St. John's University Athletics
Baseball Splits Doubleheader with James Madison
3/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
In the opening game of the two-game set, St. Johns scored 14 runs on 16 hits to defeat the Dukes, 14-12. The two teams combined for 32 hits for the game, scoring the 26 runs. However, James Madison was able to hold the Red Storm in check for the nightcap, as sophomore Chris Cochran kept St. Johns hitless in seven innings for his first shutout.
Senior Chris Fallon (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) and his 4-for-5 performance powered the Red Storm offense. Fallon had three singles, a home run (his first of the season) and a sacrifice fly, driving in four runs and scoring four times. Juniors Jason Kane (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) and Billy Graiser (Jericho, N.Y./Briarcliffe C.C.) each added two hits and three RBI apiece to add to the cause. Graiser also launched his first home run of the season in the win.
St. Johns set the tone early in the first inning. Junior Charlie Bilezikjian (Staten Island, N.Y./Port Richmond) drew a two-out walk and advanced to second when Fallon singled through the left side. Chad Cambra (Taunton, Mass./Coyle-Cassidy) then reached on an error, loading the bases. Kane followed with a single up the middle, driving in Bilezikjian and Fallon, giving the Red Storm a 2-0 lead.
James Madison scored once in the second, but was followed by Fallons solo-home run in the third. The Dukes responded by taking the lead for the first and only time in the game in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on four hits, leading 5-3.
But the Red Storm rallied back to score six runs in the fifth inning. Bilezikjian led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Fallon drove him in with a single up the middle, followed by Cambras single through the left side, moving Fallon to third. Cambra stole second and Kane walked to load the bases. Potts singled to drive in Bilezikjian and Fallon. Two outs later, Graiser hit a three-run home run to right center, his first in a St. Johns uniform.
James Madison got one run back in the sixth before St. Johns added two more on RBI singles by Cambra and Kane, giving the Red Storm an 11-6 lead. But the Dukes would not let the Red Storm go easily, as they scored four runs in their half of the sixth to pull within one. The Red Storm maintained the lead as Graiser doubled and scored on a single by Bilezikjian and Rozema scored on Fallons single to give St. Johns a 13-10 lead.
The Dukes added one run in each the seventh and eighth to again pull within one, but a sacrifice fly by Fallon in the top of the ninth capped all scoring.
Geno Orsogna (Norfolk, Mass./Bishop Feehan) earned his second win of the season, pitching five innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits and eight strikeouts. Greg Holmes (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) earned the first save of his career, pitching two and two-thirds innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out two.
In the nightcap, the Red Storm bats went silent, as they were held hitless in seven innings. Things looked promising early on, as Bilezikjian drew a two-out walk and stole second, but was left stranded there. He was the last Red Storm base-runner to reach second for the rest of the game.
Marc Goldberg (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) was given the start, again failing to get run support. He allowed two runs in the first and two more in the second, before settling down to retire four of his next six batters. He allowed one more run in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Dukes a 5-0 lead. In five innings pitched, Goldberg gave up five runs on eight hits, striking out five.
The Red Storm will conclude their three-game series with the Dukes tomorrow at noon.
