St. John’s Drops a Pair to Open 2019 Campaign

Friday, February 8

Boca Raton, Fla.

3:45 p.m.

St. John's University

0-1

Georgia

1-0

St. Johns

Georgia

2/9/2019 2:17:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Game One)Box Score (Game Two)

St. John’s fell to No. 6/7 Georgia, 10-1, and FAU, 2-1, in eight innings

            BOCA RATON, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2019) – The St. John's softball team fell to No. 6/7 Georgia and Florida Atlantic on day one of the FAU "First Pitch" Classic Friday.

Game 1
            The Red Storm (0-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) lost 10-1 to Georgia (2-0, 0-0 SEC) in five innings. Marissa Rizzi was the only Johnnie to register multiple hits in the 2019 opener, going 2-for-2 with a solo home run.

            The junior first baseman earned the Johnnies' first hit of the season with a two-out single to left-center in the first inning but to no avail. Georgia's Alyssa DiCarlo gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer in the bottom frame.

            Catcher Peyton Cody earned her first collegiate hit in the Johnnies' scoreless second inning before Georgia tacked on five more runs in the bottom half to extend its lead to seven.

            Freshman Angela Saric entered her first career game in the third to relieve starter Madison Morris. In her first inning of work, the Oakland, N.J., native sat the Bulldogs down in order. She finished the game allowing three unearned runs on three hits through two innings of work.

            In the top of the fourth, Rizzi served up a solo home run to deep left-center to cut the deficit to six, 7-1. Georgia responded with three runs of its own in the bottom half, to expand its lead to nine, 10-1, before shutting down St. John's to end the game.

Game 2

            Madison Morris tied the program record for strikeouts in a game in St. John's extra-inning, 2-1 loss against Florida Atlantic.

            The Hampton, Va., native rebounded from her tough outing against Georgia with a career-high 15 strikeouts in seven innings of work. The right-handed senior became the third Johnnie to fan 15 batters in a game; a feat last accomplished by Lisa Geer on April 22, 2007, against Pittsburgh. Additionally, Morris struck out the side on three occasions.

            After the Red Storm jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Christina Melendez's RBI-double in the top of the first, a pitching duel ensued between St. John's Morris and FAU's Kelsey Morrison.

            St. John's struggled to reach base after the first inning as Morrison held St. John's to one hit and allowed three runners on base in the final seven innings of the game.

            FAU (1-1, 0-0 C-USA) tied the game in the sixth after the Owls' Samantha Lageyre swiped second base with no one covering and St. John's made two throwing errors on the play.

            The Red Storm's ace worked her way out of trouble in the seventh, leaving runners on first and second before striking out her final batter of the evening.

            The Owls' Lageyre sealed the game for FAU, hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth to win, 2-1.

            St. John's looks for its first win of the season this afternoon as they take on 2018 MEAC Champion Bethune-Cookman at 1:30 p.m. and Indiana at 3:45 p.m.