Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Against St. John's

(Game 1 boxscore) / (Game 2 boxscore)

4/20/05 -- Junior Leah Glenn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) drove in four runs in game one and senior Chelsea Crosby (Reno, Nev.) pitched her squad out of two late-inning jams in the nightcap for Long Island University, 13-5 and 2-1 winners over St. John’s at LIU Field.

LIU (14-23) in game one scored three runs in the fourth inning to grab a 7-1 lead. Senior Briana Mathiesen (Sylmar, Calif.) had an RBI double to right-center field, freshman Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, Va.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Glenn added a run-scoring infield single.

The Red Storm (17-26-1) closed to 7-5 in the top of the fifth, aided by a three-run homer from Jo Sherlock. But the Blackbirds tacked on six runs in the sixth to win by mercy rule as Glenn and Mathiesen each roped two-run singles.

Westminster, Calif. senior Jackie Brown (7-10) notched her fifth straight victory, allowing five runs -- three earned -- and eight hits over six innings. Mathiesen and Mejia each closed with three RBI.

Brittany Crouch (6-10) permitted six runs -- five earned -- and seven hits over three-plus innings for St. John’s.

LIU in game two scored single runs in the first two innings. Sophomore Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, Calif.) crossed home on a wild pitch in the opening frame and Mathiesen had a groundout in the second to plate junior Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, Calif.) for a 2-0 lead.

The Red Storm kept it a two-run game in the fourth when Sherlock made a spectacular catch in center field before crashing into the fence off a drive from Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.). They pulled within a run in the fifth when Leigh Carlson lifted a sacrifice fly to score pinch-runner Blair Belloni.

St. John’s had a golden opportunity to pull even in the sixth, when it had the bases loaded and none out but could not convert. Allina Sainz grounded into a double play that retired her as well as Megan Oliver at the plate and Jillian Sandoval bounced to Crosby.

The Red Storm in the seventh had the tying run on second base with two outs, but Crosby got Oliver on a pop-up to DePippo at catcher.

Crosby (5-13) gave up one run and six hits over seven innings and junior Alissa Villanueva (Pacoima, Calif.) had two hits for the Blackbirds.

Meghan Allman (3-5) allowed two runs and five hits over six innings and Tami Hill contributed two hits for the Red Storm.

LIU hosts Quinnipiac on Saturday during the team’s annual “Alumni Day.” The doubleheader begins at 1:00 pm and is a re-match of last season’s championship round won by the Blackbirds.