Score (PDF)
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
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VILLANOVA, Pa. -- The St. John's softball team (16-15, 2-3 BIG EAST) suffered a pair of losses to Villanova (14-13, 2-3 BIG EAST) on Saturday in its first two games of the series at the Villanova Softball Complex. The Wildcats defeated the Red Storm, 14-1, in the opener before walking off 8-7 in the backend of a doubleheader.
GAME ONE: Villanova 14, St. John's 1 (5 innings)
Villanova broke out with 10 runs in the second inning to help take the series opener over St. John's, 14-1, in five innings.
Grace Kramer (8-6) was charged with the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, in 1.1 innings in the circle. McKenzie Murray surrendered seven runs, three earned, on nine hits in 2.2 innings of relief.
Kate Poppe (8-9) picks up the win after three innings of shutout ball. Brette Lawrence came in and allowed one run on two hits in 2.0 innings out of the bullpen.
Hannah Anderson went 2-for-3 with an RBI double to record her fifth multi-hit game of the season, while Kaitlyn Wilkens scored and tallied the other hit for St. John's.
The Wildcats struck for 10 runs on nine hits in the second inning. A hit by pitch, error and single loaded the bases for Villanova. Aleshia Ayers and Sierra McConnell then notched back-to-back RBI singles before St. John's recorded an out. The Wildcats pushed two more runs across on a hit by pitch and a single by Brittany Husk. Murray then came in and allowed a bases clearing double to Dana Morris before Lauren Hanna brought in two on a single to right field. Villanova made it 10 runs on Ayers second RBI single of the inning.
The Wildcats extended its lead to 14 runs in the third, taking advantage of an error at third base. After an RBI single by Chase Snell with two outs, Hanna hit a three-run homer to make it 14-0.
St. John's was able to break the shutout in the fifth with one run off Lawrence before Villanova closed out the win. Wilkens led the inning off with a single and eventually scored on a double by Anderson.
GAME TWO: Villanova 8, St. John's 7
In a back-and-forth battle that featured six lead changes, Villanova walked off with a victory following a game winning single by Hanna in the seventh inning to defeat St. John's, 8-7.
Kramer (8-7) was tabbed with the loss after giving up the final run of the game in the seventh after 2.0 innings of work out of the bullpen. Madison Morris got the start and allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings.
Poppe (9-9) recorded the win in relief. The senior yielded three runs on four hits in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen. Jordan Prutzer does not get the decision after allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits in 2.2 innings.
Wilkens went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI to lead the attack for the Red Storm. Brittany Garcia scored twice, drove in a run and hit two doubles. Christina Melendez and Lauren Zick both drove in a run and added a hit. Anderson, Carly Williams, Krystal Puga, Savannah Warren all scored a run for St. John's as well.
Villanova opened the game with a run in its first at-bats. Miscommunication on a fly ball between Morris and Warren allowed Lauren Herschberg to reach on an infield double. The junior third baseman scored on a RBI groundout by Nikki Alden.
Wilkens gave St. John's its first lead of the day in the second. With Krystal Puga on-base following a leadoff single, Wilkens hit a two-run shot over the center field wall for her second home run of the season.
Hanna hit a solo home run to left field to tie the game in the bottom half of the second.
St. John's retook the lead with two in the third. Anderson reached on an error by the Villanova second baseman and came around to score on Garcia's eighth double of the season. Two batters later, Melendez plated Garcia on a single through the left side, her 10th RBI of the season.
In the fourth, Villanova used a two-out rally to go back on top. Following a walk by Hanna and a double from Ayers, McConnell hit a three-run home run over the left field wall to give her team a 5-4 lead.
The Red Storm answered back with three runs in the fifth to move back ahead. Garcia led the inning off with her second double of the game before scoring on a run down play that resulted with the third baseman dropping the ball trying to tag out the junior centerfielder. Later in the inning, Wilkens singled in Warren on her second hit of the day. Next at bat, Zick made it 7-5 with a single to left field.
Villanova evened the game for the fifth time in the fifth inning behind solo home runs from Husk and Alden.
With the game tied in the seventh, Hanna singled through the right side to plate MacKenzie Tilles and give the Wildcats an 8-7 victory.
The Red Storm closes out the weekend series against Villanova tomorrow at noon. The game will be broadcast on BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) with Nick Mentenga on the call.
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".
