St. John's University Athletics
Friday, May 5
Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Sports Complex)
5 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Creighton
Red Storm on Quest for BIG EAST Tournament Bid in Final Weekend Series at Creighton
5/4/2023 4:41:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm will clinch a spot with a pair of wins against the Bluejays
QUEENS, N.Y. (May 4, 2023) – The St. John's softball team will head to Omaha, Neb. for its regular season series finale against the Creighton Bluejays. The series is set to open at 5 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon at the Creighton Sports Complex.
The series will have Live Stats provided by StatBroadcast. The games will be available to stream on FloSports.
On Monday Jess Bianco was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. The accolades kept rolling in for the freshman as her five-for-five, three-walk performance in the Sacred Heart doubleheader was named as a top performance of the week by the NFCA.
Due to the entire Butler season being canceled in the second scheduled BIG EAST series of the season, the tournament seedings will be determined by wins since total number of games played is not even. Therefore, the Red Storm have a variety of ways to punch their ticket to Storrs this weekend. With two wins, the Johnnies are automatically in as at least the sixth seed. If St. John's drops two of three, they would require Providence and DePaul to each lose at least one game this weekend. If the
The Red Storm opened its week with a midweek tilt against Stony Brook to close out its home slate. The Johnnies were tied scoreless with the Seawolves after two and half innings in Queens. St. John's exploded in the third frame dropping an eight-spot on Stony Brook. Cassidy Stouffer homered in her second-straight game to keep her seven-game hitting streak alive. The Johnnies added a pair of runs in the fourth, to close out the 10-0 victory in five innings.
St. John's has become one of the speediest teams in the conference this season tallying 88 stolen bases on 99 attempts, smashing the previous school record in each. The Red Storm obliterated a 33-year-old record of 78 stolen bases in a season in 1990. That season, Donna Dosanjos tallied 46, the single season record by an individual. Bianco is closing in on her mark, totaling 36 with three games to play.
Despite missing a few weeks earlier in the season, Katie Whittaker surpassed the program's singles season hit by pitch mark of 11 recorded by a trio of former Johnnies. The freshman has been plunked 13 times this season. Her mark also propelled the Johnnies to set a new program record of 51 hit by pitches this season. The previous record of 38 was set in 2009.
Bob Guerriero is in his fifth year as head coach of the St. John's Softball team and is assisted by Grace Kramer and Marissa Rizzi. Kramer, a 2017 St. John's graduate, is in her fourth season as an assistant coach while Rizzi, a 2020 graduate, is in her second season as a coach as a part of the Red Storm program.
Creighton enters the weekend in need of a sweep to make an appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament. Last week, the Bluejays dropped two of three at Providence, in a crucial conference matchup.
The Jays are powered by longball, launching a league-best 39 homers this season. Alyssa Gappa leads the way with 10 round-trippers. Cayla Nielsen leads the Bluejays with a .390 average, 57 hits and six stolen bases. Natalia Puchino has manned the circle with 29 starts, and a 13-14 record. She touts a team-best 111 strikeouts, and a 3.52 ERA.
Head Coach Krista Wood is in her first season with Jays after coming from South Dakota State.
Last season, the Red Storm bested the Jays in two out of three in Queens. All-time, the Johnnies lead the series, 16-7. In Omaha, St. John's is 9-3.
If the Red Storm qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament, the first round games are set for Wednesday, May 10. A first round loss would result in two games on Wednesday, but a win would give the team the rest of the day off.
The series will have Live Stats provided by StatBroadcast. The games will be available to stream on FloSports.
On Monday Jess Bianco was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. The accolades kept rolling in for the freshman as her five-for-five, three-walk performance in the Sacred Heart doubleheader was named as a top performance of the week by the NFCA.
Due to the entire Butler season being canceled in the second scheduled BIG EAST series of the season, the tournament seedings will be determined by wins since total number of games played is not even. Therefore, the Red Storm have a variety of ways to punch their ticket to Storrs this weekend. With two wins, the Johnnies are automatically in as at least the sixth seed. If St. John's drops two of three, they would require Providence and DePaul to each lose at least one game this weekend. If the
The Red Storm opened its week with a midweek tilt against Stony Brook to close out its home slate. The Johnnies were tied scoreless with the Seawolves after two and half innings in Queens. St. John's exploded in the third frame dropping an eight-spot on Stony Brook. Cassidy Stouffer homered in her second-straight game to keep her seven-game hitting streak alive. The Johnnies added a pair of runs in the fourth, to close out the 10-0 victory in five innings.
St. John's has become one of the speediest teams in the conference this season tallying 88 stolen bases on 99 attempts, smashing the previous school record in each. The Red Storm obliterated a 33-year-old record of 78 stolen bases in a season in 1990. That season, Donna Dosanjos tallied 46, the single season record by an individual. Bianco is closing in on her mark, totaling 36 with three games to play.
Despite missing a few weeks earlier in the season, Katie Whittaker surpassed the program's singles season hit by pitch mark of 11 recorded by a trio of former Johnnies. The freshman has been plunked 13 times this season. Her mark also propelled the Johnnies to set a new program record of 51 hit by pitches this season. The previous record of 38 was set in 2009.
Bob Guerriero is in his fifth year as head coach of the St. John's Softball team and is assisted by Grace Kramer and Marissa Rizzi. Kramer, a 2017 St. John's graduate, is in her fourth season as an assistant coach while Rizzi, a 2020 graduate, is in her second season as a coach as a part of the Red Storm program.
Creighton enters the weekend in need of a sweep to make an appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament. Last week, the Bluejays dropped two of three at Providence, in a crucial conference matchup.
The Jays are powered by longball, launching a league-best 39 homers this season. Alyssa Gappa leads the way with 10 round-trippers. Cayla Nielsen leads the Bluejays with a .390 average, 57 hits and six stolen bases. Natalia Puchino has manned the circle with 29 starts, and a 13-14 record. She touts a team-best 111 strikeouts, and a 3.52 ERA.
Head Coach Krista Wood is in her first season with Jays after coming from South Dakota State.
Last season, the Red Storm bested the Jays in two out of three in Queens. All-time, the Johnnies lead the series, 16-7. In Omaha, St. John's is 9-3.
If the Red Storm qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament, the first round games are set for Wednesday, May 10. A first round loss would result in two games on Wednesday, but a win would give the team the rest of the day off.
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