St. John’s Softball Loses Series Finale Against DePaul

Sunday, March 14

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

3-5, 0

DePaul

10-7, 0

DePaul Blue Demons

St. John's

St. John’s Softball Loses Series Finale Against DePaul

3/14/2021 3:47:00 PM | Softball

Box Score SJUSB08 Box

Red Storm falls, 9-8, to the Blue Demons on Sunday

By: Kenny Conrade

QUEENS, N.Y. (March 14, 2021) – The St. John's softball team was edged out by DePaul, 9-8, in the finale of their first BIG EAST series of 2021 on Sunday afternoon at Red Storm Field.

The Red Storm (3-5, 0-3 BIG EAST) was swept in the weekend series by the Blue Demons (10-7, 3-0 BIG EAST), falling in game one, 8-0 in six innings, as well as in game two, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon. Kayla Kmett (1-3) was tagged with the loss for the Johnnies, while Natalie Halvorson (3-3) picked up the win in relief for DePaul.

Much like Saturday's second game, the Johnnies held a lead late in the game, as this time they were on top of DePaul, 8-5, through five innings. The Blue Demons rallied from there, as the three-time defending BIG EAST Champions pushed across four runs in the sixth that would hold up as the difference in the game.

Gretchen Bowie was the lone player for St. John's with multiple hits, as she tallied two of the team's seven base knocks on the day. Bowie and Gabriella Conca each scored two runs for the Red Storm, while Amelia Ditolvo added three RBIs.

The Johnnies got off to a strong start on Sunday, as Bowie led off the game with a single and Marissa Rizzi was hit by a pitch to get the first two runners aboard. Two batters later, Kaitlin Mattera stepped up and knocked in Bowie, loading the bases and giving St. John's the 1-0 lead. A couple of St. John's hitters later, it was Ditolvo hitting a triple into right-center field to clear the bases and grow the home team's lead, 4-0.

The Blue Demons scored two runs in the top of the second off of Red Storm starter Erin Brown to cut the lead in half, 4-2. The Johnnies would respond in the home half of the second, as the first three batters, Meisha Murray, Bowie and Rizzi, all reached and came around to score thanks in part to Peyton Cody and Conca sacrifice flies. After two, the Johnnies led, 7-2.

DePaul added a run in the fourth off of Brown, as the Red Storm remained in control, leading 7-3 after four. In the fifth inning, the Red Storm starter ran into some trouble, as DePaul's first three batters reached base, with two of them scoring, cutting the lead down to two, 7-5. Angela Saric entered the game in relief and worked her way out of trouble, keeping the lead at two.

In the home half of the fifth, Conca reached base to lead off the inning and came around to score on an error, as the Red Storm grew its advantage to three, 8-5. DePaul did its damage in the sixth inning, however, as the Blue Demons sent nine batters to the plate, scoring four runs on four hits, highlighted by a Kate Polucha home run to help put DePaul out in front, 9-8.

The Red Storm threatened in the home half of the sixth, as Bowie led off the inning with a single but was stranded at third base. Elyse Morris reached first in the seventh, but that was as far as she would get, as Natalie Halvorson picked up her third win of the season, throwing six innings of three hit, one run ball in the circle.

This week, the Red Storm welcomes Hofstra to Queens on Wednesday for a single game that is slated for 3 p.m. An audio-only broadcast of that contest can be heard on RedStormSports.com. The Johnnies will follow that up with their first road series of BIG EAST play, as they will travel to South Orange, N.J. to battle Seton Hall in a three-game set.