St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Iona
Red Storm to Visit Local Foe Iona on Wednesday
3/24/2026 2:04:00 PM | Softball
The Johnnies travel to New Rochelle for their first of two meetings with Iona this season
QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's softball team heads to New Rochelle, N.Y., for a midweek matchup against Iona for the first of two meetings this season on March 25 at 2 p.m. at Donald E. Walsh Field at Rice Oval. The contest will be streamed live on IonaGaels.com with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's (22-9, 3-3 BIG EAST) holds a 23-7 advantage in the all-time series against Iona and has won four straight meetings between the programs, including a 6-1 victory in Queens on March 12, 2025. The Red Storm are also 12-2 all-time in games played in New Rochelle.
St. John's enters Wednesday's contest following a three-game BIG EAST series victory over Georgetown from March 20-22 in Washington. The Red Storm improved to 22-9 on the season and evened their conference record at 3-3 after taking two of three contests.
Ana Serafinko paced the Red Storm over the weekend, earning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 across four appearances with a 1.81 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 19.1 innings. The senior also made an impact at the plate, batting .400 with a grand slam and a career-high five RBIs in a midweek victory over Fordham on March 18.
Serafinko continues to rank among the nation's best, sitting third in NCAA Division I with 164 strikeouts while leading the BIG EAST in innings pitched (115.2) and victories (12).
Loreley Francia has also been a key factor in the circle, owning a 10-3 record and entering Wednesday's contest just two strikeouts shy of 500 for her career. Francia's 10 wins rank second in the BIG EAST.
The Red Storm pitching staff ranks among the national leaders, including 10th in NCAA Division I in strikeouts per seven innings (7.72) and 30th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.35), both of which lead the BIG EAST. St. John's also ranks 46th nationally with a 3.25 team ERA.
Offensively, St. John's is hitting .301 as a team with 265 hits and 164 runs scored through 31 games. Jess Bianco leads the way with a .396 batting average and 44 hits, while Elanna Lysiak paces the team with 24 RBIs. Natasha Limbani has added 22 RBIs and three home runs on the season.
Bianco continues to lead the BIG EAST in hits with 44 and has totaled 104 career stolen bases, which ranks third among the top active players in NCAA Division I and first in program history. London Slade has also been one of the toughest hitters to strike out in the country, ranking 12th nationally in the category. Slade ranks second on the team in hits (39) and batting average (.371), while owning the third most runs (17).
St. John's is one of five teams in NCAA Division I to record a triple play this season alongside Boise State, Grambling, Loyola Chicago and Yale.
Iona enters Wednesday's contest with a 6-14 overall record and a 4-5 mark in MAAC play. The Gaels are coming off a series victory over Siena, capped by a 5-0 shutout win on March 21.
Following the local matchup, St. John's returns home to host its first BIG EAST series at Red Storm Field this season, taking on Butler from March 27-29 in Queens. Games one and three will be streamed live on ESPN+, while live stats for all three contests will be available on RedStormSports.com.
