St. John’s Welcomes Creighton for Three-Game BIG EAST Series

Friday, April 17

Queens, N.Y. (Red Storm Field)

2 p.m.

St. John's University

Creighton

St. John’s Welcomes Creighton for Three-Game BIG EAST Series

4/16/2026 1:49:00 PM | Softball

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

The Johnnies are set to host their penultimate home conference series

QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's softball team will host BIG EAST rival Creighton for its penultimate home BIG EAST series at Red Storm Field this weekend.

All three contests will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.

The Johnnies hold a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series against the Bluejays and claimed last season's regular season matchup, 2-1, in Omaha, Neb. The last time the two teams met in Queens St. John's recorded a 10-0 run-rule victory in five innings at Red Storm Field on March 9, 2024.

St. John's (27-16, 6-9 BIG EAST) enters the weekend following a 9-2 victory over local foe Manhattan on April 15 in Queens.

Natasha Limbani led the Red Storm offense in the win, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored while London Slade added two hits and an RBI. Mya Laroya delivered a two-RBI triple and Sarah Post drove in two runs as the Johnnies recorded 12 hits in the victory.

In the circle, Loreley Francia earned her 13th win of the season after allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits across five innings of work. Avery Neuman and Abbey Feld combined to toss two scoreless innings of relief to close out the victory.

Francia holds a 13-7 record with 126.1 innings pitched and sits at or near the top of the BIG EAST in several statistical categories. The senior leads the conference in shutouts (three) and games started (21) while ranking second in complete games (nine) and victories (13).

Ana Serafinko continues to rank among the nation's top arms in 2026. The senior southpaw sits second in the nation in strikeouts with 214 while ranking fifth nationally in complete games with 17 and 33rd in total victories with 14. The Chino Hills, Calif., native also leads the BIG EAST in victories (14), strikeouts per seven innings (10), strikeouts (214), innings pitched (150.1), hits allowed per seven innings (6.10), ERA (2.84) and complete games (17).

Offensively, St. John's is hitting .303 as a team with 367 hits and 218 runs scored through 43 games. Jess Bianco leads the squad with a .379 batting average and 58 hits, which ranks 41st nationally and first in the BIG EAST. Elanna Lysiak paces the team with 29 RBIs, while Bianco and Limbani are tied for second on the team with 25 RBIs. Slade has recorded 51 hits this season while batting .349 and ranks second in the BIG EAST in hits.

As a pitching staff, St. John's leads the BIG EAST in ERA (3.35), shutouts (five), strikeouts per seven innings (7.68), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.34) and WHIP (1.45). The Red Storm also owns the second-highest RPI in the conference at No. 102.

St. John's is also one of eight programs nationally to record a triple play this season alongside Boise State, Grambling, Loyola Chicago, Rhode Island, Hampton, CSUN and Yale.

Creighton enters the weekend after taking two of three games from Georgetown from April 9-11. The Bluejays improved to 11-4 in BIG EAST play and currently sit third in the conference standings.

Creighton leads the conference in several offensive categories including batting average (.315), doubles (71), RBIs per game (5.84), total RBIs (257), runs scored (281), triples (14) and stolen bases (107).

Avery Barnard ranks as the sixth toughest hitter to strike out in NCAA Division I, while Zoey Greenwood owns the 15th highest stolen base percentage in the country at .917.

Following the Creighton series, the Johnnies travel to local rival Stony Brook on April 21. First pitch at University Field is set for 2 p.m. The midweek matchup will stream on Flo College with live stats available on RedStormSports.com.