April 16, 2008

Box Score: St. John's 1 - Marist 4

Box Score: St. John's 10 - Marist 0

QUEENS, N.Y. - The Red Storm softball team (16-29, 2-12) took on the Red Foxes of Marist (13-22, 0-3) in a doubleheader at Red Storm Field on Wednesday. Marist got great pitching in game one to win 4-1, but freshman Kat Lawrence stole the show as she threw a perfect game with 12 strikeouts as the Red Storm run-ruled the Red Foxes 10-0 in game two.

"We did a nice job of staying positive throughout the day," said head coach Amy Kvilhaug. "We made some changes defensively and executed when we needed to, especially in game two. We were excellent on the base-paths and Kat [Lawrence] was great for us. She showed what she could do and Brandy [Reyes] called a great game behind the plate."

St. John's got in an early hole in game one. In the top of the first inning, a single with runners on first and second allowed a Marist run to score, giving the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead. The next batter was able to fly a ball to shallow right but the sun would not allow a play to be made as two more runs crossed for Marist, putting St. John's behind 3-0.

In the top of second, Marist was able to add a run on a St. John's error. The Red Storm was able to get a run of its own on a Red Fox error in the bottom of the third to cut the lead down to 4-1.

Senior tri-captain Lisa Geer entered the game in relief of Linzee Sumrall in the second inning and pitched admirably for the Red Storm. Geer finished the game with 5.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts while only allowing three hits.

The pitching of Geer was trumped by Marist's Megan Rigos. The junior went the distance, allowing only two hits while striking out 10 leading the Red Foxes to a 4-1 victory.

Game two started quickly for the Red Storm as freshman starter Kat Lawrence took entered the circle. Lawrence struck out the side swinging in the top of the first. The first-year player continued her dominance in the second inning, retiring the side and striking out two.

Lawrence stayed hot in the top of third. The freshman kept firing, once again striking out the side, giving her eight strikeouts through three innings.

St. John's started off the bottom of the third inning with a single by sophomore Ona Halladay. The next batter, Bionka King, laid down a sacrifice bunt, but her speed allowed her to reach safely. Freshman Chelsea Durning also laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Graduate student Alyson Funn took care of the rest, hitting a double down the left field line to give St. John's the 2-0 lead. Cox also got in on the action with a single through the left side to score Funn and put the Red Storm up by three.

In the top of the fourth, Lawrence retired the side in order again, getting two more strikeouts to give her 10 in just four innings.

St. John's opened up the floodgates in the bottom of the fourth. The Red Storm was able to bat around the order and score seven runs on seven hits, all of which came with two outs in the inning. The team got RBI singles from King and Durning as well as an RBI double by Reyes. Geer and Funn highlighted the inning, as each blasted two-run home runs. It was Geer's fourth of the season and Funn's second.

In the top of the fifth, Lawrence entered the circle with a chance to throw a perfect game. The freshman calmly struck out the first two batters and got the third to foul out to end the game by run-rule and give St. John's the victory.

"I was aware that I had a chance at a perfect game but it did not affect my pitching," said Lawrence. "In the final inning I was just wondering how many strikeouts I had. I was ready to play and help give the team a win we needed."

Lawrence's final line was 5.0 innings, zero hits, zero walks and 12 strikeouts versus the minimum 15 batters.

The Red Storm now heads to Syracuse and Pittsburgh this weekend in two crucial BIG EAST matchups. St. John's will play Syracuse on Friday at 2 p.m. in Syracuse N.Y. before traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Panthers at noon on Sunday.