St. John’s Clinches BIG EAST Tournament Berth with 4-0 Win Against Seton Hall

Sunday, April 28

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

26-25, 0

Seton Hall

25-20, 0

Seton Hall

St. John's

St. John’s Clinches BIG EAST Tournament Berth with 4-0 Win Against Seton Hall

4/28/2024 3:36:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm shut out the Pirates to secure a spot in its 14th BIG EAST Tournament

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's softball team (26-25, 13-11) shut out Seton Hall, 4-0, in the series finale to clinch a spot in the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Storm came out on top in game three after the Pirates (25-20, 12-9) took the opening two contests, securing its 14^thappearance in the conference tournament that is set to take play in Providence, R.I., on May 8-11. The Johnnies have now finished regular season conference play with 13 wins, marking the program's highest total since the 2019 season.

St. John's put runs up in a hurry on Sunday, plating three runs in the first and another in the second inning to build an early four-run lead which proved to be all that Ana Serafinko needed inside the circle.

With today's shutout victory, Serafinko now has five on the season and 10 wins in total. The left-hander was dominant on the rubber, allowing just six hits while racking up eight punchouts across the seven innings of work. Serafinko also did damage from the plate, recording two doubles and came around to score twice for the Red Storm. The Chino Hills, Calif., product now has a team-best 2.46 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 119.2 innings to go along with seven doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs from the batter's box.

Graduate student Amy Mallah made her last home game a memorable one, recording a pair of clutch RBI base hits in the opening two frames to help the Johnnies jump out to their early lead. The third baseman recorded two hits yesterday as well, finishing the series with a .400 average and three RBIs.

Anese Thompson provided the Red Storm with a huge hit in the first, sending a two-RBI double into the right-center gap. The junior now has 14 RBIs for St. John's in 2024.

Serafinko came out throwing to start the game, striking out the side while working around an Olivia Gilbert two-out single in the top of the first, 0-0.

London Jarrard helped get the offense going in the home half by drawing a lead-off walk before Serafinko crushed a double off the right-field wall, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Mallah then came to the plate and slapped a single through the right side to bring home Jarrard, 1-0. After the Pirates recorded an out, Sydney Totarsky drew a walk to put runners on the corners ahead of Thompson launching a two-RBI double into the right-center gap, 3-0.

The Red Storm offense continued to apply pressure in the bottom of the second when Serafinko hit her second two-bagger in as many innings off the top of the wall in center field, providing St. John's with a two-out scoring opportunity. Mallah then delivered the clutch RBI base hit back up the middle to give the Johnnies a 4-0 advantage after two.

The Pirates looked to respond in the top of the third after an Amber Johnson single and Taylor Hill walk put two runners on with one out. However, Serafinko remained unphased in the circle, striking out the next two batters to keep the score at 4-0.

The remainder of the game turned into a pitcher's duel between Serafinko and Seton Hall's Kyra Kreuscher who settled in after the first two innings to keep the game at 4-0 after six innings of play.

Andrea Perez led off the top of the seventh with a bloop single before Serafinko closed the door on the Pirates, punching out the final two outs to give St. John's the 4-0 victory and secure a spot in the conference tournament.

The Red Storm will wrap up its 2024 campaign when it travels to Army for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday. The first pitch of game one is slated for 3 p.m.