St. John’s Erases Deficit, Tops Wagner, 6-5, on Senior Night

Tuesday, May 7

Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

26-19

Wagner

15-28

Wagner

St. John's

The 2019 St. John's Baseball Senior Class

Mike Antico, Sean McGeehan, Brandon Miller

Ryan Markey makes a leaping grab at second.

Mike Antico went 3-for-3 with two walks and fell a home run shy of the cycle.

Mike Antico improved his season-long batting average to .355.

St. John’s Erases Deficit, Tops Wagner, 6-5, on Senior Night

5/7/2019 9:52:00 PM | Baseball

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Mike Antico reached base five times and fell a homer short of the cycle

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. (May 7, 2019) – Trailing by four after five and half innings, the St. John's baseball team closed its Tuesday evening contest with five unanswered runs to prevail over Wagner, 6-5.

With the win, the Johnnies (26-19) improved to 15-1 at home against non-conference foes and closed out the midweek portion of its regular season schedule undefeated at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

Turner French, one of seven Johnnies honored before the game for the team's annual Senior Night, recorded his third win of the year. Gavin Hollowell picked up his team-leading fifth save of the season after Joe Kelly set things up with a no-hit eighth inning.

The Johnnies logged their six runs on 13 hits. Mike Antico led the way offensively, falling a home run shy of the cycle and reaching base in all five of his plate appearances by going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks.

Ryan Hogan went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Peter Abinanti singled in each of his two at-bats and drove in a run. Ryan Markey also turned in a two-hit effort.

Carson Bartels, Sean McGeehan and Rudy Aguilar all singled and knocked in a run. Mitchell Henshaw also singled for the Red Storm.

After leaving runners on base in the first and second innings, the Red Storm struck first in the home half of the third. Antico led things off with his second extra-base hit of the afternoon, smacking a triple off the wall in right center. Bartels then promptly ripped a single into left, scoring Antico and giving the Red Storm a 1-0 lead.

The Seahawks (15-28) responded with five unanswered runs, plating three in the fourth before adding single tallies in the fifth and sixth frames to make it 5-1 after five and a half.

The Red Storm cut the deficit to two with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. With a runner on first and two outs, Abinanti singled to left center to set up an RBI base knock from Hogan, scoring McGeehan for the frame's first run. Abinanti then came home on an Aguilar single in the following at-bat, bringing the Red Storm within two, 5-3, entering the seventh.

After French escaped a first-and-third jam in the top of the seventh, the Johnnies exploded for three runs in the home half to reclaim the lead. With runners on the corners and one out, McGeehan ripped the first of three-straight run-scoring singles for St. John's, putting the Red Storm ahead by one, 6-5, after seven. Abinanti and Hogan added the other RBI base knocks for the Johnnies.

Kelly and Hollowell combined to no-hit the Seahawks over the final two frames, preserving the St. John's victory.

The Red Storm will return to BIG EAST action on Friday evening, taking on league-leading Creighton in Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, the home of the College World Series.