Red Storm Drops Two Against RV Liberty and Kansas

Friday, February 9

Clearwater, Fla. (Eddie C. Moore Complex)

5 p.m.

St. John's University

0-1

Liberty

1-0

St. John's

Liberty

2/9/2024 11:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 SB Boxscore vs. Liberty SB Boxscore vs. Kansas

St. John’s falls to Liberty 3-1, before dropping to Kansas 6-1, on Friday evening

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The St. John's softball team dropped its opening two games against RV Liberty and Kansas at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

Anese Thompson finished the night with a combined 3-for-5 with three singles, an RBI and a walk to lead the Red Storm offense.

Game 1

St. John's engaged in a pitchers' duel in the season opener, falling to Liberty, 3-1, despite a complete-game, five-strikeout effort from Hannah Mearns.

St. John's threatened early in the first as London Jarrard launched the first pitch she saw to the center field wall for a double. However, Liberty worked its way out of trouble to keep the Johnnies scoreless.

Following a scoreless opening frame from Mearns, who retired the side in order, the Red Storm took its first lead of the year. The Johnnies smacked four consecutive singles to start the second inning, with Sydney Totarsky blooping a single into right-center to drive home Amy Mallah and giving St. John's a 1-0 advantage. Liberty's Elena Escobar settled in shortly after and worked out of the bases-loaded jam.

The Flames threatened in the bottom of the second with two runners on, but Mearns fought back, recording two strikeouts to preserve the shutout early on.

After going down in order in the top of the third, the Johnnies' defense came in clutch in the bottom half. With two runners on, Katie Whittaker tossed out Mary Claire Wilson stealing third before Mearns finished the inning with a pop-up to second base to keep the one-run edge heading into the fourth.

Thompson and Totarsky each recorded their second hit of the game to start the fourth, but the Johnnies offense failed to generate another baserunner. The Flames threatened again in the home half of the fourth with two singles, but Mearns battled back to exit the frame unscathed.

Freshman London Slade recorded her first career hit on a bunt single to open the fifth inning, but Escobar shut down the middle of the Red Storm lineup.

In the bottom of the fifth with a runner on first, Mallah raced in from third and made a spectacular diving play on a pop-up bunt in front of the circle to hold the runner. The Flames eventually knotted the game at one apiece after an RBI triple from Rachel Roupe. Mearns stranded the ASUN first-team selection on third after producing an infield pop-up and groundout to leave the score even at the end of five.

St. John's Mearns and Liberty's Escobar retired their respective sides in order in the sixth before Roupe walked off with a two-run home run in the seventh to knock off the Johnnies, 3-1.

Game 2

In the second game of the evening, Kansas jumped out to an early lead as they scored all six of their runs in the first three innings. The Johnnies tacked on one late but fell 6-1 at the hands of the Jayhawks.

Jess Bianco led off the game with a leadoff infield single quickly followed by her first stolen base of the year. Thompson fought through a 10-pitch at-bat to draw a walk, as the Red Storm found themselves with runners on the corners before Kansas' Katie Brooks found her way out of trouble to keep the game scoreless.

The Jayhawks offense jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first as Lyric Moore hit an RBI triple before scoring herself to give Kansas the 2-0 advantage at the end of one.

The score remained 2-0 going into the bottom half of the second. Mallah continued her impressive defensive display by sprawling out to catch a line drive to third then tossing to first to double-up Ashlynn Anderson. Kansas added to their lead after Presley Limbaugh hit the team's second RBI triple in as many innings to make the score 3-0.

Cassidy Stouffer tried to jumpstart the Red Storm offense in the third after a leadoff single through the right side, but the Johnnies fell in order after that to hold the score at 3-0.

Kansas scored three more in the third extending their lead to 6-0 before ending the frame.

After a scoreless fourth, Bianco sparked St. John's in the fifth with her second infield single of the day. Elanna Lysiak followed up lacing a line drive off of Brooks' shin that ricocheted into left field advancing Bianco to third and herself to second. Thompson came up clutch with a two-out, RBI single to put the Johnnies on the board, 6-1.

Reliever Carolina Zamudio settled in over the final three innings, blanking the Jayhawks and giving the Red Storm a chance at a comeback. Kansas proved to be too much down the stretch and held on for the five-run victory.

The Red Storm will play two games again tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. against Central Arkansas followed by a matchup with South Alabama slated for 4 p.m.