The St. John’s softball team may have lost their first conference game this past weekend against Creighton, but they came back to gain two more victories in the three-game series. Senior Francesca Carrullo threw the Red Storm’s first run-rule no-hitter in seven years.
“It’s a really great feeling to throw the first no-hitter since 2009,” Carrullo said. “To be honest, I thought it was done more recently, but it’s an awesome feeling. I’m the type of pitcher who gets ground balls and keeps the team in the game. So, to be able to do that for the first time since ‘09, and also in my last season, is beyond words.”
After losing to the Blue Jays (21-6, 6-9) on Saturday afternoon 9-2, the Red Storm (23-14, 14-1) made sure to turn back around in game two of the double-header. In the opening game, senior Erin Burner started things off in the second inning with a line drive that snuck under the left-fielder’s glove, so SJU was able to put a runner on base according to the press release. It was the Red Storm that scored first thanks to teamwork from sophomore Brittany Garcia’s sac bunt and junior Yvonne Rericha’s RBI single right after.
But, into the fourth inning, it was St. John’s error that led Creighton to score seven runs (7-1). The Red Storm then took advantage of the Blue Jay’s error bringing in another run, but Creighton scored two more runs, ending the game 9-2.
“Creighton is an aggressive team and they don’t give up. I think we saw a different type of pitcher this weekend and they had a few key hitters that we told ourselves couldn’t beat us,” Carrullo said.
Freshman Hannah Anderson started the game off strong with an infield single. Anderson was then able to score from second base thanks to sophomore Monique Landini’s RBI single that led the Johnnies to their first point. Things started to heat up as the team was able to put themselves in a 3-0 lead from an intentional walk to Burner and three straight hits.
The offense did excellent, as they were able to put in three more runs increasing SJU’s lead 6-0. In the fourth inning, senior Krystal Puga hit her 11th home run of the season, adding another run to the scoreboard and increasing the Johnnies lead to 7-0. In the top of the fifth inning, Creighton’s error helped the Red Storm gain four runs on a pair of hits and three walks leading to an 11-0 victory of the day.
The following day, the Red Storm was ready to end with a victory 4-0 in their last game against Creighton. In the bottom of the fourth, Rericha beat out an infield single on a grounder to second, scoring Garcia and giving SJU the 2-0 lead. After a two-run home run deep over the left-field fence by Burner, the game was 4-0. Junior Tori Free was able to throw a complete-game shutout, allowing only three hits while striking out six.
