St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, February 29
Riverside, Calif. (John C. Funk Stadium)
6 p.m.
St. John's University
at
California Baptist
Softball Announces Schedule Change to Lancers Invite
2/28/2024 9:29:00 PM | Softball
Red Storm to play four games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The St. John's softball team (5-9) has announced a schedule change to the Lancers Invite tournament due to expected inclement weather on Saturday.
St. John's will now start the tournament on Thursday against California Baptist (7-7) at 6 p.m. ET. Friday will feature a doubleheader against Cal Poly (7-7) at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a second matchup with the Lancers at 6 p.m. ET. The Johnnies will wrap up the tournament on Sunday with Idaho State (11-6) at 1 p.m. ET.
Both matchups with California Baptist will be broadcast on ESPN+. Live stats for all games will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm took the first game of their trip to California against Northern Colorado by a score of 4-2 on Sunday. St. John's then dropped a pair of games at UC San Diego before falling at UC Riverside on Wednesday.
Anese Thompson hit her team-leading third home run of the season at UC Riverside on Wednesday. The first baseman also leads the team in RBIs with 10 on the season.
London Jarrard shined in her homecoming weekend with a two-run home run and combined three RBIs in the doubleheader with UC San Diego on Tuesday. The Carlsbad, Calif. native now has two home runs and nine RBIs in 2024.
Loreley Francia started the West Coast swing with a career day versus Northern Colorado. The sophomore threw a career-high 14 strikeouts in a complete game effort in the 4-2 victory.
California Baptist enters the tournament with an even 7-7 record on the season. The Lancers recently finished the CBU Classic with a 4-1 mark, recording wins over CSU Bakersfield, Weber State and Utah State. Head Coach Mike Smith collected his 1,000th career win last weekend, making him just the 37th coach all-time to reach the mark in all four-year programs.
Thursday's matchup will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Cal Poly will begin the weekend with a 7-7 mark as well. The Mustangs took part in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend and dropped all five games after starting the season 7-2. Sophomore Kiara Blanchard was tabbed Big West Field Player of the Week on Feb. 26 after going 9-for-15 the prior week. The outfielder holds the team lead with 12 RBIs and the second-best average at .364.
St. John's and Cal Poly have met one prior time on Feb. 28, 2015, when the Mustangs came out on top, 3-2, despite a Krystal Puga two-run home run.
The Bengals of Idaho State bring an impressive 11-6 record into the Lancers Invite. ISU started the season off hot, going 10-1 before dropping five of its last six. On Feb. 19, Taylor Fitzgerald was named Big Sky Pitcher of the Week after tossing 13.1 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits at the 2024 Whataburger Invitational.
The Red Storm is 1-0 all-time against the Bengals with an 11-0 victory on March 9, 2018. Pitcher Madison Morris was dominant, tallying 14 strikeouts in the shutout.
The Lancers Invite will mark the conclusion of non-conference preseason play along with the team's West Coast swing. St. John's will be back in action in Queens to open BIG EAST play against Creighton on March 8 at 2 p.m.
St. John's will now start the tournament on Thursday against California Baptist (7-7) at 6 p.m. ET. Friday will feature a doubleheader against Cal Poly (7-7) at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a second matchup with the Lancers at 6 p.m. ET. The Johnnies will wrap up the tournament on Sunday with Idaho State (11-6) at 1 p.m. ET.
Both matchups with California Baptist will be broadcast on ESPN+. Live stats for all games will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm took the first game of their trip to California against Northern Colorado by a score of 4-2 on Sunday. St. John's then dropped a pair of games at UC San Diego before falling at UC Riverside on Wednesday.
Anese Thompson hit her team-leading third home run of the season at UC Riverside on Wednesday. The first baseman also leads the team in RBIs with 10 on the season.
London Jarrard shined in her homecoming weekend with a two-run home run and combined three RBIs in the doubleheader with UC San Diego on Tuesday. The Carlsbad, Calif. native now has two home runs and nine RBIs in 2024.
Loreley Francia started the West Coast swing with a career day versus Northern Colorado. The sophomore threw a career-high 14 strikeouts in a complete game effort in the 4-2 victory.
California Baptist enters the tournament with an even 7-7 record on the season. The Lancers recently finished the CBU Classic with a 4-1 mark, recording wins over CSU Bakersfield, Weber State and Utah State. Head Coach Mike Smith collected his 1,000th career win last weekend, making him just the 37th coach all-time to reach the mark in all four-year programs.
Thursday's matchup will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Cal Poly will begin the weekend with a 7-7 mark as well. The Mustangs took part in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend and dropped all five games after starting the season 7-2. Sophomore Kiara Blanchard was tabbed Big West Field Player of the Week on Feb. 26 after going 9-for-15 the prior week. The outfielder holds the team lead with 12 RBIs and the second-best average at .364.
St. John's and Cal Poly have met one prior time on Feb. 28, 2015, when the Mustangs came out on top, 3-2, despite a Krystal Puga two-run home run.
The Bengals of Idaho State bring an impressive 11-6 record into the Lancers Invite. ISU started the season off hot, going 10-1 before dropping five of its last six. On Feb. 19, Taylor Fitzgerald was named Big Sky Pitcher of the Week after tossing 13.1 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits at the 2024 Whataburger Invitational.
The Red Storm is 1-0 all-time against the Bengals with an 11-0 victory on March 9, 2018. Pitcher Madison Morris was dominant, tallying 14 strikeouts in the shutout.
The Lancers Invite will mark the conclusion of non-conference preseason play along with the team's West Coast swing. St. John's will be back in action in Queens to open BIG EAST play against Creighton on March 8 at 2 p.m.
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