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ROSEMONT, Ill. – Locked in a tied game for three and a half innings, St. John’s affirmed its top position in the league with a five-run fourth inning to outpace fourth-seeded Butler, 9-3, in the first semifinal BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep. The No. 1 seed Red Storm will play second-seeded DePaul on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS2 to decide the BIG EAST champion.
The Bulldogs opened the game with three runs in the top of the first. Madi Christiansen's double scored Jenna Foreman, who had led off the frame with a walk. One batter later, Kaitlin Doud singled in Brandyce Sallee. Christiansen later scored off a wild pitch for Butler's third run. After Doud's single, St. John's replaced starting pitcher McKenzie Murray with Grace Kramer.
St. John's got all three runs back in the bottom half of the inning as Kaitlin Mattera sent a three-run home run over the center field wall. The score would stay tied until a five-run fourth inning broke the game open for the Red Storm.
Driving St. John’s momentum, Mattera opened the fourth with a single to the right side. Hannah Anderson pinch ran for Mattera, stealing second and advancing to third off a Butler fielding error. Savannah Warren broke the tie as she doubled to left center, driving in Anderson. With no outs, the Johnnies followed with RBI singles from All-BIG EAST First Team selections Gretchen Bowie and Lauren Zick, stretching St. John’s advantage to 6-3. St. John’s would add two more runs, closing out the inning with an 8-3 lead.
Kramer went on to puzzle the Bulldogs as the St. John’s hurler allowed just one hit, one walk and one hit by pitch in her 6.1 innings of work, silencing the Butler bats. She improved to 9-4 on the season.
The Red Storm wrapped up the game with a final run off a sacrifice fly out from Monique Landini to claim a 9-3 victory over the Bulldogs.
Doud took the loss (8-8) in the circle, having allowed six earned runs in three-plus innings. Mikeila Boroff and Gabbi Schnaiter both saw time in the circle for the Bulldogs.
With the win, St. John’s improves to 32-15 overall and advances to the title game for the fourth time and will aim for its second conference title.