St. John's University Athletics
Friday, May 24
Mason, Ohio (Prasco Park)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
31-22
13
vs
17
Creighton University
37-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
St. John's
3
0
4
1
3
0
2
0
0
13
15
0
Creighton
4
5
0
0
7
0
0
1
X
17
18
0
BIG EAST Championship Records Break as St. John’s Falls to Creighton
5/24/2019 11:30:00 PM | Baseball
Slew of single-game BIG EAST postseason marks fall in 17-13 Bluejays win
MASON, OHIO (May 24, 2019) – BIG EAST Championship records fell left and right under the weight of an unprecedented offensive barrage from St. John's and Creighton on Friday night at Prasco Park, as the Bluejays downed the Red Storm, 17-13.
The Red Storm will face Xavier tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. in the tournament's second elimination game. The winner of that contest will then take on Creighton at 6 p.m. A win in that outing would give the Bluejays their first BIG EAST Championship title. A Creighton loss would force a decisive, winner-take-all game seven.
The team's 30 combined runs broke the old record of 28 set by West Virginia (20) and Pittsburgh (8) in 2009. Creighton's six home runs topped the previous mark of five set by Notre Dame (2005) and Connecticut (1990). The Bluejays also recorded 39 total bases, six more than the old record of 33 set by Rutgers in 2010. The teams' combined 66 total bases also eclipsed the previous record of 58 set between Rutgers and Connecticut in that aforementioned 2010 contest.
Individually, Mike Antico's five hits tied the single-game record matched by six other players, including the Red Storm's Greg Hopkins in 2009 against Cincinnati. Creighton's David Vilches tied the single-game home run record with two while setting a new conference tournament mark with seven RBIs.
Friday night's scoring came in bunches. St. John' registered the game's first three runs before Creighton responded with nine unanswered. The Red Storm then plated eight straight to take an 11-9 lead before the Bluejays scored nine in a row to blow the game open.
Antico went 5-for-6 with a homer and three runs scored, becoming the second St. John's player this season and just the fourth since 2013 to tally five hits in a game. Rudy Aguilar also did it earlier this year with a 5-for-5 effort against Kansas. Antico, who fell a triple shy of the cycle, was 5-for-5 on Friday before grounding out in his final at-bat.
Ryan Markey and Brandon Bossard both logged two hits and an RBI.
Carson Bartels and Wyatt Mascarella both left the yard on their lone hits of the evening. Each of those roundtrippers was of the three-run variety. Bartels' four RBIs marked a new career high for the junior third baseman.
Peter Abinanti, Ryan Hogan and Mitchell Henshaw tallied a hit and an RBI. Brandon Miller logged a pinch-hit base knock in his only at-bat of the night.
St. John's wasted no time getting on the board, as Abinanti and Antico singled to set the table for a Mascarella three-run shot over the scoreboard in left field, giving the Red Storm a 3-0 lead after half an inning.
Creighton answered in kind, as BIG EAST Player of the Year Jake Holton launched a two-run roundtripper to left center before a walk and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded gave Creighton a 4-3 advantage after an inning of play.
The Bluejays bumped their lead to six, 9-3, after hanging up a five-spot in the bottom of the second.
The slugfest continued in the top of the third, as St. John's posted four runs to cut its deficit to pair, 9-7, through two and a half innings. The first four Johnnies of the frame reached base, as Antico singled and Mascarella walked to set up a Markey RBI single. Next up was Hogan, who ripped a run-scoring double to left before a Henshaw sac fly brought home another run. Bossard added another RBI base knock two batters later, plating the fourth run of the frame and cutting the Creighton lead to two.
In the top of the fourth, Antico trimmed the Creighton edge to one with his third hit of the day, a solo shot to left center. The homer marked Antico's sixth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Sean McGeehan.
After Ian Murphy held Creighton off the board again in the fourth, St. John's reclaimed the lead with a three-run shot off the bat of Bartels. The roundtripper marked the first Division I long ball for the junior college product.
Leading 11-9 after four and a half, St. John's saw the Bluejays rattle off seven runs in the fifth to move ahead 16-11 heading into the sixth.
St. John's answered by piecing together two runs in the seventh, as Abinanti lifted a sac fly and Bartels chopped an RBI groundout to the first baseman.
Ahead by three, 16-13, Creighton added the game's final run in the bottom of the eighth, as Parker Upton launched the Bluejays' record-breaking sixth roundtripper of the night.
The Red Storm will face Xavier tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. in the tournament's second elimination game. The winner of that contest will then take on Creighton at 6 p.m. A win in that outing would give the Bluejays their first BIG EAST Championship title. A Creighton loss would force a decisive, winner-take-all game seven.
The team's 30 combined runs broke the old record of 28 set by West Virginia (20) and Pittsburgh (8) in 2009. Creighton's six home runs topped the previous mark of five set by Notre Dame (2005) and Connecticut (1990). The Bluejays also recorded 39 total bases, six more than the old record of 33 set by Rutgers in 2010. The teams' combined 66 total bases also eclipsed the previous record of 58 set between Rutgers and Connecticut in that aforementioned 2010 contest.
Individually, Mike Antico's five hits tied the single-game record matched by six other players, including the Red Storm's Greg Hopkins in 2009 against Cincinnati. Creighton's David Vilches tied the single-game home run record with two while setting a new conference tournament mark with seven RBIs.
Friday night's scoring came in bunches. St. John' registered the game's first three runs before Creighton responded with nine unanswered. The Red Storm then plated eight straight to take an 11-9 lead before the Bluejays scored nine in a row to blow the game open.
Antico went 5-for-6 with a homer and three runs scored, becoming the second St. John's player this season and just the fourth since 2013 to tally five hits in a game. Rudy Aguilar also did it earlier this year with a 5-for-5 effort against Kansas. Antico, who fell a triple shy of the cycle, was 5-for-5 on Friday before grounding out in his final at-bat.
Ryan Markey and Brandon Bossard both logged two hits and an RBI.
Carson Bartels and Wyatt Mascarella both left the yard on their lone hits of the evening. Each of those roundtrippers was of the three-run variety. Bartels' four RBIs marked a new career high for the junior third baseman.
Peter Abinanti, Ryan Hogan and Mitchell Henshaw tallied a hit and an RBI. Brandon Miller logged a pinch-hit base knock in his only at-bat of the night.
St. John's wasted no time getting on the board, as Abinanti and Antico singled to set the table for a Mascarella three-run shot over the scoreboard in left field, giving the Red Storm a 3-0 lead after half an inning.
Creighton answered in kind, as BIG EAST Player of the Year Jake Holton launched a two-run roundtripper to left center before a walk and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded gave Creighton a 4-3 advantage after an inning of play.
The Bluejays bumped their lead to six, 9-3, after hanging up a five-spot in the bottom of the second.
The slugfest continued in the top of the third, as St. John's posted four runs to cut its deficit to pair, 9-7, through two and a half innings. The first four Johnnies of the frame reached base, as Antico singled and Mascarella walked to set up a Markey RBI single. Next up was Hogan, who ripped a run-scoring double to left before a Henshaw sac fly brought home another run. Bossard added another RBI base knock two batters later, plating the fourth run of the frame and cutting the Creighton lead to two.
In the top of the fourth, Antico trimmed the Creighton edge to one with his third hit of the day, a solo shot to left center. The homer marked Antico's sixth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Sean McGeehan.
After Ian Murphy held Creighton off the board again in the fourth, St. John's reclaimed the lead with a three-run shot off the bat of Bartels. The roundtripper marked the first Division I long ball for the junior college product.
Leading 11-9 after four and a half, St. John's saw the Bluejays rattle off seven runs in the fifth to move ahead 16-11 heading into the sixth.
St. John's answered by piecing together two runs in the seventh, as Abinanti lifted a sac fly and Bartels chopped an RBI groundout to the first baseman.
Ahead by three, 16-13, Creighton added the game's final run in the bottom of the eighth, as Parker Upton launched the Bluejays' record-breaking sixth roundtripper of the night.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SMITH (4-0)
L: Murphy, Ian (1-3)
S: KAMETAS (9)
Batting:
2B: Antico, Mike 1 ; Hogan, Ryan 1 ; Bossard, Brandon 1
HR: Bartels, Carson 1 ; Antico, Mike 1 ; Mascarella, Wyatt 1
RBI: Abinanti, Peter 1 ; Bartels, Carson 4 ; Antico, Mike 1 ; Mascarella, Wyatt 3 ; Markey, Ryan 1 ; Hogan, Ryan 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1 ; Bossard, Brandon 1
SF: Abinanti, Peter 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Abinanti, Peter 2 ; Bartels, Carson 1 ; Antico, Mike 3 ; Mascarella, Wyatt 2 ; Markey, Ryan 1 ; Hogan, Ryan 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1 ; McGeehan, Sean 1 ; Bossard, Brandon 1
HBP: Abinanti, Peter 1
Batting:
2B: STRUNC, J. 1
3B: COLLINS 1
HR: COLLINS 1 ; UPTON 1 ; HOLTON 1 ; ROBERTSON 1 ; VILCHES 2
RBI: COLLINS 2 ; UPTON 1 ; HOLTON 2 ; ROBERTSON 4 ; VILCHES 7 ; WEGNER 1
SF: ROBERTSON 1
Base Running:
RUNS: COLLINS 1 ; UPTON 4 ; HOLTON 3 ; ROBERTSON 2 ; STRUNC, J. 3 ; HOVEY 1 ; VILCHES 2 ; WEGNER 1
SB: WEGNER 1
CS: COLLINS 1
HBP: UPTON 1 ; WEGNER 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
3
H
5
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
SS
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballOF/2B
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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