St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 21
Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
9 p.m.
St. John's University
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California
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California
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Photo by: Rob Edwards/KLC Fotos
St. John’s Takes Series Opener from Cal, 10-6
2/22/2020 2:22:00 AM | Baseball
Eight different Johnnies tally hits in the win
BERKELEY, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2020) – The St. John's baseball team started its West Coast swing in style on Friday night, defeating the California Golden Bears, 10-6, at Evans Diamond.
The Red Storm (2-2) jumped ahead in the first inning and never looked back in its second consecutive win over a Power Five foe. Cal fell to 1-4 with the loss.
All nine members of the St. John's starting lineup reached base and eight recorded hits in the Red Storm's second straight game with 10-plus runs.
Ryan Hogan sealed the win with a two-run homer, the third of his career, in the top of the ninth, pushing his RBI total to three after a sac fly earlier in the evening.
Four separate Johnnies tallied multi-hit efforts. Ryan Markey went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored while Carson Bartels went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Two batters doubled in their two-hit efforts, as Sean McGeehan and Mitchell Henshaw both laced a two-bagger against the Golden Bears.
Peter Abinanti drove in two runs with a third inning single while Mike Antico provided a crucial run with a seventh-inning double.
Jake Lazzaro and Justin Folz both reached base twice.
Brandon Backman registered his first St. John's win, allowing just one runner to reach base in 2.1 innings of no-hit work. The Danbury, Conn., native punched out four of the eight batters he faced after entering with two outs and a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth.
Nick Mondak left with the lead but did not throw the five innings necessary to record the win. The Watertown, Conn., native allowed two runs in 4.0 frames of work, striking out five and walking five.
Freshman Dominic Coombe threw 1.2 innings of no-hit relief but was tagged with three runs after leaving the contest. Ethan Routzahn closed the door by facing just three batters in the bottom of the ninth.
The Johnnies jumped ahead in the top of the first, as Bartels singled and Folz walked to set up an RBI base knock off the bat of McGeehan. Cal's starter, Sam Stoutenborough, then walked Lazzaro and Markey in back-to-back at-bats to plate another St. John's run, giving the Red Storm a 2-0 lead after a half an inning.
After Mondak kept Cal off the board in the first and second innings, the Johnnies added two more in the third. Henshaw and McGeehan led off the frame with a single and a double, respectively, giving the Red Storm second and third with no outs. The next two St. John's batters went down without issue before Abinanti slapped a two-run single and extended the Red Storm advantage to 4-0 after two and a half.
Cal got on the board for the first time in the home half of the third, plating two runs to slice the St. John's lead in half.
Following a scoreless fourth, the Johnnies continued the scoring trend with another two-spot in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second and one out, Abinanti dropped down a sac bunt in front of the catcher, who promptly sailed the ball into center field and allowed Lazzaro to score from second. Hogan then delivered a sac fly to deep right in the following at-bat, pushing the St. John's advantage back to four, 6-2.
After Coombe entered and promptly worked a 1-2-3 fifth, the Johnnies added another run in the top of the sixth. Bartels registered his second single of the evening before Henshaw delivered a two-bagger to the wall in right center, scoring Bartels from first and giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the night, 7-2, after five and a half.
The Red Storm's advantage all but vanished in the home half of the sixth, as Cal plated four two-out runs to make it a one-run ball game, 7-6, after six.
With the lead down to one, St. John's used another clutch two-bagger to pad its lead in the following frame. Markey led off the inning with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a grounder and eventually coming around to score on a two-out double to left center from Antico.
Leading 8-6 heading into the ninth, the Red Storm added two more insurance runs in the top of the inning. Lazzaro led off the frame with a single up the middle before Hogan lined a two-out, two-run shot to left, giving the Johnnies a 10-6 advantage heading into the home half of the ninth.
St. John's will look to clinch the series on Saturday, when the two teams meet at Evans Diamond for a 6 p.m. ET start.
The Red Storm (2-2) jumped ahead in the first inning and never looked back in its second consecutive win over a Power Five foe. Cal fell to 1-4 with the loss.
All nine members of the St. John's starting lineup reached base and eight recorded hits in the Red Storm's second straight game with 10-plus runs.
Ryan Hogan sealed the win with a two-run homer, the third of his career, in the top of the ninth, pushing his RBI total to three after a sac fly earlier in the evening.
Four separate Johnnies tallied multi-hit efforts. Ryan Markey went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored while Carson Bartels went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Two batters doubled in their two-hit efforts, as Sean McGeehan and Mitchell Henshaw both laced a two-bagger against the Golden Bears.
Peter Abinanti drove in two runs with a third inning single while Mike Antico provided a crucial run with a seventh-inning double.
Jake Lazzaro and Justin Folz both reached base twice.
Brandon Backman registered his first St. John's win, allowing just one runner to reach base in 2.1 innings of no-hit work. The Danbury, Conn., native punched out four of the eight batters he faced after entering with two outs and a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth.
Nick Mondak left with the lead but did not throw the five innings necessary to record the win. The Watertown, Conn., native allowed two runs in 4.0 frames of work, striking out five and walking five.
Freshman Dominic Coombe threw 1.2 innings of no-hit relief but was tagged with three runs after leaving the contest. Ethan Routzahn closed the door by facing just three batters in the bottom of the ninth.
The Johnnies jumped ahead in the top of the first, as Bartels singled and Folz walked to set up an RBI base knock off the bat of McGeehan. Cal's starter, Sam Stoutenborough, then walked Lazzaro and Markey in back-to-back at-bats to plate another St. John's run, giving the Red Storm a 2-0 lead after a half an inning.
After Mondak kept Cal off the board in the first and second innings, the Johnnies added two more in the third. Henshaw and McGeehan led off the frame with a single and a double, respectively, giving the Red Storm second and third with no outs. The next two St. John's batters went down without issue before Abinanti slapped a two-run single and extended the Red Storm advantage to 4-0 after two and a half.
Cal got on the board for the first time in the home half of the third, plating two runs to slice the St. John's lead in half.
Following a scoreless fourth, the Johnnies continued the scoring trend with another two-spot in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second and one out, Abinanti dropped down a sac bunt in front of the catcher, who promptly sailed the ball into center field and allowed Lazzaro to score from second. Hogan then delivered a sac fly to deep right in the following at-bat, pushing the St. John's advantage back to four, 6-2.
After Coombe entered and promptly worked a 1-2-3 fifth, the Johnnies added another run in the top of the sixth. Bartels registered his second single of the evening before Henshaw delivered a two-bagger to the wall in right center, scoring Bartels from first and giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the night, 7-2, after five and a half.
The Red Storm's advantage all but vanished in the home half of the sixth, as Cal plated four two-out runs to make it a one-run ball game, 7-6, after six.
With the lead down to one, St. John's used another clutch two-bagger to pad its lead in the following frame. Markey led off the inning with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a grounder and eventually coming around to score on a two-out double to left center from Antico.
Leading 8-6 heading into the ninth, the Red Storm added two more insurance runs in the top of the inning. Lazzaro led off the frame with a single up the middle before Hogan lined a two-out, two-run shot to left, giving the Johnnies a 10-6 advantage heading into the home half of the ninth.
St. John's will look to clinch the series on Saturday, when the two teams meet at Evans Diamond for a 6 p.m. ET start.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Backman, Brandon (1-0)
L: S. Stoutenb. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Antico, Mike 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1 ; McGeehan, Sean 1
HR: Hogan, Ryan 1
RBI: Antico, Mike 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1 ; McGeehan, Sean 1 ; Markey, Ryan 1 ; Abinanti, Peter 2 ; Hogan, Ryan 3
SH: Antico, Mike 1 ; Abinanti, Peter 1
SF: Hogan, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bartels, Carson 2 ; Folz, Justin 1 ; Henshaw, Mitchell 1 ; McGeehan, Sean 1 ; Lazzaro, Jake 1 ; Markey, Ryan 3 ; Hogan, Ryan 1
SB: Antico, Mike 1 ; Markey, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: G. Holman 1
RBI: D. Baker 1 ; N.Martorella 1 ; Q. Selma 2 ; G. Holman 2
SH: D. Baker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: B. McIllwain 1 ; D. Baker 2 ; Q. Selma 1 ; S. Zobac 1 ; K. Ogans 1
HBP: D. Baker 1 ; M. Flower 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
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AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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