Cancelled Event: Softball versus Tarleton State
Softball
vs Tarleton State
Cancelled
Providence College Athletics
Friday, May 9
Villanova, Pa.
8:30 PM
Providence College
vs
St. John's
Providence Softball Game Notes BIG EAST Championship
5/9/2025 10:48:00 AM | Softball
The No. 6-Seed Friars will take on the top-seeded Red Storm in an elimination game on May 9 at 5:00 p.m.
LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Providence's BIG EAST Elimination game vs.St. John's on Friday, May 9 will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) at 3:00 p.m. Live stats will also be available via the softball schedule on Friars.com.Â
ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP... The winner of Friday's Elimination game between No. 6 Providence and No. 1 St. John's will automatically advance to game nine Friday, May 9 at 6:00Â p.m. and play the loser of No. 2 UConn against No. 4 Creighton.Â
VS. ST. JOHN'S
2025 Season
SJU leads:3-0
Postseason All-Time
Providence leads: 1-0
Friday's match will mark the first encounter between the two teams in postseason play since 1992 when the Friars defeated the Johnnies, 9-7, in a Quarterfinal match.
Providence's History In The BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP... Â Â Â Â Â
The Friars captured their lone BIG EAST Title in 1994 under the direction of Head Coach Jennifer Finley. Providence defeated Connecticut in Jamaica, N.Y., 1-0, with Kim Robbins being named the Most Outstanding Player.Â
Providence holds an 11-16 overall record in the BIG EAST Championship with one title and two runner-up finishes. The Friars fell to Connecticut in the 1992 BIG EAST Title game, 2-1, before reaching the title game for a second-consecutive season in 1995 but were defeated by Connecticut, 3-1.Â
The Friars' last time in the BIG EAST Softball Championship was in 2019 where the Friars fell, 4-0, in a Semifinals match against DePaul.Â
Wednesday's game against Villanova marked second-year Head Coach Kelsey Christensen's BIG EAST Championship debut. The Friars pulled away with a historic, 10-9, eight-inning win in which the Friars overcame a seven-run deficit to upset the No. 3-Seed and defending BIG EAST Champs, Villanova. It marked the Friars' first postseason win in 30 years.Â
FRIARS FALL TO UCONN, 5-4, IN QUARTERFINALS BUT BOUNCE BACK WITH A 7-0 SHUTOUT WIN OVER BUTLER TO STAY ALIVE
The No. 6-seed Providence Friars were defeated, 5-4, by the No. 2-seed UConn Huskies in a BIG EAST Quarterfinals match. Despite a late game-tying effort in the sixth, Connecticut was able retake the lead and clinch one-run lead for the win.
However, the Friars came alive in the Elimination Game against the No. 5-seed Butler Bulldogs as they claimed a 7-0 shutout win. The shutout marked the second of the season for the Friars, both coming against Butler as Providence earned a 10-0 win over the Bulldogs on March 15.
FRIARS RECORD HISTORIC SEVEN-RUN COMEBACK UPSET WIN OVER THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS, VILLANOVA, TO RECORD FIRST POSTSEASON WIN IN THIRTY YEARS...
After qualifying for the BIG EAST Softball Championship for the first time since 2019, the sixth-seeded Friars recorded a historic eight-inning comeback win over No. 3Â
Villanova on May 7.Â
The Friars recorded eight of their 10 runs in the final three innings to secure their first postseason win since 1995. With the victory, the Friars improved to a 23-29 overall record. Sophomore Cameron Dunn (Bothell, Wash.) paced the Friars with two home runs and three RBI. Senior Jessica Walter (Middletown, Del.) was credited with the win for Providence, pitching 4.1 innings while recording seven strikeouts.Â
PC's win over Villanova was its first of the season as the Wildcats swept the Friars in a three-game series the weekend prior to tournament play (May 2-4). The Friars took the lead in the all-time postseason record over the Wildcats, now leading 3-2.Â
CONFERENCE PLAY...
Providence won 11 of its conference games to clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Softball Championship for the first time since 2019. Heading into the final weekend of BIG EAST play, Providence sat in contention with three other teams (VU, SHU & CU) but was able to secure the sixth-seed after leading the tie-breaker over Seton Hall.
POWER FROM TOP TO BOTTOM...
The Friars have hit 30 home runs this season. Cameron Dunn holds a team-high 10 home runs while Gabriella Sebastian, Rachael Petrarca and Julia Renny are behind with four. Nine separate players have tallied a home run for Providence this season.Â
The Friars have recorded three home runs thus far in this year's conference tournament action. In the First Round game against No. 3 Villanova, Dunn recorded two home runs and three RBI to spark the comeback win for the Friars. Rachael Petrarca capped off the 7-0 win over No. 5 Butler with a two-run homer.Â
HITTING MACHINE...
Junior Elisa Smith has led the Friars' lineup throughout the regular season. She holds a team-best .386 batting average, 64 hits, six triples and a .461 on-base percentage, ranking her among the Big East's top hitters. She is currently first in the conference in triples, seventh in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage and ninth in hits. Lee's performance in the regular season earned her a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team; her first All-BIG EAST recognition of her career.Â
Smith was a key player in the Friars win over Nova as she went 3-5 at the plate, registering a RBI single and recording three clutch putouts.Â
ELISA SMITH ON TRACK TO MAKE PROGRAM HISTORY...
After three outstanding posteseason games for Elisa Smith, the outfielder currently ranks fifth all-time for runs scored in a single season with 39. She is just nine runs away from setting a new program record.Â
The junior is now sixth all-time in hits with 63.
PITCHING DOMINANCE...
Providence's success this season has been helped by graduate student Tori Grifone's effort in the circle. She enters the BIG EAST Championship with a team-high 10 wins. Over 112.1 innings pitched, she has posted a 3.99 ERA while holding opponents to a .265 batting average and recording 65 strikeouts. In Big East play, Grifone ranked sixth in ERA (3.43) and third in opposing batting average (.240). She tallied a season-high eight strikeouts in a win over Creighton earlier this year. Grifone's effort in the regular season earned her a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team; her first All-BIG EAST recognition of her career.Â
Senior Jessica Walter has also had a stellar performance in the circle for the Friars. The Middletown, Del. product leads the squad in ERA (3.48) and has posted a 7-1 record. She was awarded the win in the Friars' comeback victory over the Huskies, pitching the last 4.1 innings while recording seven strikeouts. Walter closed the game out in the bottom of the eighth, as she struck out two batters in a three-up, three-down inning. The victory marked her seventh of the season.Â
SCOUTING THE RED STORM...Â
St. Johns claimed the regular season title and the top seed in the BIG EAST Championship with an 19-5 conference record.Â
The Johnnies have a strong foundation with two All-BIG EAST First Team members, Loreley Francia and Ana Serefinko. Serafinko, the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, ranks second in the country with 276 strikeouts. The left-handed pitcher set a new conference record with 153 regular season BIG EAST strikeouts. She holds a 19-9 overall record and a 2.47 ERA across 155.1 innings pitched. Francia, a pitcher, went 7-1 with a 2.46 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched against the conference. The right-hander ended the BIG EAST regular season tied for second in punchouts, while her ERA comes in at third. Her 187 total strikeouts rank 16th in NCAA DI, as Francia and Serafinko have helped lead the Red Storm to rank first nationally with 496 team strikeouts this season.Â
Players Mentioned
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