Teams Set For 2019 BIG EAST Softball Championship
CHICAGO – The 2019 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep is set to take place Friday and Saturday for the sixth-straight year at The Ballpark at Rosemont in suburban Chicago. St. John’s, DePaul, Providence and Villanova will battle for the crown, all under first-year head coaches.
The first semifinal game between No. 1 St. John’s and No. 4 Villanova will begin at 12 p.m. CT, followed by the second semifinal game between No. 2 DePaul and No. 3 Providence at 3 p.m. CT. Both games will be broadcast live on FS2. The title game is set for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT on FS1.
Semifinal Game 1: No. 1 St. John’s vs. No. 4 Villanova
Regular season champion St. John’s enters the tournament as the top seed and will take on No. 4 seed Villanova in the first semifinal game. The Red Storm (26-21, 14-4 BIG EAST) clinched the outright regular season title for the third time in five seasons, and they will make their sixth straight championship appearance. Led by senior hurler and unanimously chosen BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Madison Morris, and Co-Freshman of the Year, Peyton Cody, St. John’s will seek its first tournament crown since 2015. The Red Storm topped the league with seven all-conference selections in Morris, Cody, junior Marissa Rizzi, junior Lauren Delgado, junior Gretchen Bowie, senior Christina Melendez and junior Kaitlin Mattera.
St. John’s, under the direction of first-year head coach Bob Guerriero, was voted Coaching Staff of the Year. The Johnnies led the conference this season in RBI (104), runs scored (111), slugging percentage (.523), doubles (33) and home runs (25). The Red Storm pitching staff combined for a league-low 2.79 ERA and .233 opposing batting average, and they were second in the BIG EAST with 117 collective strikeouts.
Villanova captured the No. 4 seed, locking up a spot in the BIG EAST Championship for a fifth straight season. The Wildcats (28-23, 9-8) will look to clinch their first tournament title, led by sophomore pitcher and infielder Paige Rauch, who was unanimously selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Rauch topped the league in batting average (.540), slugging percentage (1.060), on base percentage (.635), runs scored (20) and total bases (53). Rauch was also tied for the most home runs with seven, and she was third with 27 hits. She also pitched over 50 innings in the circle, tallying 65 strikeouts, which was third in the BIG EAST. Her ERA of 3.06 was fourth in the conference. Sophomore Angela Giampolo was honored on the All-BIG EAST second team.
Semifinal Game 2: No. 2 DePaul vs. No. 3 Providence
Defending conference champion and No. 2 seed DePaul (32-14, 11-5) will seek a third-straight title and fifth championship overall. The Blue Demons have not missed the tournament since 2005. Sophomore shortstop Maranda Gutierrez picked up the Defensive Player of the Year honor and guided DePaul’s defense to a team fielding percentage of .971 in league play. Joining Gutierrez as all-league selections are junior Jessica Cothern, who was unanimously chosen, along with sophomore Kate Polucha and freshman Gabby O'Riley.
No. 3 seed Providence (30-21, 11-9) will seek its first championship since its lone title in 1994. The Friars have not made the tournament since 2013 as the No. 7 seed in an expanded field. Providence is led by Co-Freshman of the Year, Daniela Alvarez. She was second in the league with eight wins and registered an ERA of 3.00. Friar senior Emma Lee secured a spot on the All-BIG EAST second team.
The winner of the conference tournament receives the league’s automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA Softball Championship.
Follow this
link to purchase tickets for the 2019 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep. Tickets will also be available at The Ballpark at Rosemont box office. General admission ticket prices per day are $5 (Age 13 and over) and admission is free for those 12 and under. BIG EAST students can also receive complimentary game tickets by showing a valid school I.D.