St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 13
Leesburg, Fla. (Sleepy Hollow Complex)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Alabama State
Softball Heads to Florida for The Spring Games
2/12/2026 4:03:00 PM | Softball
The Red Storm will play five games in Leesburg
QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's softball team will head down to Leesburg, Fla., this weekend to continue the 2026 season at The Spring Games at Sleepy Hollow Complex on Feb. 13-15.
The Johnnies (4-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) open play on Friday with a 3 p.m. matchup against Alabama State before facing LIU at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Red Storm will meet Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. contest with Bethune-Cookman. St. John's concludes the weekend with a Sunday morning against Southern Mississippi at 10 a.m.
All games will be streamed live from Sleepy Hollow Complex on FloSports. Live stats for all games can be found on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's enters the weekend following a 4-1 showing at the Charleston Invitational, marking the program's best start to a season since 2010. The Red Storm collected walk-off wins over Siena and Central Michigan, posted a shutout against Charleston Southern and earned a 5-4 victory over George Mason behind a complete-game performance from Loreley Francia.
Senior pitcher Ana Serafinko opened the 2026 season with a dominant showing that earned her a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. She delivered a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts against Charleston Southern, then followed with a 167-pitch effort against Central Michigan that included 13 strikeouts and the go-ahead RBI in the tenth inning. The strong weekend marked the third honor roll placement of her career.
Junior Niagara transfer Natasha Limbani joined Serafinko on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after an impressive first weekend with the Red Storm. She lifted the Johnnies past Siena with a walk-off two-run homer in her debut, adding a double and two runs scored in the opener. Limbani also went 3-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a highlight-reel one-handed snag that ignited a triple play against Charleston.
Inside the circle, Serafinko and Francia have combined for three complete games and 32 strikeouts through the opening week.
Offensively, Jess Bianco leads the Johnnies with eight hits and five RBIs, while Elanna Lysiak and Limbani each provided power swings pivotal to the Red Storm's best start in 16 years.
St. John's will first take on Alabama State, who enter The Spring Games after going 2-3 at the Stinger Class in Montgomery, Ala., taking down Lindenwood, 6-5, and Southern Indiana, 10-2. The 3 p.m. contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Following their matchup with the Hornets, the Johnnies will battle local foe LIU. The Sharks began the 2026 campaign at the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., after being predicted to finish first in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. LIU holds the advantage in the all-time series against St. John's, 4-3. The Red Storm last faced the Sharks on March 29, 2023, an 8-6 victory.
The Johnnies will open play on Saturday by facing Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. for the first of two meetings at The Spring Games. The Golden Eagles opened their 2026 season by hosting the Black & Gold Challenge in Hattiesburg, Miss., where they compiled a 4-1 record. Southern Mississippi defeated Southeast Missouri State twice, UAB and Lipscomb.
Southern Mississippi joins Alabama State as first-time opponents for the Red Storm in the Sunshine State.
Later that day, St. John's meets Bethune-Cookman at 3:30 p.m. The Wildcats started the season at the USF-Rawlings Invitational, battling against Illinois State, Kansas, Michigan, Florida and North Texas. The matchup between St. John's and Bethune-Cookman will be the programs' first since 2019, when the Johnnies improved their all-time record against the Wildcats to 5-0 with a 6-3 victory on Feb. 9 at FAU Stadium.
To close out The Spring Games, St. John's will play Southern Mississippi at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Following its time in Florida, the Johnnies return home before heading back to the Sunshine State for the Stetson Invitational from Feb. 20-22, where they'll take on Columbia three times and host Stetson twice.
The Johnnies (4-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) open play on Friday with a 3 p.m. matchup against Alabama State before facing LIU at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Red Storm will meet Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. contest with Bethune-Cookman. St. John's concludes the weekend with a Sunday morning against Southern Mississippi at 10 a.m.
All games will be streamed live from Sleepy Hollow Complex on FloSports. Live stats for all games can be found on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's enters the weekend following a 4-1 showing at the Charleston Invitational, marking the program's best start to a season since 2010. The Red Storm collected walk-off wins over Siena and Central Michigan, posted a shutout against Charleston Southern and earned a 5-4 victory over George Mason behind a complete-game performance from Loreley Francia.
Senior pitcher Ana Serafinko opened the 2026 season with a dominant showing that earned her a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. She delivered a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts against Charleston Southern, then followed with a 167-pitch effort against Central Michigan that included 13 strikeouts and the go-ahead RBI in the tenth inning. The strong weekend marked the third honor roll placement of her career.
Junior Niagara transfer Natasha Limbani joined Serafinko on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after an impressive first weekend with the Red Storm. She lifted the Johnnies past Siena with a walk-off two-run homer in her debut, adding a double and two runs scored in the opener. Limbani also went 3-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a highlight-reel one-handed snag that ignited a triple play against Charleston.
Inside the circle, Serafinko and Francia have combined for three complete games and 32 strikeouts through the opening week.
Offensively, Jess Bianco leads the Johnnies with eight hits and five RBIs, while Elanna Lysiak and Limbani each provided power swings pivotal to the Red Storm's best start in 16 years.
St. John's will first take on Alabama State, who enter The Spring Games after going 2-3 at the Stinger Class in Montgomery, Ala., taking down Lindenwood, 6-5, and Southern Indiana, 10-2. The 3 p.m. contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Following their matchup with the Hornets, the Johnnies will battle local foe LIU. The Sharks began the 2026 campaign at the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., after being predicted to finish first in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. LIU holds the advantage in the all-time series against St. John's, 4-3. The Red Storm last faced the Sharks on March 29, 2023, an 8-6 victory.
The Johnnies will open play on Saturday by facing Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. for the first of two meetings at The Spring Games. The Golden Eagles opened their 2026 season by hosting the Black & Gold Challenge in Hattiesburg, Miss., where they compiled a 4-1 record. Southern Mississippi defeated Southeast Missouri State twice, UAB and Lipscomb.
Southern Mississippi joins Alabama State as first-time opponents for the Red Storm in the Sunshine State.
Later that day, St. John's meets Bethune-Cookman at 3:30 p.m. The Wildcats started the season at the USF-Rawlings Invitational, battling against Illinois State, Kansas, Michigan, Florida and North Texas. The matchup between St. John's and Bethune-Cookman will be the programs' first since 2019, when the Johnnies improved their all-time record against the Wildcats to 5-0 with a 6-3 victory on Feb. 9 at FAU Stadium.
To close out The Spring Games, St. John's will play Southern Mississippi at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Following its time in Florida, the Johnnies return home before heading back to the Sunshine State for the Stetson Invitational from Feb. 20-22, where they'll take on Columbia three times and host Stetson twice.
Players Mentioned
SS/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
3B/OF
/ Softball
P
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