St. John’s Extends Winning Streak to Eight Games, Picking Up Wins Against Mercer and Jacksonville

Thursday, March 6

Jacksonville, Fla. (Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

13-7-1

Mercer

11-10

St. Johns

Mercer

St. John’s Extends Winning Streak to Eight Games, Picking Up Wins Against Mercer and Jacksonville

3/6/2025 9:01:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Mercer)Box Score (Jacksonville)

The Red Storm’s eight-game winning streak matches the program’s longest since the 2019 season

By: Josh McLaren

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The St. John's softball team (14-7-1) opened up play in Northern Florida by picking up wins against both Mercer and Jacksonville.

The Red Storm opened the afternoon by holding on in a tight contest against the Bears, winning 4-3 before shutting out the Dolphins with a 5-0 victory. The pair of wins extends St. John's winning streak to eight games, matching the program's longest since the 2019 season. The Johnnies have also now won 12 of its last 13 contests dating back to its Feb. 16 matchup with Loyola-Chicago.

Game one starter Ana Serafinko turned in a valiant effort against Mercer to pick up her fifth win of the season. The junior allowed just three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out seven batters in 6.1 innings of work. Serafinko leads the squad with 92 punchouts and has maintained a 2.70 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched this season.

Loreley Francia recorded the final two outs in game one to earn the save before tallying her team-high eighth victory against Jacksonville. The Spring, Texas product shut down the Dolphins, tossing a complete-game shutout by allowing just three hits and recording five strikeouts. Francia now lowers her ERA to 1.04 in 67.1 innings pitched.

On offense, London Jarrard led the attack, producing five combined hits, which included a home run and four RBIs. Last week's BIG EAST Player of the Week is now batting .431 and leads the team with three homers and 26 RBIs in 2025.

Elanna Lysiak drove in three runs in the latter contest, including an RBI double that gave the Johnnies their first lead against the Dolphins. The outfielder has already tallied four doubles and 13 RBIs to open the year.

Jess Bianco and Anese Thompson each added an RBI as well to round out the scoring for the Red Storm.

Game 1

St. John's wasted no time in the opening contest against Mercer (11-10), taking an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Jarrard hit an RBI single to bring home Bianco and Cassidy Stouffer, who singled and walked to start the frame, respectively.

The Bears evened the score in the bottom half of the frame on a Sietske Drijvers two-RBI single, 2-2. Serafinko limited the damage by punching out her third batter of the inning, stranding a pair of runners.

After a scoreless second inning, Jarrard gave the Red Storm the lead once more in the top of the third, drilling a solo home run for her third RBI of the contest, 3-2.

Serafinko continued to settle back in on the rubber in the bottom of the third, producing her second consecutive blank frame by sitting Mercer down 1-2-3 to hold St. John's one-run advantage.

Madison Konopka then led off the top of the fourth with a single, and an error allowed her to advance to second on the play. Bianco then produced a flyball to left field, allowing Konopka to tag up and come all the way around to score, 4-2.

An inning later, the Bears cracked into the Johnnies lead after Madi Wicker reached on an error that brought home Taylor Hedgecock, who doubled earlier in the inning, making the score 4-3 after five innings of play.

The score remained 4-3 into the bottom of the seventh when Mercer threatened by putting the tying run on third with one out. Francia then entered the circle in relief of Serafinko, recording the next two outs to hold on to the one-run victory for St. John's.

Game 2

Francia kicked off the second game just as she ended the first, holding Jacksonville (11-9) scoreless through the first three frames to keep the contest at 0-0 into the fourth inning.

St. John's finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth when Jarrad led off with a single to center field before advancing to second on a Thompson groundout. Lysiak then delivered an RBI double to left field, giving the Red Storm a 1-0 lead.

Inside the circle, Francia continued to roll, tossing her fourth consecutive scoreless frame while punching out her third batter of the contest to hold the Johnnies' one-run edge.

The Red Storm loaded the bases to open the fifth after Konopka singled, Bianco walked and Stouffer was hit by a pitch. After a Dolphins' pitching change, Jarrard singled to center field, plating Konopka and extending the lead to 2-0. A Thompson walk then loaded the bases again for Lysiak who bounced into a fielder's choice to bring home another run, 3-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Francia sat Jacksonville down 1-2-3, picking up her fourth strikeout of the contest. The right-hander then worked around a two-out walk in the sixth to hold the Dolphins scoreless and the lead at 3-0 into the seventh.

The Johnnies' offense continued to attack in the top of the seventh when Bianco, Stouffer and Jarrard strung together three singles to load the bases with no outs. Thompson then drew a walk and Lysiak was hit by a pitch to bring home two runs, 5-0.

Francia closed the door on the Dolphins in the bottom of the seventh, sitting them down in order to seal the complete-game shutout and the 5-0 triumph for the Red Storm.

St. John's will continue action tomorrow when it heads to the campus of North Florida to take on Army at 11:30 a.m. before battling the Ospreys later in the day at 4:30 p.m.