St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Butler
Softball to Host Butler for First BIG EAST Series at Red Storm Field of 2026
3/26/2026 2:01:00 PM | Softball
St. John’s takes on Butler as conference play continues
QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's softball team returns home to Red Storm Field for its first BIG EAST series in Queens this season, hosting Butler from March 27-29. Friday and Sunday's matchups will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Saturday's tilt will be available on the St. John's Red Storm YouTube channel. Live stats for all three games can be found at RedStormSports.com.
The series against Butler will feature Army ROTC Appreciation Day on Friday, Bark at the Park on Saturday and Youth Day/Sunday Run Day with Junior Johnnies Kids Club activities on Sunday.
St. John's (22-10, 3-3 BIG EAST) holds a 21-11 advantage in the all-time series against Butler and claimed the season series in 2025 in Indianapolis. The Red Storm have won eight of their last nine meetings with the Bulldogs dating back to April 10, 2022.
St. John's enters the weekend following a narrow 5-4 loss to Iona on Wednesday in New Rochelle, N.Y. The Johnnies totaled six hits in the contest, with Jess Bianco and Avery Neuman each recording a hit and an RBI, while Ana Serafinko, Makenna Meadows, Ava Fierst and Natasha Limbani each added hits.
In the bottom of the fifth inning against the Gaels, Loreley Francia recorded her 500th career strike out. The senior owns a 10-4 record this season and has been a key contributor to the Red Storm's pitching staff, posting seven complete games this season, which ranks second in the BIG EAST.
Serafinko has continued to establish herself as one of the nation's top arms in 2026. The southpaw ranks second in NCAA Division I with 165 strikeouts while also sitting sixth in complete games (12) and 12th in victories (12). The Chino Hills, Calif., native leads the BIG EAST in multiple statistical categories, including strikeouts, innings pitched (116) and wins (12).
She was most recently named the BIG EAST's Pitcher of the Week on March 23 after going 2-0 with a 1.81 ERA and 23 strikeouts across 19.1 innings. This marked the third time in Serafinko's career that she earned the award in back-to-back weeks after doing so on March 24 and 31 of 2025 before claiming the title again on April 21 and 28, 2025.
As a staff, St. John's ranks among the national leaders, including 11th in NCAA Division I in strikeouts per seven innings (7.64) and 31st nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.32), both of which lead the BIG EAST. The Red Storm also rank 45th nationally with a 3.26 team ERA.
Offensively, St. John's is hitting .299 as a team with 271 hits and 168 runs scored through 32 games. Bianco leads the BIG EAST with 45 hits while batting .395, while Elanna Lysiak paces the team with 24 RBIs. Limbani ranks second on the team with 22 RBIs and has added three home runs. London Slade has been one of the toughest hitters to strike out in the country, ranking 13th nationally with just two strikeouts in 105 at-bats while batting .371.
St. John's is also one of five teams in NCAA Division I to record a triple play this season alongside Boise State, Grambling, Loyola Chicago and Yale.
Butler enters the weekend at 14-9 overall and a perfect 6-0 in BIG EAST play following a three-game sweep of Seton Hall and a midweek win over Ball State. The Bulldogs lead the conference with a .334 batting average and 7.52 runs per game.
Following its weekend series, St. John's will hit the road for Midwest series at DePaul from April 2-4. All three contests will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.
