St. John’s Sweeps DePaul in Doubleheader Aided by Bianco Walk-off

Friday, March 24

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

11 a.m.

St. John's University

11-13, 0

DePaul

8-15, 0

DePaul

St. John's

St. John’s Sweeps DePaul in Doubleheader Aided by Bianco Walk-off

3/24/2023 7:26:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Game 1)Box Score (Game 2)

The Red Storm beat DePaul twice in a day for the first time in school history

By: Andrew Loewe

QUEENS, N.Y. (March 24, 2023) – The St. John's softball team swept a Friday doubleheader against DePaul to clinch the series win on Friday afternoon at Red Storm Field.

For the first time in the program history, the Red Storm won two games in a day against DePaul and clinched its first career home series victory. The Johnnies have clinched its second career series victory against DePaul, with the previous one coming in 2016 in Chicago.

The Queen of Doubles, London Jarrard hit 4-for-8, with four doubles, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs over the two games.

Game 1

Hannah Mearns twirled a gem out of the bullpen allowing just one hit in 6.2 innings of work. The junior tallied six strikeouts and just one walk to notch her third win of the season.

In the first inning, the DePaul offense broke through first. After striking out the first Blue Demon, starter Carolina Zamudio gave up a single and a walk before a three-run shot by Anna Wohlers gave the visitors a 3-0 advantage. Zamudio was replaced by Mearns after the fourth consecutive Blue Demon reached. Mearns retired the final to hitters in the inning to end the long half.

The Red Storm responded putting up a run of its own the bottom half of the first. Jess Bianco drew a walk to give the Johnnies traffic on the basepaths. After she stole second, an Amy Mallah RBI-single scored her to cut the deficit to 3-1 after an inning.

Mearns put up a zero in the top of the second, then the Johnnies offense put up a big number in the bottom of the inning. The burst started after Maeve Marra grounded into a fielder's choice to swap places with Sydney Totarsky at first. Jarrard laced a double in the gap to score Marra for the second run of the ballgame. On the next pitch as Jarrard swiped third, an errant throw by the catcher allowed her to score to tie the game at three. Keeping the rally going, Bianco and Mallah both reached to bring up Katie Whittaker with two runners on and two outs. On the first pitch she saw, Whittaker blasted a moonshot clearing the left field scoreboard to give the Red Storm a 6-3 lead after two innings of play.

Once again in the third inning, the Red Storm struck with two outs. After a single by Marra, another Jarrard RBI-double scored the seventh run for the Johnnies. Jarrard ended the inning after getting back picked on second base.

Cassidy Stouffer led off the fifth inning with a hard single up-the-middle. Back-to-back singles by pinch-hitter Elanna Lysiak and Marra extended the lead to six for the Red Storm.

After retiring eleven straight in her appearance out of the bullpen, she allowed her first hit in the sixth inning. Mearns forced a pair of groundouts to end the inning.

Game 2

For the second time in the same day, the Blue Demons pounced early on putting pressure on the Johnnies. Freshman Loreley Francia struggled in the first inning allowing two of the first three hitters to reach base for the Blue Demons. After a lengthy at-bat, Nicole Sullivan ripped a single to plate the first two runs of the game. With a pair of runners on, Francia retired the final batter of the inning to limit the damage.

The Red Storm responded again by tying it up in the bottom of the inning. Jarrard opened the game with a double to get the ball rolling early. Bianco and Mallah walked to set up Anese Thompson with two runners on and just one out. On a 2-2 count she roped a single down the line to tie the contest at two all.

Thompson struck again in the third inning for the storm. With one out, Mallah just missed a home run skimming the top of the wall on a long double. Thompson drove her in for her third RBI of the game with a single to left to give the Red Storm a 3-2 lead after three innings.

Francia calmed down after the first inning retiring 10 of the next 13 batters she faced. The Blue Demons pushed another run across the fifth inning on an Anna Wohlers RBI double.

Neither team was able to capitalize heading into the final inning deadlocked at three.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jarrard doubled with two outs, for the fourth time on the day. Two pitches later, Bianco sent the team into jubilation hitting a hot-shot up the middle to score Jarrard for the 4-3 Johnnies victory.

Francia earned her second win of the season notching six strikeouts, and allowing just three walks in her second complete game of the year.

St. John's will return to action on Sunday with a 12 p.m. contest to close the series against DePaul at Red Storm Field.