St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Squeak Out Win Over Pride
4/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Red Storm struck first. Billy Graiser (Jericho, NY/Briarcliffe CC) led off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a single by Mike Rozema (Fair Lawn, NJ/Moorestown). Chris Fallon (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) loaded the bases with a single off the leg of the Hofstra pitcher. Eric Potts (Little Ferry, NJ/Ridgefield Park) drove in Graiser with a sacrifice fly. Rozema, tagging up on the sacrifice fly, scored on a wild pitch.
St. John's added one more run in the second as Graiser doubled, reached third on an error by the right fielder, and scored on a single by Rozema.
The Red Storm appeared to have a lock on the game as they took a 5-0 lead into the top of the fourth inning after a two-run third in which Fallon scored on a single by JP Cirigliano (Flushing, NY/St. Francis Prep) and Potts crossed home on an errant pick-off attempt on Cirigliano. However, the Pride would not go quietly.
Hofstra scored one run in the fourth, a homerun off of Red Storm starter, Greg Holmes (Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville), and two more in each of the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at five. A RBI single by Jason Kane (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford) to score Potts in the seventh gave the Red Storm a 6-5 lead. But that was short-lived.
Hofstra went on to score four runs, two earned, to take a 9-6 lead, in the top of the eighth. Brian Dorsey (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown), who came in relief in the seventh inning of Holmes, got in trouble early. With bases loaded and one out, he gave up a two-run double to put Hofstra ahead, 7-6, but got the second out of the inning with a strikeout. Vinny Mannese (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) then came in relief, enticing a ground ball from Hofstra's Farley. However, Rozema booted the ball towards the first base dugout, allowing the Pride to add two more runs to the inning.
However, the Red Storm battled back. With one out, Graiser singled up the middle and stole second. With two out, Charlie Bilezikjian (Staten Island, NY/Port Richmond), was hit by a pitch, bringing up Fallon as the tying run. Fallon grounded to the first baseman, but the fielder couldn't come up with the ball, throwing it into the dirt in an attempt to get Fallon and allowing Graiser to score. Potts walked to load the bases, but not before Kane hit a two-RBI single through the infield to knot the score at nine. Cirigliano drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right center, scoring Potts and giving St. John's a 10-9 lead.
Jeff Ford (Hamden, CT/Notre Dame) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first collegiate save. Mannese was credited with the win, his first of the season.
Graiser and Potts were the offensive standouts for the Red Storm. Graiser was 3-for-5 and three runs scored while Potts was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and one RBI. Each had a double and a stolen base.
The Red Storm will return to The Ballpark tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. to face Pace University.
