Loreley Francia Shuts Out DePaul in St. John's 4-0 Victory

Friday, March 29

Chicago, Ill. (Cacciatore Stadium)

2 p.m.

St. John's University

18-16, 0

DePaul

7-22, 0

St. John's

DePaul

Loreley Francia Shuts Out DePaul in St. John's 4-0 Victory

3/29/2024 5:05:00 PM | Softball

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Francia notches her second shutout of the week in game two victory over the Blue Demons

CHICAGO – Sophomore starting pitcher Loreley Francia completed her second shutout win of the week, taking down DePaul, 4-0, on Friday afternoon at Cacciatore Stadium.

Francia was dominant in the circle, holding the Blue Demons to just four hits and one walk while striking out eight in the shutout win. Earlier this week, the Spring, Texas product tossed 10 strikeouts in a shutout at Iona, leading the Red Storm to a 5-0 victory. The right-hander leads the Johnnies with eight wins, a 2.10 ERA, 97 punchouts and seven complete games.

Amy Mallah was a spark for the Red Storm offense at the bottom of the lineup, tallying a pair of doubles, a run scored and an RBI. The third baseman now has 22 hits with six RBIs on the season.

Sophomore Sydney Totarsky also notched a two-hit performance, bringing home her ninth RBI of 2024.

London Jarrard and Elanna Lysiak each hit RBI singles in the contest to round out the scoring for the Johnnies. Jarrard leads the team with 35 RBIs while Lysiak ranks third with 13 on the year.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Red Storm (18-16, 7-4) struck first in the top of the second. Mallah smacked a one-out double off the wall in left-center ahead of Totarsky singling back up the middle to put runners on the corners. Jess Bianco then walked to load the bases for Jarrard who slapped an RBI single into left to give St. John's the 1-0 advantage. With the bases still loaded, DePaul's Katey Pierce battled back to get the final two outs and hold the Johnnies to just the one run.

DePaul (7-22, 2-6) notched its first hit of the series on a lead-off single by Carly Alvers to start the home half of the second. Alvers then swiped third after advancing to second on a groundout, providing the Blue Demons with an opportunity to even the score. However, Francia found her way out of the jam, fanning the next two batters to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Francia and Pierce then engaged in a pitcher's duel, exchanging back-and-forth blank frames to keep the score in St. John's favor, 1-0, after the fifth inning.

In the top of the sixth, Mallah torched her second two-bagger over the head of DePaul's left fielder to give the Johnnies another scoring opportunity. Totarsky followed up by reaching on a fielder's choice to put two runners on, but Pierce once again found her way out of the inning, getting the last two outs and keeping the score at 1-0.

The Blue Demons threatened in the bottom of the sixth, putting two on with no outs behind an Alexis Houge walk and Brooke Johnson base hit. Baylee Cosgrove then attempted to lay down a bunt, but it stayed in the air long enough for Mallah to make a full-extension diving grab from third and then toss Johnson out at first for a double play. Francia closed out the inning, punching out Riley Pool on a full count for her sixth strikeout of the contest, 1-0.

St. John's tacked on three insurance runs in the visiting half of the seventh. Cassidy Stouffer led off the frame with a walk before advancing to second on a Celia Macari sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Lysiak delivered the crucial insurance run with an RBI single into right, 2-0, and advanced to second on the throw home. Two consecutive DePaul errors followed, allowing Lysiak to come home on a Mallah groundball, 3-0. Totarsky then capped the frame with an RBI single through the left side, 4-0.

With the insurance runs in place, Francia took advantage in the bottom of the seventh, striking out her seventh and eighth batters of the game to give St. John's the 4-0 win.

The Red Storm will look to sweep the series against DePaul tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. The series finale will be broadcast on FloSports with Live Stats provided on RedStormSports.com.