St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
16-16, 5-1
Creighton
11-15, 1-6
St. John’s Takes Down Creighton Twice in Saturday’s Doubleheader
4/6/2019 8:06:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm moves to 17-16 on the season with a 6-1 BIG EAST record
OMAHA, Neb. (April 6, 2019) – St. John's softball team swept Saturday's doubleheader on the road against Creighton on key performances by Madison Morris and Christina Melendez. The Red Storm run ruled the Bluejays, 12-2, in six innings, followed by a 9-7 comeback victory in game two.
St. John's ace Morris posted a 1-0 record with a save in two appearances against the Creighton. The senior hurler struck out a combined 15 batters, including 11 punchouts in game one to pick up her 11th win of the season.
Johnnies' right fielder Melendez accumulated three hits, five RBIs and a game-tying three-run home run in St. John's come-from-behind win in game two.
Junior Gretchen Bowie produced in the two-spot for the Red Storm through two contests, registering three RBIs on three hits with a team-high five runs scored.
Marissa Rizzi registered a 4-for-6 afternoon while driving in three runs and scoring three times herself. The Manorville, N.Y. native also launched her BIG EAST-leading 11th home run in the second contest.
Freshman Peyton Cody continued to produce runs for St. John's, smacking four hits and knocking in a team-high six runs.
After winning two games this afternoon, the Red Storm's record (17-16, 6-1 BIG EAST) is over .500 for the first time this season.
Game One
Junior Bowie factored in six of the Red Storm's 12 runs in game one. The Sparta, N.J., native racked up three RBIs on two hits while crossing the plate three times. For the second-straight game, the Johnnies' third baseman ignited the Red Storm's offense on a solo homer in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
After four scoreless half innings, the Bluejays (11-16, 1-7 BIG EAST) scored their first two runs of the game on bases-loaded walks to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third.
Despite allowing her only two runs, Morris had struck out eight batters through three innings of action.
In the visiting half of the fourth, the Johnnies tagged Creighton with six runs to take the commanding five-run lead. Freshman Meisha Murray worked a two-out, bases loaded walk to tie the game at two before Bowie knocked two-run single just behind second base to score Laura Delgado and Natalie Giroux to take a 4-2 advantage.
Following the eventual game-winning base knock, Marissa Rizzi doubled down the third base line to extend the lead to three, 5-2. Freshman Peyton Cody drove in two of her team-high four RBIs on a two-run single in the following at-bat, expanding the Red Storm's advantage to five, 7-2.
Following a scoreless fifth frame, the Red Storm posted five more runs in the sixth. Cody smacked her second two-run hit of the game on a double to left field to push St. John's lead to seven, 9-2. In the following at-bat, Kaitlin Mattera drilled an RBI double to left-center before Melendez drilled a two-run homer to right-center to take a 10-score lead, 12-2.
Game Two
St. John's stormed back from being down four to top the Bluejays, 9-7.
Johnnies' first baseman Rizzi sparked the team's offense in game two by hitting a two-run shot in the first frame after Bowie reached on a walk. In the bottom half of the inning, Creighton responded with six runs on four hits and two Red Storm errors.
Following two scoreless innings, Delgado roped a two-run dinger to left field and slashed the Johnnies' deficit to two, 6-4, in the fourth. Creighton knocked in a run in the home half to expand its lead to three, 7-4.
After Rizzi singled and Mattera doubled down the left field line in the top of the fifth, Melendez roped her first pitch over the center field wall to tie the contest at seven.
Angela Saric sat the Bluejays down in order in the home half before the Johnnies secured the lead in the top of the sixth. Cody lined two-run double to right-center to give the Johnnies' a decisive two-run lead, 9-7.
Morris picked up her first save of the season after relieving Saric in the home half of the sixth inning, striking out four through her 2.0 innings of action.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morris, Madison (11-5)
L: ROECKER, Laura (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Cody, Peyton 1
HR: Bowie, Gretchen 1 ; Melendez, Christina 1
RBI: Murray, Meisha 1 ; Bowie, Gretchen 3 ; Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Cody, Peyton 4 ; Mattera, Kaitlin 1 ; Melendez, Christina 2
SH: Murray, Meisha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Murray, Meisha 1 ; Bowie, Gretchen 3 ; Rizzi, Marissa 2 ; Cody, Peyton 1 ; Mattera, Kaitlin 2 ; Melendez, Christina 1 ; Delgado, Laura 1 ; Giroux, Natalie 1
SB: Bowie, Gretchen 1
CS: Rizzi, Marissa 1
HBP: Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Mattera, Kaitlin 1
Batting:
2B: PECHAR, Mikaela 1
RBI: FINAN, Kelli 1 ; WILSON, Kailey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ALVAREZ, Victoria 1 ; JENKINS, Sydney 1
CS: JENKINS, Sydney 1
