St. John’s Softball Drops Two Against DePaul

Saturday, March 13

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

3-3, 0

DePaul

8-7, 0

DePaul Blue Demons

St. John's

3/13/2021 6:23:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game One Box Score Game Two Box Score Photo Gallery

Blue Demons defeat Red Storm in first two BIG EAST contests of 2021

By: Kenny Conrade

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's softball team lost its first two games of BIG EAST play on Saturday afternoon, falling to DePaul, 8-0 in six innings in game one and 6-5 in game two at Red Storm Field.

While being shut out in game one, the Red Storm (3-4, 0-2 BIG EAST) rebounded in game two, scoring five runs over the fourth and fifth innings to grab a 5-3 lead over the Blue Demons (9-7, 2-0 BIG EAST). The margin would not hold up, however, as a Brooke Johnson double with two outs in the seventh plated three DePaul runners, giving them the 6-5 advantage that would hold up.

Four Red Storm players had multiple hits on the afternoon, as Marissa Rizzi and Peyton Cody had a big game two, combining to go 4-7 and tack on three runs scored. Gabriella Conca and Kamryn Tiumalu also recorded two hits apiece for the Red Storm, while Kalei Sorensen's lone hit of the afternoon was a two-RBI single.

Game One

Head Coach Bob Guerriero gave senior Kayla Kmett the nod in the circle to begin game one following her strong performance at Fordham on Wednesday. DePaul got out to an early lead, 1-0, after an inning of play.

Blue Demons starter Krista Dalgarn allowed just one Red Storm baserunner over the first two innings, as Conca had the lone single for the Johnnies in the second inning. The home half of the third was where DePaul began to pad its lead, as a three-run home run from Kate Polucha off Kmett made it 4-0.

The Red Storm put together their strongest inning against Dalgarn in the third, getting Gretchen Bowie and Rizzi to second and third, but Cody went down swinging to end the threat. The Blue Demons tacked on two more runs in the fourth, followed by one each in the fifth and sixth, to grab an 8-0 lead and win in six innings.

Kmett struck out seven over her six innings of work, a new career-high, while surrendering eight runs on seven hits. Her counterpart, Dalgarn, was dominant in the circle for the Blue Demons, throwing a complete game shutout and striking out six Red Storm batters while allowing just four hits and five total base runners en route to her fifth win of the season.

Game Two

Angela Saric (1- 0) started game two in the circle for the Red Storm and was effective over the first three innings, as the lone run of the game was a solo shot off the bat of Jessica Cothern which gave the Blue Demons a lead, 1-0.

The road half of the fourth is where Saric ran into trouble, as Cothern connected for her second home run of the game, this time a two-run shot, which would end the Red Storm starter's day. Erin Brown came into the game in relief for St. John's and worked out of the inning, keeping the score at a 3-0 DePaul advantage.

After being held off the scoresheet for nine innings, the Red Storm bats came to life in the home half of the fourth, as Rizzi and Cody led off the inning with singles. A defensive miscue by the Blue Demons allowed Conca to single and Rizzi to score, making it 3-1. Sorensen followed that up for the Red Storm with a two-run single that would plate Cody and Conca, and the game was knotted at three after four.

Brown stranded two runners on in the fifth and the momentum shifted to the side of the Johnnies, as the offense kept flowing. Tiumalu led off the inning with a single which was followed up by Rizzi uncorking an RBI triple, her second of the season, to give St. John's its first lead of the day. Cody then followed it up with an RBI single, marking her team-leading 12^th run batted in of 2021, as the Johnnies took a lead, 5-3, into the sixth.

The Red Storm sophomore right-hander worked a one, two, three top half of the sixth, as the Red Storm was just three outs away from the victory. The Blue Demons had other ideas, however, as a hit, a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Johnson, who turned the tide with a bases-clearing double to give DePaul the lead, 6-5. The Red Storm couldn't push a run across in the bottom of the seventh, as they dropped the second game of the doubleheader.

The final game of this weekend series will take place tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Red Storm Field. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 with live stats available via RedStormSports.com.