St. John’s Claims BIG EAST Regular Season Title; Downs UConn in Extra Innings, 6-5

Sunday, May 4

Storrs, Conn. (Burrill Family Field at Connecticut Softball Complex)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

39-15-1, 0

UConn

32-17, 0

St. John's

UConn

St. John’s Claims BIG EAST Regular Season Title; Downs UConn in Extra Innings, 6-5

5/4/2025 5:54:00 PM | Softball

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The Red Storm win its fourth conference regular season title and first since 2019

By: Josh McLaren

STORRS, Conn. – The St. John's softball team (39-15-1, 19-5 BIG EAST) claimed the BIG EAST Regular Season Title after taking down UConn, 6-5, in eight innings on Sunday afternoon at Burrill Family Field.

The Red Storm stormed through conference play all year, winning seven of its eight series, including four sweeps. After falling in Friday's series opener to the Huskies, 3-0, the Johnnies rallied with a 4-3 win yesterday before taking today's contest 6-5.

With the regular season title in hand, St. John's will now enter next week's BIG EAST Championships as the No. 1 seed and will play the winner of No. 4 Creighton and No. 5 Butler at noon on Thursday, May 8.

Melanie Santos delivered one of the biggest hits all season, drilling a grand slam in the top of the fourth inning to give the Johnnies a four-run lead. The graduate student is now on a nine-game hitting streak and is tied for second on the team with five homers this year.

Ana Serafinko drew the start, allowing five earned runs on five hits while striking out eight batters in the no-decision. The two-way star also delivered a crucial RBI single in the top fifth to help her own cause inside the circle.

Sarah Post brought home the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth during a pinch-hit appearance. The redshirt freshman has four RBIs on the season.

Loreley Francia closed out the game for the Red Storm, striking out two batters in 1.2 innings of relief work to pick up her 19^thwin of the year.

Serafinko opened the contest with three straight scoreless frames, striking out the side in the top of the first before adding another in a 1-2-3 second inning to keep the scoreboard blank after the first three innings of play.

In the top of the fourth, London Jarrard and Anese Thompson led off the inning with a walk and a single to put two on with no outs. After UConn's starter Payton Kinney recorded the next two outs, Cassidy Stouffer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Santos then delivered the big hit, drilling a grand slam to left field to give the Red Storm a 4-0 lead.

The Huskies got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Cat Petteys hit a solo home run to center field, 4-1.

St. John's responded right back in the top of the fifth, putting two on with a Jess Bianco bunt single and a Jarrard walk. UConn then recorded a double play after Thompson lined out back to the pitcher, leaving Bianco on second for Serafinko, who laced an RBI single back up the middle, 5-1.

UConn (32-17, 18-6 BIG EAST) threatened in the bottom of the fifth, putting two runners on with no outs. However, Serafinko minimized the threat, striking out her fifth and sixth batter of the contest before generating a fly out to leave the frame unscathed and maintain the St. John's four-run edge.

Rosie Garcia cut into the Red Storm's lead in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a three-run home run to left-center, 5-4. Serafinko got out of the inning by retiring her next two batters, including her seventh punchout of the afternoon.

Down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh, the Huskies evened the score when Grace Jenkins hit a solo homer to left-center field to send the game into extra innings knotted at 5-5.

In extras, the Red Storm immediately loaded the bases in the top of the eighth on an Elanna Lysiak walk, a Stouffer single and a Santos walk. An out later, Post delivered a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left field, bringing home Lysiak to give the Johnnies a 6-5 lead.

After Francia struck out the first two outs of the bottom of the eighth, UConn loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. With the bases now loaded and a full count, Francia got the final out by generating a flyout to left field, sealing the 6-5 victory and bring the BIG EAST Regular Season crown to Queens.

St. John's will now look ahead to next week's BIG EAST Championships hosted by Villanova, where it enters as the No. 1 seed. The Red Storm will take on the winner of No. 4 Creighton and No. 5 Butler at noon on Thursday, May 8.