St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Creighton
St. John's Offense Explodes in Doubleheader Sweep Over Creighton
4/1/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game One Box Score (PDF)
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
Follow @StJohnsSoftball on Twitter
OMAHA, Neb. -- A week after scoring its most run in a BIG EAST series with 34 against Providence, the St. John's softball team continued its offensive surge by scoring 21 runs in two games to sweep Saturday's doubleheader over Creighton, 10-1 and 11-7, respectively.
The Red Storm (17-10, 5-0 BIG EAST) have now won six-straight over the Bluejays and remain undefeated in league play with a perfect 5-0 BIG EAST record.
GAME ONE: St. John's 10, Creighton 1 (5 innings)
Highlighted by Gretchen Bowie's three-run home run, the Johnnies exploded for eight runs in the second inning to take the series-opener, 10-1, in five innings.
Tori Free (4-5) followed up last week's no hitter with another record-setting performance to improve her win total to four after allowing one run on three hits. The senior fanned seven to become St. John's all-time strikeout leader en route to registering her fourth complete-game of the year.
Bowie led the offensive surge with a three-run home run in the second to help put the game out of reach. Senior Brittany Garcia scored, drove in two runs and reached base three times, while junior Savannah Warren knocked in a pair and scored. Senior Monique Landini had a hit and scored, and freshman Kaitlin Mattera tallied a hit, run and RBI. In addition to junior Lauren Zick's two stolen bases and run scored, senior Lexi Robles scored and drove in a run.
Zick got the scoring started with her speed. After drawing a walk to leadoff the game, Zick stole second and third before coming around to score on a groundout from Warren, her 19th RBI of the season. The Red Storm used an eight-run second inning to break the game open. Robles laid down a perfect bunt to plate Bowie before Puga crossed home on a wild pitch. A bases-loaded walk from Garcia and RBI groundout by Warren made it 5-0. Mattera then knocked in Garcia to bat around the lineup. Next at bat, Bowie would open up the flood gates with a three-run bomb to straightaway center for her fourth home run of the season.
Creighton was able to scratch across a run in the bottom of the second taking advantage of two walks before Allie Reinhart's RBI single broke the shutout.
Back-to-back doubles from Landini and Garcia in the fourth made it a 10-1 score.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Free would etch her name into the St. John's history books as the senior tied and then broke Gina Calabrese's school-record to become the program's all-time strikeout leader with 554 career-strikeouts.
Free picked up one more strikeout in the fifth to secure her second-straight complete-game shutout.
GAME TWO: St. John's 11, Creighton 7
Trailing in the sixth, Warren drilled her second home run of the game to put the Red Storm on top as St. John's used a six-run sixth inning to power past Creighton, 11-7, and clinch the series.
St. John's bats were the story in game two scoring 11 runs on 11 hits to collect its fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance.
Leading the offensive barrage was Warren who crushed two home runs and drove in five RBIs to become the first Johnny to launch two homers in a game since Krystal Puga did it against Western Illinois last February.
Garcia scored three times and drove in a run with two hits, while Zick also scored twice and reached base three times. Mattera went 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI and run. Puga had two hits, freshman Marissa Rizzi drove in a pair on a double and Landini scored twice and had an RBI.
Sophomore Madison Morris tossed 4.2 innings of hitless ball in relief and picked up five strikeouts to secure her third win, while Grace Kramer and McKenzie Murray combined to throw 2.1 innings.
The Johnnies wasted no time jumping on top of Creighton for three runs in their first at bats. Landini opened up the scoring with an RBI double to score Zick, who reached on a walk to leadoff the game. After a wild pitch made it 2-0, Mattera then drove home her 18th RBI on a single through the right side.
After an RBI single from Sam Crowley put Creighton on the board, a St. John's error in right scored two more runs and tied the game at three after one inning.
Creighton took its first lead of the day in the second inning on back-to-back RBI singles to right from Tash Coffiel and Ashley Cantu to go up 5-3.
A two-run homer from Jordyn Sturgeon extended the Bluejays lead to 7-3 in the third.
Warren cut the lead in half in the fifth when the junior mashed a two-run home run to left field for her fourth long ball of the year.
Down 7-5, St. John's answered with six runs in the sixth. After a single and walk from Zick and Landini, Garcia made it a one-run game with an RBI single to left center. With two on and Sam Dellinger back in the circle, Warren put the Red Storm back on top with a laser shot to left for her second home run in as many innings. A few batters later, Rizzi extended the lead to 11-7 with a two-run double off the wall in left center.
Morris would go on to record six-straight outs to give St. John's its 12th win in 15 games.
The Red Storm aims for the three-game sweep when it returns to the Creighton Softball Complexz tomorrow at noon (ET).
