St. John’s Falters At Villanova

Sunday, March 27

Villanova, Pa. (Villanova Softball Complex)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

5-23, 1-8

Villanova

13-17, 3-2

St. John's

Villanova

3/27/2022 3:29:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Amy Mallah records first career home run

VILLANOVA, Pa. (March 27, 2022) – The St. John's softball team fell to reigning BIG EAST Champion Villanova, 9-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Villanova Softball Complex.

Reigning BIG EAST Player and Pitcher of the Year Paige Rauch retired the first seven batters and tallied six strike outs. The graduate student contributed at the plate as well, as she recorded one of two Wildcat homeruns.

Amy Mallah went 1-for-3 and recorded her first collegiate home run in the sixth inning. With the homer, the junior extended her hitting streak to five games.

Meisha Murray, Melanie Santos, Erin Brown, and Anna Freveletti each recorded a base hit for the Red Storm.

Villanova (13-17, 3-2) came out swinging and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Kelsey White belted a three-run shot to put the home side in front.

Both teams then remained scoreless until the fifth inning when Villanova broke the game open. Wildcats second baseman Ava Franz put the ball in play with bases loaded and a Johnnies error brought two runs home. The ensuing batter, pinch hitter Amanda DeSantis looped an RBI single down the right field line to push the Villanova lead to 6-0.

In the top of the sixth, Mallah launched a dinger beyond the left field wall to put the Johnnies on the board.

Rauch then smacked her second homer of the weekend in the home half of the sixth. The Wildcats standout smacked a three-run shot gave Villanova the 9-1 edge.

St. John's (5-23, 1-8) will return to action on Tuesday when it takes on Stony Brook at home. First pitch from Red Storm Field is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.