St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
8-13, 5-9
Creighton
12-8, 8-4
Red Storm Drops Sunday Slugfest at Creighton, 12-9
4/11/2021 3:04:00 PM | Softball
Two programs combine for 28 hits, seven home runs in back and forth affair
The lead changed hands several times in a contest that featured 28 hits and seven home runs between the two programs. The Red Storm (8-13, 5-9 BIG EAST) fell for the second straight game to the Bluejays (12-8, 8-4 BIG EAST) in walk-off fashion to drop the BIG EAST series.
The Johnnies trailed, 9-6, heading to the seventh inning but rallied, scoring three runs to even the score at nine before the second walk-off home run from Creighton of the series sealed their victory in the game and series, 12-9.
Kaitlin Mattera, Peyton Cody and Kalei Sorensen each hit home runs for the Red Storm on the afternoon. The Johnnies tallied 14 hits in total, as Cody, Gretchen Bowie and Marissa Rizzi racked up three hits apiece. Mattera and Amelia Ditolvo each had two hits on the afternoon as well, combining for three RBIs.
Erin Brown (3-6) got the start for the Red Storm and worked a quick first frame, as the game was scoreless at the end of an inning of play. In the second, the Johnnies bats got started, as Melanie Santos reached base to lead off the inning and two batters later, Sorensen blasted her first home run of the season to deep left to give the Red Storm the lead, 2-0, after an inning and a half of play.
The Bluejays responded in the bottom of the second, stringing together two hits and loading the bases to grab the lead, 3-2, and chase Brown from the contest. The Johnnies had an answer of their own in the third, as after Rizzi singled to starting the inning, Cody blasted her fourth home run of the season to give the Red Storm the lead, 4-3.
Creighton would take back the lead in the home half of the inning, as reliever Angela Saric was lifted from the game with two runners on in favor of Kayla Kmett. The first batter that Kmett faced, Emma Rosonke, hit a three-run home run to regain the lead, 6-4.
In the top of the fourth, Mattera hit her second home run of the weekend, a solo shot to center, to close the gap to one, 6-5. The Red Storm would leave the bases loaded in the inning as Creighton tacked on a run in the bottom half to extend the Bluejays lead to 7-5.
The Johnnies closed the gap yet again in the fifth, as a Bowie double to left center field plated Sorensen, cutting the lead to one, 7-6. Kmett would hold the Bluejays off the board in the bottom half as the two teams headed to the sixth with the Red Storm trailing, 7-6.
A double by Cody to open the sixth led to the Red Storm getting two in scoring position with two outs, but Bluejays reliever Mikayla Santa Cruz grabbed a strikeout to keep the lead at one, 7-6. Creighton would tack on two additional runs in the bottom half of the inning to extend its lead to three, 9-6.
The Red Storm rallied back in the seventh, stringing together four hits and three runs to tie the game. The first five batters reached the plate, as Mattera recorded an RBI and Rizzi a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one, 9-8. With two outs and Ditolvo at the plate, she sent a single down the left field line to tie the game up at nine.
Brown re-entered the game in the circle in the bottom of the seventh and was unable to record an out, as the first two hitters reached base and a three-run home run from Kailey Wilson won it for Creighton, 12-9.
The Red Storm will be back in action on Thursday when it takes on Hofstra for the second time this season in Hempstead. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SANTA CRUZ, Mikayla (5-2)
L: Brown, Erin (3-6)
Batting:
2B: Bowie, Gretchen 1 ; Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Cody, Peyton 1
HR: Mattera, Kaitlin 1 ; Cody, Peyton 1 ; Sorensen, Kalei 1
RBI: Bowie, Gretchen 1 ; Mattera, Kaitlin 2 ; Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Cody, Peyton 2 ; Ditolvo, Amelia 1 ; Sorensen, Kalei 2
SH: Ditolvo, Amelia 1 ; Tiumalu, Kamryn 1
SF: Rizzi, Marissa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowie, Gretchen 1 ; Mattera, Kaitlin 1 ; Murray, Meisha 1 ; Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Cody, Peyton 1 ; Santos, Melanie 1 ; Sorensen, Kalei 2 ; Morris, Elyse 1
SB: Rizzi, Marissa 1 ; Ditolvo, Amelia 1
HBP: Santos, Melanie 1 ; Sorensen, Kalei 1 ; Morris, Elyse 1
Batting:
HR: WILSON, Kailey 1 ; MILLS, Kiara 2 ; ROSONKE, Emma 1
RBI: WILSON, Kailey 4 ; MILLS, Kiara 4 ; VEJVODA, Madeline 1 ; ROSONKE, Emma 3
SH: GLENN, Ryann 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CANTU, Ashley 2 ; WILSON, Kailey 1 ; MILLS, Kiara 2 ; CLARK, Katie 1 ; VEJVODA, Madeline 2 ; NIELSEN, Cayla 2 ; MANTHIE, Brittney 1 ; ROSONKE, Emma 1
SB: ALVAREZ, Victoria 1
HBP: MILLS, Kiara 1 ; PECHAR, Mikaela 1 ; NIELSEN, Cayla 1
PO: NIELSEN, Cayla 1
