LaSorsa, St. John’s Shut Down Seton Hall, 3-0, in Series Opener

Thursday, May 16

Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

28-21, 7-9

Seton Hall

25-24, 9-7

Seton Hall

St. John's

LaSorsa, St. John’s Shut Down Seton Hall, 3-0, in Series Opener

5/16/2019 10:10:00 PM | Baseball

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Junior left hander throws eight scoreless innings to pick up crucial victory

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. (May 16, 2019) – Joe LaSorsa tossed eight stellar frames of shutout ball on Thursday night, as St. John's blanked Seton Hall, 3-0, and picked up a pivotal win in the opening game of the regular season's final series at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

LaSorsa, scattered just six hits and a walk over his eight scoreless frames, striking out three and needing just 95 pitches, 66 of which were strikes, to accomplish his task. The Katonah, N.Y., native improved to 5-5 on the year and picked up his first win since April 5.

Gavin Hollowell entered in the ninth and closed the door for St. John's, registering his team leading seventh save of the year with a no-hit inning. The 6-foot-7 fireballer recorded two of his three outs via the K.

Ryan Markey picked up the evening's lone run-scoring hit, lacing the game-winning, two-run double into left field in the bottom of the sixth.

Mike Antico reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Carson Bartels, Ryan Hogan and Brandon Miller also recorded base knocks for the Johnnies (28-21, 7-9 BIG EAST), who inched ever closer to a postseason berth with their series-opening victory. One more win in the Red Storm's next two games would secure the no. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, so long as Butler does not sweep Georgetown. Two more wins for the Johnnies would clinch a spot in the four-team field regardless of other results around the league.

St. John's threatened early and often, but could not seem to convert on their chances in the opening frames. The Red Storm put a runner on third in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings, but failed to score on each occasion. In the fourth, Antico made it to third before Seton Hall (25-24, 9-7 BIG EAST) registered its first out of the inning, but Ricky DeVito retired three consecutive batters to end the inning.

Peter Abinanti came up with a potential game-saving catch in the top of the fifth. With a runner on second and two outs, Seton Hall catcher Chris Villa drove a ball to deep right field. Abinanti chased it down before making leaping catch at the warning track, ending the inning and keeping the Pirates off the board.

The Red Storm finally broke through in the sixth, as Bartels doubled down the left field line to lead things off before Antico walked on four pitches to give St. John's runners on first and second with no out. Following a sac bunt from Wyatt Mascarella to move both runners 90 feet, Markey ripped a two-bagger to left, scoring both runs and giving the Red Storm the game's first lead, 2-0.

After another scoreless frame from LaSorsa in the top of the seventh, St. John's added on another run in the home half. Seton Hall pitcher Hunter Waldis hit three of the four batters he faced, allowing Brandon Bossard to score on a Mascarella RBI fielder's choice to short.

The Red Storm and the Pirates will resume their series tomorrow afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.