St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
2-9
Virginia
9-4
St. John’s Softball Splits a Pair of Games at the Cavalier Classic
2/25/2023 8:01:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm Edged Howard 11-7 after falling to Virginia 8-0 in six innings
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Feb. 25, 2023) – The St. John's softball team split a pair of games at the Cavalier Classic at Palmer Field on Saturday.
The Red Storm (3-9) rallied in the fourth frame against Howard, to reclaim the lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the contest. In the first game of the day, the Johnnies dropped a 8-0 decision in six innings to host-school Virginia.
Game 1
After a 45-minute rain delay, the Cavaliers led off the game with a home run, but Hannah Mearns retired the side to limit the damage.
The Red Storm threatened in the second inning after a pair of walks set up two runners on and one out for the Johnnies. The Cavaliers were able to escape the jam, striking out a pair of Red Storm hitters to end the inning.
After a scoreless second inning, Mearns only allowed the Cavaliers to score one run in the third to give UVA a 2-0 lead heading into the fourth frame.
In the fourth inning, a pair of singles to lead of the inning set the table for a Leah Boggs two-RBI triple. The next batter hit a sac fly to score Boggs which brought in the third run of the inning to extend the Virginia lead to 5-0.
The Cavaliers added two runs on two hits in the fifth stanza, before relief pitcher, Ana Serafinko retired the final two batters of the inning. Virginia secured the eighth run of the game on a bloop-single to right to clinch a 8-0 victory in six innings.
Game 2
Katie Whittaker fell just a triple shy of the cycle with a three-hit game, culminated with a two-run homer. Whittaker was one of two Johnnies to record a multi-hit game against Howard in the second game of the day. Sydney Totarsky recorded two hits in three at-bats.
Base running played a major factor in the Red Storm win, with the Johnnies recording 11 stolen bases, the most in program history. The second-most occurred on April 10, 2019 against Manhattan when the Johnnies tallied six stolen bases as a team.
Carolina Zamudio earned her third win of the season in the circle while notching three strikeouts
Zamudio punched out the first batter of the ballgame and blanked the Bison in the opening frame. In the home half, London Jarrard walked and stole second to be in scoring position. Jarrard scored the first run of the game after she advanced to third on a single by Melanie Santos and scored on a fielding error. Santos would also score via an error two batters later. The Johnnies would maintain a 2-0 lead until the bottom of the third inning.
In the third stanza, the second batter of the inning reached base to bring Katie Whittaker to the dish with one runner on. Whittaker blasted a pitch over the wall in center to give the Red Storm a 4-0 lead. The Red Storm would threaten with two more base runners, but they were left stranded.
After cruising through the first three innings and notching a pair of strikeouts, Zamudio found herself in a jam to begin the fourth inning. The Bison led off the inning with a double and back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs. Zamudio caused the next batter to hit a sac fly, scoring one, with the runner from second scoring on a throwing error by Whittaker, the catcher. With two runs scored and a runner at third base, Head Coach Bob Guerriero went to his bullpen bringing Mearns into the game. Mearns allowed her inherited runner to score, after surrendering back-to-back singles. After a Bison sac bunt, Shalon McNeal would rope an RBI single to tie the game at 4. Howard took the lead after two consecutive four-pitch walks, Howard scored its fifth run, for their first lead of the game. Coach Guerriero then elected to bring back Zamudio for her second stint in the circle of the evening. Zamudio allowed the sixth Bison run of the inning to cross the plate, she then retired back-to-back hitters to close the inning.
The Red Storm responded with its own productive inning to regain the lead, 8-6. A walk, two consecutive hit batsman, and another walk plated Jess Bianco for the Red Storm's fifth run. After Anese Thompson walked with the bases loaded, the trio of baserunners completed a triple steal to take a 6-4 lead over the Bison. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, a Whittaker RBI groundout and a Peyton Cody sac fly extended the St. John's lead to 8-6.
St. John's added an insurance run on a fielder's choice to extend its lead to 9-6 heading into the sixth inning.
The Bison didn't give up easy, pushing another run across the plate in the sixth inning. After a double by the second batter of the inning, back-to-back singles scored her for the seventh run of the game. Zamudio shut the door, not allowing any more Bison to score.
In the Red Storm sixth inning, Whittaker doubled for her third hit of the contest. She advanced to third on a single by Cody, and scored on a throwing error after Cody stole second base. Later in the inning with Cody on third, Amy Mallah notched an RBI-single to plate the 11th run of the evening for the Red Storm.
In the final inning with runners on first and second with two outs, Zamudio forced a ground ball to the shortstop who turned a double play to end the game, and secure the St. John's victory, 11-7.
The Red Storm will conclude the weekend with back-to-back games against Longwood and UMES starting at 11 a.m. in Farmville, Va tomorrow morning.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zamudio, Carolina (3-3)
L: GONZALES,Mia (1-3)
Batting:
2B: VASQUEZ,Alyssa 2
RBI: MCNEAL,Shalon 1 ; VASQUEZ,Alyssa 1 ; DENNIS,Kalita 1 ; WATSON,Alyssa 1 ; FLETCHER,Sidney 1 ; THOMAS,Raye 1
SH: DIGAUDIO,Makaela 1
SF: FLETCHER,Sidney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MCNEAL,Shalon 1 ; VASQUEZ,Alyssa 2 ; DENNIS,Kalita 1 ; WATSON,Alyssa 1 ; THOMAS,Raye 1 ; JONES,Sydni 1
Batting:
2B: Whittaker, Katie 1
HR: Whittaker, Katie 1
RBI: Santos, Melanie 1 ; Thompson, Anese 1 ; Whittaker, Katie 4 ; Cody, Peyton 1 ; Mallah, Amy 1
SF: Cody, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bianco, Jess 1 ; Jarrard, London 2 ; Santos, Melanie 2 ; Thompson, Anese 2 ; Whittaker, Katie 2 ; Cody, Peyton 1 ; Casto, Natalie 1
SB: Bianco, Jess 2 ; Jarrard, London 2 ; Santos, Melanie 1 ; Thompson, Anese 1 ; Cody, Peyton 2 ; Mallah, Amy 1 ; Totarsky, Sydney 1 ; Casto, Natalie 1
CS: Santos, Melanie 1
HBP: Jarrard, London 1 ; Santos, Melanie 1 ; Mallah, Amy 1
