Three-Run Eighth Lifts St. John’s Past Fordham, 4-1

Friday, March 19

Queens, N.Y (Jack Kaiser Stadium)

4 p.m.

St. John's University

8-3

Fordham

7-2

Fordham

St. John's

Three-Run Eighth Lifts St. John’s Past Fordham, 4-1

3/19/2021 7:51:00 PM | Baseball

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Nick Mondak records seven innings of one-run work in a no-decision

By: Andrew O'Connell

With the score knotted at one following seven stellar innings from both starting pitchers, the St. John's baseball team broke through with a three-run bottom of the eighth on its way to a 4-1 victory over Fordham on Friday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

St. John's Nick Mondak and Fordham's Matt Mikulski were both stellar in a pair of no-decisions. Mondak allowed one run on six hits while surrendering just one walk and striking out six in 7.0 innings of work. Mikulski fanned a career-high 13 St. John's batters, giving up just one run on three hits and three walks.

Joe Joe Rodriguez worked around a leadoff single to record a scoreless eighth inning and pick up his first win of the year. Ethan Routzahn retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to log his third save of the campaign.

With the win, St. John's (8-3) improved to 8-0 on the year at Jack Kaiser Stadium. Fordham, the reigning Atlantic 10 champion, suffered just its second loss of the campaign, falling to 7-2.

Mitchell Henshaw hit his first home run of the year, a solo shot to right, to give the Red Storm its first run of the afternoon. David Glancy and Brandon Miller added RBI base knocks in the eighth, an inning that saw Ryan Hogan take home on the back end of a double steal.

Jake Lazzaro walked twice and doubled to set up the game-winning run. David Williams and Carson Bartels added singles for the Red Storm.

After neither team recorded a hit in the first three innings of action, Fordham broke through in the top of the fourth. Jason Coules singled to left with one out before Nick LaBella hit a base knock the left side in the following at-bat, giving Fordham runners on the corners with one gone. Next up was Casey Brown, who brought home the first run of the day with a sac bunt to the right side of the infield.

The Red Storm finally ended Mikulski's no-hit bid with two outs in the fifth, as Henshaw went the other way and rang a ball off the right-field foul pole to knot the game at one.

With both starting pitchers out of the game after seven innings of work, Rodriguez took the ball for St. John's in the eighth and worked around a leadoff single to hold Fordham off the board.

St. John's then scored three times in the home half of the frame. Lazzaro started things off by dropping a one-out double into left and advancing to third on a throwing error by the shortstop. After Hogan was hit by a pitch and stole second, Glancy ripped a single through the left side to score Lazzaro and move Hogan to third. Glancy and Hogan then executed a successful double steal, allowing the latter to score from third and put the Red Storm ahead 3-1. Glancy then came around to plate the final run on a Miller RBI single to right.

The Red Storm and the Rams will resume their series tomorrow morning with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. The teams will then close the weekend with a Sunday single game starting at 1 p.m. in Queens.