St. John’s snagged their fourth consecutive conference series victory this past weekend as they won two games out of three against Creighton at Red Storm Field.
The Johnnies (24-22, 9-8 Big East) took the first two games in a double-header sweep on Saturday before dropping the series finale to the Blue Jays (26-21, 7-10 Big East) on Sunday.
“All season long we have talked about the importance of winning series,” head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. “Taking two out of three from Creighton was a big deal on a lot of levels.”
Decked out in pink uniforms for Strike Out Cancer day, St. John’s fought back from a 2-0 deficit halfway through game one. In the bottom of the fifth inning, junior Erin Burner broke the silence with a solo home run to put the Red Storm on the board. The Johnnies kept the momentum going into the sixth as sophomore Yvonne Rericha smacked a shot into right field to drive in senior Kelsey Moyer for the game-tying run. Lexi Robles provided the base hit that would score the decisive third run as St. John’s went on to win 3-2.
The Red Storm carried their winning ways into game two, despite getting off to a slow start. After being held hitless the first three innings, the Red Storm put together a fourth inning rally capped off with a two-run double by freshman Monique Landini. The shot would give the Johnnies a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish, as they went on to shut out the Blue Jays and complete their Saturday sweep.
However, on St. John’s senior day, the Johnnies were held to just two hits as a team. Fitzgerald and senior Jackie Reed supplied the only offensive contributions for the Johnnies, both managing base hits in the loss as Reed finished her collegiate career in Queens by going 1-for-2 with a walk.
“It was bittersweet playing my last home series this weekend,” Reed said. “It was sad to think about how it was the final time I would play at home… but I have also had a ton of memories on this field that I will remember forever.”
This was probably not one of those games to remember, as the Blue Jays put the game away in the seventh inning with a three-run homer from Liz Dike, giving Creighton a 4-0 victory.
Still, after the game they honored their four graduating seniors. The Johnnies have a respectable record that gives them an edge heading into the Big East tournament.
“This senior class has been instrumental in turning our season around from a year ago,” Kvilhaug said. “It is going to be great to see them compete next weekend in our final regular season series at Villanova to earn a spot in the Big East Tournament.”
After a quick pit stop for a one-game series with Hofstra, the Johnnies will head to Villanova on May 3.
