St. John's University Athletics
Friday, May 10
Rosemont, Ill. (Ballpark at Rosemont)
1:00 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Villanova University
St. John’s Gears Up for BIG EAST Softball Championship
5/9/2019 2:52:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm begins its quest for the second title in program history
QUEENS, N.Y. (May 9, 2019) – After being named regular season champions for the third time in five seasons, the St. John's softball team gears up for its sixth-straight appearance in the BIG EAST Softball Championship on Friday at 1 p.m. ET when the squad takes on No. 4 seeded Villanova at the Ballpark at Rosemont.
The semifinal round of the 2019 conference championship can be seen on FS2 with Dave Bernhard and Barbara Jordan providing coverage. The winner of Friday's contest will head to the league title game to take on either No. 2 seeded DePaul or No. 3 seeded Providence on Saturday. The championship contest is slated for 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
St. John's clinched its postseason berth with a pair of wins over Villanova on April 27-28 before securing the top seed with a 1-0 victory over Butler on Sunday. The Johnnies earned the regular-season title following a 10-game conference winning streak that included sweeps over Creighton and Seton Hall.
The Red Storm racked up three major BIG EAST awards and seven all-conference selections in an announcement made by the league on Wednesday. Madison Morris was unanimously named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year with an unblemished record of 11-0 in conference action. The Hampton, Va., native enters the championship weekend with an 18-5 overall record, an ERA of 2.90 and 170 strikeouts through 31 appearances in 2019.
Peyton Cody earned the conference's Co-Freshman of the Year award alongside Providence's Daniela Alvarez. The rookie standout paces the Red Storm lineup with a .390 batting average during conference play, recording 23 hits and scoring 16 runs while tallying 23 RBIs in 18 games. The Johnnies' designated player also tallied a base-knock in 12-consecutive league matchups as part of an overall 19-game hitting streak. Cody broke the program's freshman record for the most BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selections with three, surpassing the pair won by both Gretchen Bowie and Kaitlin Mattera in 2017.
St. John's picked up its third BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award since 2015. Head Coach Bob Guerriero and assistant coaches Alyssa Tiumalu and Tori Free guided Morris and Cody to their top honors while also mentoring seven All-BIG EAST selections. Bowie, Marissa Rizzi, Laura Delgado, and Christina Melendez join Morris and Cody on the all-conference first team while Mattera picked up an All-BIG EAST Second Team recognition.
The Red Storm enters the semifinal contest with Villanova after downing the No. 4 seeded Wildcats in two of its three regular season matchups. St. John's outscored Villanova, 24-15, on a pair of breakout series from Bowie and Rizzi. Bowie earned BIG EAST Player of the Week after a team-high nine RBIs against the BIG EAST rival. Rizzi snapped out of her cold streak with a .700 batting average over the three-game tilt.
The Wildcats come into postseason play with a league record of 9-8, narrowly securing its spot in the BIG EAST tournament with a .526 win percentage. Villanova earned the fourth seed after Providence defeated Seton Hall to knock the Pirates' out of the standings.
Friday's matchup will feature 2019 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Morris and Player of the Year Paige Rauch. Rauch leads the league with a .443 batting average, 47 runs scored and 48 RBIs through 51 starts. On the rubber, she paces Villanova with 12 wins, 134 strikeouts and 10 complete games over 139.2 innings of work.
Against the Red Storm this season, Rauch is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two appearances. Despite her pair of losses, the sophomore paced the Wildcats' lineup with a .429 average, adding one of her league-leading 17 home runs in the series. Sara Kennedy picked up Villanova's only win versus St. John's, holding the Johnnies' lineup to a .300 batting average in two starts.
The semifinal round of the 2019 conference championship can be seen on FS2 with Dave Bernhard and Barbara Jordan providing coverage. The winner of Friday's contest will head to the league title game to take on either No. 2 seeded DePaul or No. 3 seeded Providence on Saturday. The championship contest is slated for 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
St. John's clinched its postseason berth with a pair of wins over Villanova on April 27-28 before securing the top seed with a 1-0 victory over Butler on Sunday. The Johnnies earned the regular-season title following a 10-game conference winning streak that included sweeps over Creighton and Seton Hall.
The Red Storm racked up three major BIG EAST awards and seven all-conference selections in an announcement made by the league on Wednesday. Madison Morris was unanimously named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year with an unblemished record of 11-0 in conference action. The Hampton, Va., native enters the championship weekend with an 18-5 overall record, an ERA of 2.90 and 170 strikeouts through 31 appearances in 2019.
Peyton Cody earned the conference's Co-Freshman of the Year award alongside Providence's Daniela Alvarez. The rookie standout paces the Red Storm lineup with a .390 batting average during conference play, recording 23 hits and scoring 16 runs while tallying 23 RBIs in 18 games. The Johnnies' designated player also tallied a base-knock in 12-consecutive league matchups as part of an overall 19-game hitting streak. Cody broke the program's freshman record for the most BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selections with three, surpassing the pair won by both Gretchen Bowie and Kaitlin Mattera in 2017.
St. John's picked up its third BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award since 2015. Head Coach Bob Guerriero and assistant coaches Alyssa Tiumalu and Tori Free guided Morris and Cody to their top honors while also mentoring seven All-BIG EAST selections. Bowie, Marissa Rizzi, Laura Delgado, and Christina Melendez join Morris and Cody on the all-conference first team while Mattera picked up an All-BIG EAST Second Team recognition.
The Red Storm enters the semifinal contest with Villanova after downing the No. 4 seeded Wildcats in two of its three regular season matchups. St. John's outscored Villanova, 24-15, on a pair of breakout series from Bowie and Rizzi. Bowie earned BIG EAST Player of the Week after a team-high nine RBIs against the BIG EAST rival. Rizzi snapped out of her cold streak with a .700 batting average over the three-game tilt.
The Wildcats come into postseason play with a league record of 9-8, narrowly securing its spot in the BIG EAST tournament with a .526 win percentage. Villanova earned the fourth seed after Providence defeated Seton Hall to knock the Pirates' out of the standings.
Friday's matchup will feature 2019 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Morris and Player of the Year Paige Rauch. Rauch leads the league with a .443 batting average, 47 runs scored and 48 RBIs through 51 starts. On the rubber, she paces Villanova with 12 wins, 134 strikeouts and 10 complete games over 139.2 innings of work.
Against the Red Storm this season, Rauch is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two appearances. Despite her pair of losses, the sophomore paced the Wildcats' lineup with a .429 average, adding one of her league-leading 17 home runs in the series. Sara Kennedy picked up Villanova's only win versus St. John's, holding the Johnnies' lineup to a .300 batting average in two starts.
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
1B/C
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTIL/P
/ SoftballSt. John's Softball Highlights at UConn 5.4
Sunday, May 04
St. John's Softball vs Villanova Highlights Game 3 4.27.25
Sunday, April 27
St. John's Softball vs Villanova Game 2 Highlights 4.25.2025
Friday, April 25
St. John's Softball vs Villanova Game 1 Highlights 4.25
Friday, April 25