St. John’s Walks-Off Butler to Complete Three-Game Sweep, 5-4

Sunday, March 17

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

13-13, 0

Butler

13-15, 0

Butler

St. John's

St. John’s Walks-Off Butler to Complete Three-Game Sweep, 5-4

3/17/2024 4:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Video Highlights Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm records its first BIG EAST series sweep since 2021

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's softball team (13-13, 4-2) won in dramatic walk-off fashion, 5-4, to complete a three-game sweep over Butler (13-15, 2-4). The sweep marks the Johnnies' first in BIG EAST play since 2021 when the squad took all three games against Providence.

Eight of nine hitters in the Red Storm starting lineup recorded a hit during today's contest to help St. John's to its third win in a row.

Katie Whittaker delivered the clutch RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to plate the game-winning run for the Red Storm. The sophomore now has six RBIs with two home runs on the season.

Left-hander Ana Serafinko allowed just one run on two hits in 5.2 innings of relief to record her second win of the series and fourth of the year in the circle. The Chino Hills, Calif., native sits atop the Red Storm pitching staff with a 2.23 ERA in 47 innings pitched to go along with 54 punchouts.

Sydney Totarsky hit an RBI double, her second two-bagger of the season.

Celia Macari, Natalie Casto and Elanna Lysiak each notched RBI singles in the contest to help lead the St. John's offense.

In the bottom of the first, Jess Bianco led off with a walk and promptly swiped her 15^th bag of the season to give the Johnnies an early runner in scoring position. With two outs, Macari pulled a clutch RBI single down the left-field line to give St. John's the 1-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs responded quickly in the top of the second when Teagan O'Rilley hit a lead-off home run to knot the game, 1-1. An out and a Kieli Ryan hit-by-pitch later, Monique Hoosen delivered another longball for Butler to take the lead, 3-1.

Casto started the bottom of the second by getting plunked, but Butler quickly recorded two outs before Totarsky crushed an RBI double off the center-field wall to cut into the lead, 3-2.

Serafinko completed her first full inning of relief in the top of the third, sitting the Bulldogs down 1-2-3 while tallying a strikeout.

The Red Storm continued to generate two-out hits and runs in the bottom of the third. London Jarrard and Lysiak were both hit by a pitch to open the frame, putting two on with no outs. Two outs later, Casto blooped a single in front of the Butler centerfielder to plate Jarrard and tie the contest at three.

After another clean Serafinko inning, St. John's took the lead in the bottom of the fourth after Melanie Santos and Bianco tallied a pair of base hits to put two runners on with one out. An out later, Lysiak delivered the fourth two-out RBI hit in as many innings to give the Johnnies the advantage once again, 4-3.

That score held until the top of the seventh when Butler discovered some two-out magic of its own. After the first two Bulldogs were retired swiftly, Hailey Conger drew a walk before Ella White smacked the game-tying RBI double into right-center to bring home the speedy Conger from first, 4-4.

St. John's responded right back in the bottom of the seventh when Jarrard opened the inning by lining a ball back up the middle and advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lysiak. After intentionally walking Macari, Whittaker made Butler pay by delivering the first Red Storm walk-off of 2024 with an RBI double off the wall in right-center to give St. John's the 5-4 victory and complete the series sweep.

St. John's will wrap up its 10-game homestand with a doubleheader against Wagner on Tuesday. The first pitch for game one is slated for 1 p.m. followed by game two at 3 p.m.