The Red Storm went 3-2 in the
University of Arizona Tournament with wins over Creighton, Minnesota, and Illinois-Chicago last week. Prior to the tournament, St. John’s lost five straight games by a combined score of 57-8 and was shut out in its last three.
When the Red Storm began play in the tournament on Friday, they immediately avenged a March 10 loss to Creighton with a 9-5 victory.
Freshman Amber Curry hit her first
career home run, a three-run blast in the second inning, which gave the Red Storm a 7-2 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, with the Red Storm leading 8-4, freshman Jordan Tingley came in to pitch and allowed one run in 3.2 innings and struck out three to record her first career victory.
Later on in the day, the Red Storm ran into trouble, losing to Northern Colorado 3-2. Sophomore Kristi Cady hit a solo home run in the first inning and freshman Chrissy Montez added an RBI single in the second to give the Red Storm an early 2-0 lead. It wouldn’t last, however, as Tingley gave up three runs (two earned) in the third inning, and that was all Northern Colorado would need. Tingley went six innings and struck out two, but earned the loss hours after getting her first win.
The Red Storm would bounce back the next day with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Minnesota in extra innings that lasted nearly three hours. The Red Storm trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Montez beat the throw to the plate on a fielder’s choice ground ball to third to score the tying run.
Minnesota starter Lacey Middlebrooks
then threw a wild pitch and sophomore Meghan Gwynn raced home to win the game for the Red Storm.
But St. John’s faced No. 2
Arizona later in the day and fell 16-1 in
five innings. Tingley was charged with
the loss after giving up 10 earned runs in
2.1 innings of work. The lone bright spot for the Red Storm came off the bat Curry, who went 2-for-2 and scored the team’s only run of the game.
The Red Storm would finally close out their week in Arizona and the tournament with a 4-3 victory over Illinois-Chicago. Cady went 3-for-3 with a 2-run home run in the fifth, extending her hitting streak to five games.
Junior Kat Lawrence improved to 5-2
on the season. She pitched seven innings
and allowed three runs (two earned),
striking out nine.
The Red Storm currently stand with a 9-10 record, and will play in their home opener today against Fairfield at
3 p.m.
