St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
DePaul
St. John's Splits Doubleheader With DePaul
4/21/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SJU 4 DePaul 2 Box Score (PDF)
SJU 1 DePaul 3 Box Score (PDF)
CHICAGO - The St. John's softball team continued BIG EAST play with a split doubleheader, capitalizing, 4-2, in the opener before falling, 3-1, to DePaul in the second of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
Game One
With St. John's and DePaul tied at two aside entering the 11th inning, Kaitlin Mattera belted a two-run homer to break the deadlock and propel the Red Storm to a 4-2 victory in game one.
Mattera's round tripper was hardly the only noteworthy hit of the afternoon, as Krystal Puga matched the St. John's single-season home run record with her 16th long ball of the year. Puga tied the mark set by former Red Storm standout Chrissy Montez, currently a volunteer assistant with the squad.
Gretchen Bowie registered a team-high three hits in five at bats for St. John's. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week has now recorded a hit in three-straight contests.
McKenzie Murray pitched a career-high 11 innings for the Red Storm. The senior allowed just six hits and surrendered two while walking three. In addition, the right-handed pitcher struck out a trio of DePaul batters to register her ninth win on the 2018 campaign.
Lauren Zick got things started early for St. John's in the top of the first inning with a leadoff triple. Two batters later Melendez grounded out for the Johnnies but not before scoring Zick to put St. John's up 1-0 after the top of the first frame.
Following a scoreless second inning for both teams, Puga brought the power in the visitor half of the third. The Los Angeles native sent a solo shot over the wall for her 16th dinger of the season, tying the single-season record.
After a scoreless top half of the fourth for St. John's, the Blue Demons knotted the game in the bottom of that same frame with a two-run double. With a runner on third for DePaul, Murray delivered her first strikeout of the game to keep the score tied at two entering the top of the fifth.
Following three-straight scoreless frames for both teams, the Red Storm entered extra innings for just the second time this season.
Both programs went three more frames without plating a runner. In the top of the 11th, that all changed when Mattera belted a two-run homer over the center field wall to extend the Johnnies lead to 4-2.
Game Two
Despite falling to DePaul, 3-1, in the second game of the day, Bowie delivered a solo home run in top of the seventh for her eighth dinger of the season.
Mattera registered two hits in three at-bats to lead the Red Storm, logging a single and a double. The sophomore catcher currently leads the squad with 11 doubles on the season.
Rookie Gabriella Conca along with senior Zick each registered a hit for the Johnnies, with Conca recording her first double at the collegiate level.
Both teams were off to a slow start offensively, going scoreless over the first frame. The Blue Demons got on the board in the second with a solo home run to take a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Marissa Rizzi drew a walk to get on base. One batter later, Zick singled to shortstop, putting runners on first and second with two outs for St. John's. The Red Storm was unable to convert as a fly out to right field ended the inning.
The Blue Demons tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third to extend the team's lead to 3-0.
With St. John's still without a run entering the sixth, Mattera ripped a double down the left-field line for her second hit of the game and fourth on the day before a fly out to right field would end the inning.
The Red Storm broke the scoreless streak in the top of the seventh when Bowie hit a round tripper to score the lone run of the game for the visitors.
The Red Storm returns to action tomorrow, facing off against DePaul in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for noon ET and will be available on BEDN.
