St. John's Splits on Day One of the Madeira Beach Invitational III

Friday, March 1

Madiera Beach, Fla.

11:00 a.m.

St. John's University

5-5, 0

Boston College

3-8, 0

St. John's

Boston College

St. John's Splits on Day One of the Madeira Beach Invitational III

3/1/2019 7:39:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score vs BC Box Score vs Central Michigan

The Red Storm scores six runs on four hits in victory over Boston College

By: Dylan Smith

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (March 1, 2019) – The St. John's softball team split the opening day of the Madeira Beach Invitational III, beating Boston College, 6-3, and falling short to Central Michigan, 3-2, on Friday.

Game 1

            The Red Storm's 16th win against the Eagles was highlighted by standout performances from its seniors. Christina Melendez knocked in three of the Johnnies' six runs while also registering her first multi-hit game of the season. The Fullerton, Calif., native batted 2-for-4 with a single and a double.

            Starter Madison Morris posted another strong outing for the Johnnies, fanning seven batters over seven innings of work in her fourth win of the season. At one point, the right-hander retired eight batters in a row that included four fly outs, two strikeouts and two pop-ups.

            St. John's (5-6) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after one frame. Gretchen Bowie and Marissa Rizzi were both plunked at the plate, giving the Red Storm two runners on with one out. Two batters later, Kaitlin Mattera grounded one back to the pitcher who threw the ball away trying to force Bowie out at home and gave the Johnnies a one-run advantage.

            After a leadoff single by Boston College's Lexi DiEmmanuele, Morris settled in by forcing two ground balls back to the circle. St. John's catcher Mattera caught the Eagles' senior stealing third to end the inning. Boston College (3-9) responded to its miscue in the next inning as Gianna Baccagno hit a solo homer run to knot the game at one. Morris and Eagles' starter Susannah Anderson tossed a scoreless third frame before the Red Storm posted a four-run fourth.

            Shortstop Amelia Ditolvo walked and pinch hitter Gabriella Conca was hit by a pitch to start the inning. With two on and two outs, Bowie drove a single up the middle to score Ditolvo from third and gave the Red Storm its second lead of the game, 2-1. Melendez extended the two-out rally with a bases-clearing, three-run double down the left field line, helping St. John's to a 5-1 advantage after the top of the fourth.

            Following the Red Storm's four-run frame, Morris kept the Eagles at bay with a pair of one-two-three innings in the fourth and fifth. The right hander held Boston College's bottom six batters to a combined 3-for-17 with a walk in Friday's matchup.

            After being drilled twice at the dish, Rizzi extended St. John's lead to five, 6-1, after smashing a solo shot to left-center in the seventh. The Manorville, N.Y., native has hit at least one home run in all three tournaments in 2019. The junior, along with her third-year counterpart Gretchen Bowie, finished the game hitting 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.

            Boston College countered with a two-run home run of its own in the bottom frame before Morris closed the door on the Eagles to pick up her fourth win of the season.

Game 2

            A pitcher's duel between St. John's Angela Saric and Central Michigan's Samantha Howell sparked late-game excitement in the Johnnies' 3-2 loss against the Chippewas.

            The Red Storm's freshman held Central Michigan (5-6) scoreless through the first five frames. In that time, the Oakland, N.J., native allowed just four baserunners while receiving help from her teammates on defense. Johnnies' right fielder Natalie Giroux saved a run from crossing the plate when she threw pinch runner Sara Hansen out at home in the top of the fourth.

The Chippewas' Howell countered Saric's five scoreless innings with six of her own, holding the Red Storm without a hit until Gabriella Conca found a hole up the middle in the sixth.

            After five blank spots on the scoreboard, Central Michigan scored on an RBI single by Erin Underwood, giving the Chippewas a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Shannon Stein extended CMU's advantage to three on a two-run home run.

            St. John's would not go down easy in the final frame as Amelia Ditolvo worked a leadoff walk, giving the Johnnies their fifth baserunner of the game. After a fielder's choice by Bowie to reach first, Marissa Rizzi lined a double to the left-center gap to cut the Chippewas' lead to two, 3-1. Two batters later, Conca delivered a two-out, RBI single to the right side between first and second base to shorten the Red Storm's deficit to just one, 3-2. The Cranston, R.I., native registered the first multi-hit game of her career, finishing the day 2-for-3 with an RBI.

            The Red Storm will look to rebound from its day one split on Saturday when they take on Chattanooga and Georgia Southern at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.