St. John’s Sweeps Doubleheader from Hofstra, Extends Winning Streak to Seven

Sunday, March 24

Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

9-9

Hofstra

3-13

Hofstra

St. John's

St. John’s Sweeps Doubleheader from Hofstra, Extends Winning Streak to Seven

3/24/2019 6:55:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game One Box (PDF)Game Two Box (PDF)

Red Storm outscores the Pride, 18-1, in 18 innings of action

By: Andrew O'Connell

After seeing its schedule three-game series with Hofstra condensed to a Sunday doubleheader at Jack Kaiser Stadium, the St. John's baseball team swept both ends of that twin bill in convincing fashion, taking game one by a score of 9-1 before blanking the Pride, 9-0, in game two.

The Red Storm posted nine runs on 15 hits in each of Sunday's games to improve to 10-9 on the season, climbing above the .500 mark for the first time in 2019.

The Johnnies have not allowed a team to score more than three runs in any of their last 10 games, a span that has featured five outings of one or no runs.

GAME ONE

The Red Storm used a five-run second inning to jump out to an early and coast to a 9-1 victory in game one of Sunday's doubleheader against Hofstra.

Sean Mooney snapped a streak of four-straight no decisions with his second win of the season, improving to 2-0 after six innings of three-hit work. The junior allowed just one unearned run while striking out seven and walking four, lowering his ERA to 1.51 in the process. Mooney's 21st career victory moved him into a tie for fifth place on the program's all-time wins list, one behind assistant coach George Brown in fourth. Mooney also passed Sean Hagan for sole possession of sixth place on the Red Storm's career strikeouts list, upping his career total to 230.

Joe Kelly threw the next 2.2 innings without allowing a run before Ethan Routzahn entered and recorded the game's final out. Kelly needed just 24 pitches, 18 of which were strikes, to log his eight outs.

Five members of the Red Storm's starting nine recorded multi-hit outings, led by Mike Antico with a career-best 4-for-4 outing. The junior from Colts Neck, N.J., drove in three runs and scored twice. Carson Bartels went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Brandon Miller also went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Ryan Hogan and Rudy Aguilar logged two hits and drove in a run.

After an inning and a half without a hit for either squad, the Red Storm broke the contest open in the bottom of the second. The Johnnies scored five runs in the frame, four of which came with two outs. Hogan started the barrage with an RBI double to the left field corner, scoring Ryan Markey from first after he reached on a one-out walk. After the pitcher corralled a Sean McGeehan rocket back up the middle for the inning's second out, Antico and Aguilar laced back-to-back singles, the first of which scored Hogan and made it 2-0 Johnnies. Bartels then ripped a run-scoring ground-rule double to left center before a two-run single off the bat of Miller made it 5-0 Red Storm after an inning and a half.

The Johnnies struck again in the third, as base knocks from Henshaw and Hogan set up a two-run double for Antico and the Red Storm climbed ahead 7-0 after three.

Thje Pride recorded its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth, but the Johnnies answered back with a run of their own in the home half. With runners on the corners following a McGeehan walk and an Antico single, Aguilar executed a picture-perfect safety squeeze to score McGeehan from third and make it 8-1 in favor of St. John's.

The Johnnies pushed across the final run of game one in bottom of the seventh, as Antico singled and stole second before Bartels' second RBI double bumped the Red Storm's advantage to eight, 9-1.

GAME TWO

The Red Storm sealed its Sunday sweep in authoritative fashion in game two, holding the Pride off the board and cruising to a 9-0 win at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

Joe LaSorsa, Jeff Belge and Gavin Hollowell combined to blank Hofstra, as LaSorsa threw five scoreless to pick up the win before handing the ball over to Belge, who recorded eight of his nine outs via the K. Hollowell then closed the door with a no-hit ninth.

Bartels followed up a strong showing in Sunday's opener with an even better effort in the second tilt, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs in the leadoff spot. McGeehan also put forth a 3-for-4 showing in game two, doubling twice, scoring twice and driving in a run.

Markey, Mitchell Henshaw and Wyatt Mascarella picked up two hits apiece for the Johnnies in game two. Mascarella drove in two runs, as did Aguilar with a 1-for-3 effort. Miller also singled and registered an RBI for St. John's.

The Red Storm got on the board early in Sunday's second game, as Bartels led off the bottom of the first with a single before stealing second, advancing to third on a throwing error and scoring a Markey base knock to center with four batters later with outs.

The Johnnies scored on a nearly identical sequence in the fourth, as Antico led off the frame with a single before stealing second, advancing to third on a throwing error and scoring on an Aguilar sac fly later in the inning.

The Red Storm added two more in the sixth on run scoring hits by Bartels and Miller before blowing the game open with five runs in the home half of the seventh. McGeehan, Aguilar and Bartels recorded consecutive RBI singles before Mascarella laced a two-run base knock later in the inning to end the rally.

St. John's returns to action on Wednesday afternoon, traveling to Fairfield for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Stags.