St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Columbia
St. John's Topped By Columbia, 4-1
4/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
NEW YORK - Nine Columbia pitchers held the St. John's offense at bay as the Red Storm saw its seven-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss.
Josh Shaw finished 2-for-4, while Ty Blankmeyer was 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and a run scored for St. John's (14-10-1). Alex Caruso had a triple as part of a 1-for-3 day and Jesse Berardi capped a 1-for-4 day with a double. Matt Messier (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs, one earned, in 1.1 innings of work.
Kyle Bartelman went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored for Columbia (8-15), and Logan Boyher was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Bryce Barr (1-1) tossed 1.0 scoreless frame for the victory.
St. John's could not take advantage of a leadoff triple in the top of the first. After Caruso tripled into the right field corner, Columbia escaped the jam with a strikeout, a lineout and a groundout.
Columbia took advantage of an error to plate two unearned runs as part of a three-run second. Bartelman led off the inning with a solo blast before Lane Robinette drew a one-out walk. A dropped fly ball at the wall in center, however, gave the Lions runners on second and third, and chased Messier from the game. Kevin Torres came on and was greeted with back-to-back RBI singles as Columbia took a 3-0 lead.
St. John's manufacture a run in the third after Blankmeyer set the table with a leadoff walk. Blankmeyer advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 3-1.
The Lions got the run right back in the bottom of the frame. Bartelman started things with a one-out single before advancing to third on a pair of wild pitches. Robinette added an RBI groundout and Columbia went up by a 4-1 margin.
St. John's stranded a pair of runners in the sixth inning. Troy Dixon singled with one out and Shaw reached on an error, but a pair of flyouts ended the frame.
Columbia threatened to extend its lead in the seventh, but a double play ended the frame. Turner French issued a leadoff walk before a sacrifice bunt gave the Lions a runner on second. St. John's went to the bullpen for righty Joe Kelly and Columbia countered with lefty pinch hitter Chandler Bengtson. Kelly intentionally walked Bengtson and then rolled an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The Red Storm made the third out at home in the eighth as the score remained 4-1. Two quick outs were made before Shaw extended the inning with a single. Berardi then doubled off the wall in centerfield, but a good relay retired Shaw at home to end the inning and keep St. John's off the board.
St. John's opens BIG EAST action on April 9 with a 3 p.m. game against Georgetown at Kaiser Stadium (BEDN).
