St. John’s Set to Host Manhattan in Midweek Tilt

Wednesday, April 15

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

Manhattan

4/14/2026 1:25:00 PM | Softball

Watch (ESPN+)Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

The Johnnies look to bounce back against a local opponent

QUEENS, N.Y. (April 14, 2026) — The St. John's softball team returns to Red Storm Field following a three-game road trip in the Northeast to take on local foe Manhattan at 3 p.m. at Red Storm Field. The Johnnies hold a 19-13 all-time advantage over the Jaspers and claimed the most recent meeting, 13-5 in five innings, on March 18, 2025.

The contest will stream on ESPN+, with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.

St. John's enters the midweek matchup after dropping three games at BIG EAST leader Providence from April 10-12. In the series finale, Ana Serafinko delivered nine strikeouts to post her second consecutive appearance in the circle recording at least eight strikeouts.

Prior to the road trip, the Red Storm earned a 2-0 victory over Hofstra on April 7. Loreley Francia tossed six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to earn the win, while Makenna Meadows recorded two hits and an RBI. Natasha Limbani added an RBI double and Serafinko went 2-for-3 at the plate while earning the save with a scoreless seventh inning.

Earlier this month, St. John's captured a 2-1 series victory at DePaul from April 2-4. In game two of the series, the Red Storm shut out the Blue Demons, 8-0, as Francia allowed just one hit, the fewest surrendered by a St. John's pitcher since her no-hitter against Rider on Feb. 28, 2025. Francia reached a career milestone earlier this season, recording the 500th strikeout of her collegiate career in the bottom of the fifth inning against Iona on March 25.

Serafinko continues to be one of the nation's most dominant pitchers this season. The senior southpaw ranks second nationally in strikeouts with 214 while leading the BIG EAST in victories (14), innings pitched (150.1) and complete games (17). On March 23, Serafinko was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season and the seventh time in her career after posting a 1.81 ERA with 23 strikeouts across 19.1 innings against Georgetown. She also launched a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs against Fordham during that stretch.

Offensively, Jess Bianco continues to lead the Red Storm lineup. The senior ranks 41st nationally with 58 hits and leads the BIG EAST in the category. London Slade has collected 48 hits this season, which ranks second in the conference. Slade has also established herself as one of the most difficult players to strike out in the country, ranking 17^th nationally in toughest to strike out.

St. John's leads the BIG EAST in ERA (3.41), team strikeouts per seven innings (7.80), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.34) and WHIP (1.47). The Red Storm also holds the highest RPI in the conference at No. 99 and are one of eight programs nationally to record a triple play this season alongside Boise State, Grambling, Loyola Chicago, Rhode Island, Hampton, CSUN and Yale.

Manhattan enters the matchup following a 3-0 loss to Siena on Sunday after being no-hit and managing only three baserunners in the contest. Natalye Debus leads the MAAC in home runs with nine, while Karissa Spring leads the conference in innings pitched. As a team, the Jaspers rank second in the MAAC in home runs and stolen bases per game.

Following Wednesday's matchup, St. John's will host BIG EAST rival Creighton for a three-game series at Red Storm Field from April 17-19. All three contests will stream on ESPN+, with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.