St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 7
Houston, Texas (Husky Field)
11 a.m.
St. John's University
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Houston Christian
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St. John's
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Houston Christian
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St. John’s Shuts Out Houston Christian, 5-0; Falls to Houston, 8-7
2/7/2025 8:55:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm took the opening game of the season before falling in the latter game
HOUSTON – The St. John's softball team (1-1) split a pair of contests against Houston Christian and Houston to open the 2025 season on Friday.
The Red Storm opened the day by shutting out the Huskies, 5-0, before falling to the Cougars, 8-7.
Pitcher Loreley Francia picked up a win and a loss on the day, tossing 7.2 total innings. The junior threw five scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and striking out six to pick up the win against Houston Christian.
In the opening game, Elanna Lysiak drilled the first home run of the season for the Red Storm, crushing a solo home run into left field in her first at-bat of 2025.
Second baseman Natalie Casto paced the Johnnies' offense, recording four hits on the day, including three against the Huskies for a new career-high. The San Clemente, Calif., product also produced a pair of RBIs, a run scored and a walk.
Freshman Madison Konopka made an instant impact for the Red Storm in her first career games. The third baseman generated three hits, two RBIs and a walk on the day.
Shortstop London Jarrard reached base seven times with a pair of hits and four walks. The senior tied the career program record by drilling her 45th career double into the right-center gap against Houston.
Ana Serafinko picked up a save against Houston Christian, tossing a pair of scoreless frames while recording four punchouts. Against the Cougars, the two-way player recorded a two-RBI single.
Graduate Student Celia Macari drew a pair of walks against the Huskies before tallying three hits versus Houston, which included a pair of RBI singles.
Game 1
In the bottom of the first, a St. John's miscue allowed Houston Christian's AB Garcia to advance to second before Macari cut down Garcia, who was attempting to swipe third. Francia closed the inning by striking out a pair to keep the game scoreless.
Lysiak led off the second by blasting a solo home run over the left-field wall to provide the Red Storm with its first lead of the 2025 season, 1-0.
Francia continued to roll in the circle, recording two more punchouts to hold the one-run advantage for the Johnnies after two.
Houston Christian retired the first two batters to start the third, but three consecutive Husky errors allowed Jarrard to come across the plate after Anese Thompson swiped second, extending St. John's lead, 2-0.
Inside the circle, Francia continued to deal, tossing a scoreless third and fourth frame to keep the score 2-0 in favor of the Red Storm.
Konopka led off the fifth with a swinging bunt, resulting in her first career hit before swiping second and taking third on a throwing error. Jarrard then drew her second walk of the contest, and Lysiak was hit by a pitch to load the bases. However, the Huskies found their way out of the jam, recording a double play to hold St. John's lead to two.
The Huskies threatened in the bottom half of the fifth after Keely Castillo led off with a double, but Francia battled back, retiring the next three batters to keep the Johnnies up two runs.
In the sixth, Casto jumpstarted the Red Storm offense with a single to left before Maeve Marra grounded into a fielder's choice. Marra then stole second ahead of Jess Bianco slapping an RBI double over the left fielder, 3-0. Jarrard continued the two-out rally after a Konopka walk by blooping a single into center field to plate Bianco, 4-0.
After Serafinko came in relief and tossed a scoreless sixth, Lyisak and Macari opened the seventh by drawing a pair of walks before Casto drilled a career-high third single into the right-center gap, bringing home Lysiak and extending St. John's lead to 5-0.
Serafinko closed it out for the Johnnies in the bottom half by punching out two and generating a groundout to short, giving St. John's its first victory in the 2025 season, 5-0.
Game 2
After a scoreless first, the Red Storm took the lead against Houston in the top of the second when Macari hit an RBI single into center field, bringing home Melanie Santos who doubled earlier in the frame, 1-0.
Houston attempted to respond by loading the bases in the bottom half of the second, but Serafinko struck out the third out to maintain the one-run advantage.
The Red Storm offense continued its attack in the top of the third when Jarrard walked and Thompson drilled a double into the left-center gap, putting runners on second and third with one out. Serafinko then stepped to the dish and helped her own cause, sending a two-RBI single back up the middle, 3-0. Casto and Macari tacked on two more runs with a pair of RBI singles to cap the inning, 5-0.
Maddie Hartley helped the Cougars crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, hitting a solo home run to left, 5-1. Houston added another on a Bethany Aguilar RBI single to cut St. John's advantage to three runs after three innings of play.
Houston's offense continued to chip away in the fourth when Makenna Mitchell hit a two-RBI double, 5-4. Francia entered the circle in relief of Serafinko and retired the final two outs, holding St. John's one-run edge.
After a leadoff walk that advanced to third, Francia generated two weak pop-ups and recorded a punchout to hold the Johnnies' 5-4 lead through five innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Houston took its first lead of the ballgame, plating four runs, 8-5.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, the Red Storm loaded the bases for Konopka, who slapped a two-RBI single into left field, cutting Houston's lead to just one run. However, the Cougars recorded the final out to prevail 8-7.
St. John's will be in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. when it takes on No. 1/1 Texas before battling Lamar at 4 p.m. Live Stats will be available for both games at RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm opened the day by shutting out the Huskies, 5-0, before falling to the Cougars, 8-7.
Pitcher Loreley Francia picked up a win and a loss on the day, tossing 7.2 total innings. The junior threw five scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and striking out six to pick up the win against Houston Christian.
In the opening game, Elanna Lysiak drilled the first home run of the season for the Red Storm, crushing a solo home run into left field in her first at-bat of 2025.
Second baseman Natalie Casto paced the Johnnies' offense, recording four hits on the day, including three against the Huskies for a new career-high. The San Clemente, Calif., product also produced a pair of RBIs, a run scored and a walk.
Freshman Madison Konopka made an instant impact for the Red Storm in her first career games. The third baseman generated three hits, two RBIs and a walk on the day.
Shortstop London Jarrard reached base seven times with a pair of hits and four walks. The senior tied the career program record by drilling her 45th career double into the right-center gap against Houston.
Ana Serafinko picked up a save against Houston Christian, tossing a pair of scoreless frames while recording four punchouts. Against the Cougars, the two-way player recorded a two-RBI single.
Graduate Student Celia Macari drew a pair of walks against the Huskies before tallying three hits versus Houston, which included a pair of RBI singles.
Game 1
In the bottom of the first, a St. John's miscue allowed Houston Christian's AB Garcia to advance to second before Macari cut down Garcia, who was attempting to swipe third. Francia closed the inning by striking out a pair to keep the game scoreless.
Lysiak led off the second by blasting a solo home run over the left-field wall to provide the Red Storm with its first lead of the 2025 season, 1-0.
Francia continued to roll in the circle, recording two more punchouts to hold the one-run advantage for the Johnnies after two.
Houston Christian retired the first two batters to start the third, but three consecutive Husky errors allowed Jarrard to come across the plate after Anese Thompson swiped second, extending St. John's lead, 2-0.
Inside the circle, Francia continued to deal, tossing a scoreless third and fourth frame to keep the score 2-0 in favor of the Red Storm.
Konopka led off the fifth with a swinging bunt, resulting in her first career hit before swiping second and taking third on a throwing error. Jarrard then drew her second walk of the contest, and Lysiak was hit by a pitch to load the bases. However, the Huskies found their way out of the jam, recording a double play to hold St. John's lead to two.
The Huskies threatened in the bottom half of the fifth after Keely Castillo led off with a double, but Francia battled back, retiring the next three batters to keep the Johnnies up two runs.
In the sixth, Casto jumpstarted the Red Storm offense with a single to left before Maeve Marra grounded into a fielder's choice. Marra then stole second ahead of Jess Bianco slapping an RBI double over the left fielder, 3-0. Jarrard continued the two-out rally after a Konopka walk by blooping a single into center field to plate Bianco, 4-0.
After Serafinko came in relief and tossed a scoreless sixth, Lyisak and Macari opened the seventh by drawing a pair of walks before Casto drilled a career-high third single into the right-center gap, bringing home Lysiak and extending St. John's lead to 5-0.
Serafinko closed it out for the Johnnies in the bottom half by punching out two and generating a groundout to short, giving St. John's its first victory in the 2025 season, 5-0.
Game 2
After a scoreless first, the Red Storm took the lead against Houston in the top of the second when Macari hit an RBI single into center field, bringing home Melanie Santos who doubled earlier in the frame, 1-0.
Houston attempted to respond by loading the bases in the bottom half of the second, but Serafinko struck out the third out to maintain the one-run advantage.
The Red Storm offense continued its attack in the top of the third when Jarrard walked and Thompson drilled a double into the left-center gap, putting runners on second and third with one out. Serafinko then stepped to the dish and helped her own cause, sending a two-RBI single back up the middle, 3-0. Casto and Macari tacked on two more runs with a pair of RBI singles to cap the inning, 5-0.
Maddie Hartley helped the Cougars crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, hitting a solo home run to left, 5-1. Houston added another on a Bethany Aguilar RBI single to cut St. John's advantage to three runs after three innings of play.
Houston's offense continued to chip away in the fourth when Makenna Mitchell hit a two-RBI double, 5-4. Francia entered the circle in relief of Serafinko and retired the final two outs, holding St. John's one-run edge.
After a leadoff walk that advanced to third, Francia generated two weak pop-ups and recorded a punchout to hold the Johnnies' 5-4 lead through five innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Houston took its first lead of the ballgame, plating four runs, 8-5.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, the Red Storm loaded the bases for Konopka, who slapped a two-RBI single into left field, cutting Houston's lead to just one run. However, the Cougars recorded the final out to prevail 8-7.
St. John's will be in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. when it takes on No. 1/1 Texas before battling Lamar at 4 p.m. Live Stats will be available for both games at RedStormSports.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Francia, Loreley (1-0)
L: Evans, Kynleigh (0-1)
S: Serafinko, Ana (1)
Batting:
2B: Bianco, Jess 1
HR: Lysiak, Elanna 1
RBI: Bianco, Jess 1 ; Jarrard, London 1 ; Lysiak, Elanna 1 ; Casto, Natalie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bianco, Jess 1 ; Jarrard, London 1 ; Lysiak, Elanna 2 ; Marra, Maeve 1
SB: Konopka, Madison 1 ; Thompson, Anese 1 ; Lysiak, Elanna 1 ; Marra, Maeve 1
HBP: Lysiak, Elanna 1 ; Santos, Melanie 1
Batting:
2B: Castillo, Keely 1
Base Running:
CS: Garcia, AB 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
SS/OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTIL
/ SoftballMIF
/ Softball
3B/OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/1B
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