By Dylan Butler
Saturday was supposed to be a memorable day for the eight seniors on the St. John’s softball team. In front of family and friends, some of whom traveled across the country, the Red Storm seniors were honored in the final home weekend of their collegiate careers.
Instead, it ended up being a day of frustration and disappointment; seven hours after the opening pitch, St. John’s was swept by Big East rival Rutgers, 3-0 in the opener and 6-1 in the nightcap at Red Storm Field.
The Red Storm was one out away from splitting the doubleheader as Ann Raab made a sparkling stab of a line drive up the first base line with the bases loaded. The senior stepped on first to complete the double play and protect a 1-0 lead.
But then pinch hitter Melissa Bradford delivered the crushing blow, doubling down the left-field line to give the Scarlet Knights a 3-2 lead.
Nichole Cruz followed with an RBI-single to right, Brittney Neer added an infield single and Jen Jacoby loaded the bases by reaching on an error to senior shortstop Tiffany Howerton.
Meghan Asselta then drove in two with a single to left and Rutgers (17-19, 7-5) had a commanding 5-1 lead.
“It just kind of snowballed,” said senior leftfielder Cecelia Baston, who scored what looked to be the game-winning run in the fifth inning after three Rutgers errors. “When Ann got the double play, we were all pumped up but there’s not much you can do. It’s a tough way to lose.”
The day started out ominously enough. After freshman hurler Meghan Allman retired Rutgers in order, heavy rain soaked Red Storm Field and the game was halted for three hours.
When play resumed, the Scarlet Knights scored all of their runs in the third inning, taking advantage of back-to-back St. John’s errors. Neer broke a scoreless tie with an RBI-single to right, and three batters later with the bases loaded and two out, Jenny Card singled up the middle to give Rutgers a commanding 3-0 lead.
Three runs were more than enough for Rutgers junior pitcher Leah Black, who had a perfect game through 4.2 before walking senior centerfielder Kelly Houghton. Her bid for a no-hitter was broken up with one out in the seventh inning when Raab singled to center field. Black struck out nine and walked just one in the complete game shutout.
Black replaced starter Andria Koehler in the third inning of the nightcap following Alesha Argeras’ leadoff triple to deep center field.
But St. John’s (20-27-1, 5-11) squandered the scoring chance with some poor base running as Argeras broke for home on Jillian Sandoval’s grounder to short. Asselta fired to Maritza Valenzuela at third to nab Argeras.
It was the second straight inning the Red Storm had a runner at third with no outs and couldn’t score a run. In the second inning St. John’s loaded the bases, but Jessica Shepherd struck out and Marilyn Brown grounded into an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.
“We haven’t been able to get the big hit all year; we haven’t been able to get that spark going,” said St. John’s coach Melody Cope. “Today was just a reflection of what’s been going on all year. We had opportunities and we haven’t made the most of them.”
Black allowed one unearned run on one hit in 4.2 innings, striking out five to improve to 8-8. Allman dropped both games, falling to 19-22.
With only four teams advancing to the Big East tournament in Salem, Va., the losses were especially damaging to the Red Storm’s fleeting chances at the postseason. With four conference games left, St. John’s is in ninth place.
“This should have been a big year for us,” Cope said. “We’ve had to battle a lot of things and it’s important to finish strong for our overall morale. We still have a shot, but we need a lot of help. We need some top teams to drop some games.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
