St. John’s Downs Northern Colorado, 4-2

Sunday, February 25

Santa Barbara, Calif. (Campus Diamond)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

5-6

Northern Colorado

4-10

St. John's

Northern Colorado

2/25/2024 3:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score SB Box Score vs. Northern Colorado 2/25

Francia goes for a career-high 14 strikeouts

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The St. John's softball team (5-6) defeated Northern Colorado (4-10), 4-2, Sunday morning on the campus of UC Santa Barbara.

The Red Storm start its California trip with a victory and have now won five of its last six games.

Loreley Francia had a career day inside of the circle for the Johnnies. The sophomore followed up last week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod with a career-high 14 strikeouts against the Bears. The Spring, Texas native held Northern Colorado to a pair of runs on eight hits and two walks in her second complete game of the season.

Jess Bianco and Cassidy Stouffer each went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Red Storm offense. Stouffer extended her hitting streak to nine games with an RBI double in the top of the first inning.

Celia Macari and Sydney Totarsky also chipped in RBIs in the winning effort.

Bianco led off the top of the first with a textbook bunt down the third-base line to give the Red Storm an early runner. An out later, Stouffer drilled a double into left center scoring Bianco from first to give the Johnnies a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Macari lined a single back up the middle to drive in her first run of the season and extend the early lead, 2-0.

The Bears cut into the lead when Sabrina Javorsky drew a walk with the bases loaded after three consecutive singles. Francia battled back to strikeout the third out and leave the bases loaded with the score at 2-1.

St. John's Francia and Northern Colorado's Isabelle DiNapoli engaged in a pitcher's duel following the first inning. The two pitchers tossed three straight scoreless frames to keep the score at 2-1 into the fifth.

After a scoreless top half, Francia struck out two batters in the bottom of the fifth to match a career-best 10 strikeouts.

The Red Storm found a chance to extend the lead in the top of the sixth after London Jarrard drew a walk followed by Stouffer lacing a single between short and third to put two on with one out. DiNapoli sat down the next two batters to leave the inning unscathed, 2-1.

Francia continued her dominant performance in the bottom of the sixth, adding two more strikeouts to her total and setting a new career high with 12 in the contest.

The bottom of the lineup sparked the Red Storm's offense in the top of the seventh. Amy Mallah and Elanna Lysiak each singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Totarsky pulled the third consecutive single into left field to bring home Mallah and extend the lead, 3-1. Bianco laid down her second bunt single of the morning to plate Lysiak and give St. John's a three-run advantage, 4-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jazzy Longo walked with the bases loaded to cut into St. John's lead, 4-2. Francia proved to be too much for the Bears recording her 14^th strikeout with the bases loaded to seal the two-run victory.

St. John's will continue its trip in Califonia with a doubleheader against UC San Diego on Tuesday followed by a matchup with UC Riverside on Wednesday. First pitch against the Triton is slated for 4 p.m. ET.