St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Rock Hill, S.C. (Terry Field)
12:30 p.m.
St. John's University
6-6-1
3
vs
0
Brown
2-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Brown
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
St. John's
0
0
2
0
1
0
X
3
6
0
St. John’s Downs Brown, 3-0; Falls to Winthrop, 4-3
2/22/2025 6:20:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm split its pair of contests on the second day of the Garnet and Gold Tournament
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The St. John's softball team (6-7-1) split its pair of contests with Brown and Winthrop on the second day of the Garnet and Gold Tournament.
The Red Storm shut out the Bears in the opening contest by a score of 3-0 behind a stellar performance by starting pitcher Loreley Francia. In the latter contest, the Johnnies fell to the Eagles in the eighth inning, narrowly dropping the game 4-3.
Francia dazzled in game one against Brown, coming just one out shy of completing a no-hitter. The junior allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out seven across her first complete-game shutout of the season. The performance marked the Spring, Texas product's third of her career after tossing seven scoreless frames against both Iona and DePaul in 2024. Francia improves to 4-2 on the season, racking up 50 strikeouts and lowering her team-best ERA to 1.28.
Jess Bianco picked up where she left off yesterday by tallying six hits between the two contests, including matching her career-high with four knocks against Winthrop. The center fielder is now batting .447 this season after totaling 12 hits in the first four games of the weekend. Bianco paces the team with 21 hits, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases in 2025.
Shortstop London Jarrard drove in all three runs for the Red Storm in the opening contest against Brown. The senior drilled her second home run in as many days with a two-run shot to center field. Jarrard leads St. John's with two homers and 12 RBIs to start the season.
Game two starter Ana Serafinko put together a solid start inside the circle against the Eagles, tossing 7.2 innings while giving up four runs (two earned) and punching out eight batters. Serafinko leads the pitching staff with 54 strikeouts this year.
Game 1
After Francia sat Brown (2-2) down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Bianco led off the home half by fighting through a 14-pitch at-bat to draw a walk before swiping second to give the Johnnies an early scoring chance. However, the Bears' starter Alexis Guevara, recorded the next three outs to keep the contest scoreless after an inning of play.
Francia continued to roll inside the circle, tossing a scoreless second and third while punching out three batters to keep the score at 0-0 into the bottom of the third.
Guevara retired the first batter of the inning before Bianco battled through another long at-bat, this time hitting an infield single to short on the 12th pitch she saw. Bianco stole her second bag of the contest ahead of Jarrard crushing a two-run home run over the center-field wall to give St. John's its first lead of the contest, 2-0.
In the fourth and fifth, Francia made quick work of the Bears' lineup, sitting them down 1-2-3 in both frames while recording her fifth punchout of the game, 2-0.
The Red Storm offense started the bottom of the fifth with three consecutive singles by Natalie Casto, Elanna Lysiak and Bianco to load the bases. An out later, Jarrard delivered once again, slapping a single through the left side to plate Casto and give the Johnnies a three-run advantage.
Francia produced three weak groundouts to the left side of the infield, keeping Brown hitless and St. John's up 3-0 through six innings of play.
In the top of the seventh, Francia generated a fly out to right field and struck out her sixth batter of the game for the first two outs of the inning before Guevara broke up the no-hit bid on an infield single to short. The Bears added another base hit before Francia punched out the final out to complete the shutout and give St. John's a 3-0 victory.
Game 2
After a scoreless opening frame, Celia Macari pulled a double down the left-field line to put a runner in scoring position for the Red Storm. Melanie Santos then laced an RBI double over the right fielder's head to give the Johnnies a 1-0 lead.
Serafinko worked around a lead-off single in the top of the second by striking out the next three Winthrop (8-4) batters to bring her total to five punchouts and hold St. John's one-run edge after two innings of play.
An inning later, the Eagles knotted the score on a Peyton Brayden infield single to short to even the game, 1-1, after the first three innings.
Serafinko settled back during the fourth, sitting Winthrop down 1-2-3 to keep the score tied 1-1.
The Johnnies took the lead once again in the top of the fifth after Bianco led off with an infield single and swiped second. The Eagles recorded the next two outs before Cassidy Stouffer sent a ball to the warning track in left field and a fielding error allowed Bianco to score, 2-1.
Serafinko continued to roll, producing a perfect fifth inning before her defense backed her up with a 4-6-3 double play to end the sixth frame and keep the score at 2-1 heading into the final inning.
Bianco matched her single-game career high with four hits by driving a single back up the middle to start the top of the seventh, but Winthrop retired the next three batters, keeping the score at 2-1.
The Eagles were down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh when Megan Powell hit an RBI double to right, evening the score at 2-2.
Stouffer started the extra frame by being placed on second. After a Macari sacrifice bunt, Stouffer moved to third and came home on a throwing error after Anese Thompson flew out to center field, 3-2.
Winthrop plated two runs in the home half of the eighth to walk off with a 4-3 win over the Red Storm.
St. John's will wrap up its time at the Garnet and Gold Tournament by taking on Le Moyne at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.
The Red Storm shut out the Bears in the opening contest by a score of 3-0 behind a stellar performance by starting pitcher Loreley Francia. In the latter contest, the Johnnies fell to the Eagles in the eighth inning, narrowly dropping the game 4-3.
Francia dazzled in game one against Brown, coming just one out shy of completing a no-hitter. The junior allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out seven across her first complete-game shutout of the season. The performance marked the Spring, Texas product's third of her career after tossing seven scoreless frames against both Iona and DePaul in 2024. Francia improves to 4-2 on the season, racking up 50 strikeouts and lowering her team-best ERA to 1.28.
Jess Bianco picked up where she left off yesterday by tallying six hits between the two contests, including matching her career-high with four knocks against Winthrop. The center fielder is now batting .447 this season after totaling 12 hits in the first four games of the weekend. Bianco paces the team with 21 hits, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases in 2025.
Shortstop London Jarrard drove in all three runs for the Red Storm in the opening contest against Brown. The senior drilled her second home run in as many days with a two-run shot to center field. Jarrard leads St. John's with two homers and 12 RBIs to start the season.
Game two starter Ana Serafinko put together a solid start inside the circle against the Eagles, tossing 7.2 innings while giving up four runs (two earned) and punching out eight batters. Serafinko leads the pitching staff with 54 strikeouts this year.
Game 1
After Francia sat Brown (2-2) down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Bianco led off the home half by fighting through a 14-pitch at-bat to draw a walk before swiping second to give the Johnnies an early scoring chance. However, the Bears' starter Alexis Guevara, recorded the next three outs to keep the contest scoreless after an inning of play.
Francia continued to roll inside the circle, tossing a scoreless second and third while punching out three batters to keep the score at 0-0 into the bottom of the third.
Guevara retired the first batter of the inning before Bianco battled through another long at-bat, this time hitting an infield single to short on the 12th pitch she saw. Bianco stole her second bag of the contest ahead of Jarrard crushing a two-run home run over the center-field wall to give St. John's its first lead of the contest, 2-0.
In the fourth and fifth, Francia made quick work of the Bears' lineup, sitting them down 1-2-3 in both frames while recording her fifth punchout of the game, 2-0.
The Red Storm offense started the bottom of the fifth with three consecutive singles by Natalie Casto, Elanna Lysiak and Bianco to load the bases. An out later, Jarrard delivered once again, slapping a single through the left side to plate Casto and give the Johnnies a three-run advantage.
Francia produced three weak groundouts to the left side of the infield, keeping Brown hitless and St. John's up 3-0 through six innings of play.
In the top of the seventh, Francia generated a fly out to right field and struck out her sixth batter of the game for the first two outs of the inning before Guevara broke up the no-hit bid on an infield single to short. The Bears added another base hit before Francia punched out the final out to complete the shutout and give St. John's a 3-0 victory.
Game 2
After a scoreless opening frame, Celia Macari pulled a double down the left-field line to put a runner in scoring position for the Red Storm. Melanie Santos then laced an RBI double over the right fielder's head to give the Johnnies a 1-0 lead.
Serafinko worked around a lead-off single in the top of the second by striking out the next three Winthrop (8-4) batters to bring her total to five punchouts and hold St. John's one-run edge after two innings of play.
An inning later, the Eagles knotted the score on a Peyton Brayden infield single to short to even the game, 1-1, after the first three innings.
Serafinko settled back during the fourth, sitting Winthrop down 1-2-3 to keep the score tied 1-1.
The Johnnies took the lead once again in the top of the fifth after Bianco led off with an infield single and swiped second. The Eagles recorded the next two outs before Cassidy Stouffer sent a ball to the warning track in left field and a fielding error allowed Bianco to score, 2-1.
Serafinko continued to roll, producing a perfect fifth inning before her defense backed her up with a 4-6-3 double play to end the sixth frame and keep the score at 2-1 heading into the final inning.
Bianco matched her single-game career high with four hits by driving a single back up the middle to start the top of the seventh, but Winthrop retired the next three batters, keeping the score at 2-1.
The Eagles were down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh when Megan Powell hit an RBI double to right, evening the score at 2-2.
Stouffer started the extra frame by being placed on second. After a Macari sacrifice bunt, Stouffer moved to third and came home on a throwing error after Anese Thompson flew out to center field, 3-2.
Winthrop plated two runs in the home half of the eighth to walk off with a 4-3 win over the Red Storm.
St. John's will wrap up its time at the Garnet and Gold Tournament by taking on Le Moyne at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Francia, Loreley (4-2)
L: GUEVARA (1-1)
Batting:
HR: Jarrard, London 1
RBI: Jarrard, London 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Bianco, Jess 1 ; Jarrard, London 1 ; Casto, Natalie 1
SB: Bianco, Jess 2
HBP: Thompson, Anese 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS/OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
3B/OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
MIF
/ Softball
C/1B
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