St. John’s Splits Pair to UMass Lowell and Charleston Southern

Saturday, February 17

Charleston, S.C. (CSU Softball Complex)

12:30 p.m.

St. John's University

3-5

UMass Lowell

1-6

St. Johns

UMASS Lowell

St. John’s Splits Pair to UMass Lowell and Charleston Southern

2/17/2024 10:03:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Charleston Southern)Box Score (UMass Lowell)

The Red Storm took down the River Hawks, 5-1, before falling to the Buccaneers, 1-5

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The St. John's softball team (3-6) split a pair of games defeating UMass Lowell (1-7), 5-1, before falling to Charleston Southern (6-4), 1-5 on Saturday at the CSU Blue / Gold Classic.

Day two of the tournament was highlighted by a pair of outstanding pitching performances by Hannah Mearns and Ana Serafinko.

Mearns tossed a complete game allowing just three hits, one earned run and matched a career-high with nine strikeouts across the seven innings against the River Hawks to earn the win.

Serafinko left it all in the circle in the nightcap, throwing 134 pitches in seven innings of work. The Chino Hills, Calif. native surrendered just one earned run and totaled a career-high seven strikeouts against the Buccaneers.

Anese Thompson launched her first home run of the season against UMass Lowell and finished the day with three RBIs and two walks.

Shortstop London Jarrard tallied three hits including two doubles and an RBI between the two contests.

Game 1

In the top of the first, Thompson finished a 13-pitch at-bat by drawing a walk with the bases loaded to bring home the first St. John's run of the game after the first three batters reached base on walks and a hit by pitch. With the bases loaded and no outs, the River Hawks made an early pitching change to Olivia Decitise. The freshman immediately recorded three outs to hold the Red Storm's advantage to just one.

Mearns made quick work of UMass Lowell in the bottom half, striking out two while sitting the River Hawks down in order.

Freshman London Slade walked in the visiting half of the second before Jarrard crushed a two-out double to right-center to bring her home and increase the Johnnies' advantage to 2-0.

UMass Lowell responded in the home half when Trinadey Santiago singled into left field and came all the way around to score on a miscue to cut into the St. John's lead, 2-1. Mearns battled back, adding two more strikeouts to bring her total to four.

After a blank third inning, Jess Bianco led off the fourth slicing a single to left field before stealing her third bag of the contest. With two outs, Thompson delivered again, blasting a two-run home run into left field giving St. John's a three-run cushion, 4-1.

Mearns continued to deal, striking out another two batters and recording her third 1-2-3 inning to keep the lead at three after four.

Jarrard led off the sixth with her second double of the game after a scoreless fifth. Two batters later, Amy Mallah slapped a single over third base to extend the St. John's lead, 5-1.

In the bottom half, Mallah backed her offense up with defense stopping a line drive down the third base line and throwing across the diamond to record the third out and preserve the four-run lead.

Mearns completed the game in the bottom of the seventh, tying a career-high nine strikeouts on the final out and solidifying the Red Storm win, 5-1.


Game 2

Charleston Southern put together a single and double to put runners on second and third with just one out in the top of the first. Serafinko worked herself out of the jam with a strikeout and lazy fly ball to leave the inning unscathed, 0-0.

Bianco presented the Red Storm offense with an opportunity to score almost immediately with a bunt single and stolen base to lead off the game. Buccaneers' Riley Lauffer was able to battle back and get three outs to leave the game scoreless.

St. John's Serafinko and Charleston Southern's Lauffer continued their pitchers' duel into the second and third innings as the score was stuck at 0-0 into the fourth.

In the top of the fourth inning, Serafinko got help from her defense. With two outs and runners on first and second, Elanna Lysiak made an over-the-shoulder catch into the right-field corner to end the inning and leave the score knotted at zero.

Katie Whittaker led off the home half with a walk after nearly ripping an extra-base hit down the left-field line that just went foul. Lauffer sat down the next three Johnnies to once again to exit the inning 0-0.

Serafinko continued to toss a gem in the top of the fifth, tallying a pair of strikeouts as the Buccaneers fell 1-2-3.

In the bottom half, Lysiak reached first on an error to shortstop followed by Cassidy Stouffer blooping a single over second base to put runners on first and second with no outs. A batter later, Jarrard hit a slow chopper to second and forced an errant throw to bring Lysiak home giving St. John's their first lead, 1-0.

After a scoreless sixth, Serafinko headed back to the circle in the seventh to close it out. The Buccaneers loaded the bases with one out.  Charleston Southern's Lacy Johnson walked to knot the game at one. Serafinko battled back to get the final two outs and allow the Red Storm offense a chance to win it in the bottom half.

The Johnnies went down in order in the bottom half to send the game into extras for the first time since April 16, 2023, against Villanova.

Charleston Southern scored two runs early in the eighth as Jordyn Dimond started the frame on second and came into score on a ground out after advancing to third on a wild pitch to give the Buccaneers their first lead, 2-1. Carsten Sandvig drove in another run on an RBI single then two batters later Madelyn Lee hit a two-run double to extend the lead to four.

The lead was too much to overcome for the Red Storm in the bottom half as Charleston Southern secured the 5-1 victory.