St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 18
Wilmington, N.C. (Brooks Field)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
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Middle Tennessee
1-0
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10
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H
E
Middle Tennessee St.
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St. John's
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St. John’s Falls to Middle Tennessee State, 3-2, on Opening Day
2/18/2022 9:16:00 PM | Baseball
Ian Murphy pitched seven strong innings in his season debut
WILMINGTON, N.C.- The St. John's baseball team dropped its season opener to Middle Tennessee State, 3-2, on Friday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders (1-0) scored all their runs in the seventh inning or later to sink the Red Storm in the first meeting between the two programs.
Ian Murphy posted a stellar outing in his 2022 debut on the hill, tossing 7.0 innings and striking out five while allowing only four hits. Murphy's lone blemish of the afternoon came in the form of a two-run homer that tied the game in the seventh. Friday's start tied the longest of Murphy's career.
Kevin Michaels and Jackson Tucker each recorded two-hit games to kick off their St. John's careers. Tucker and redshirt sophomore David Glancy each scored once while Nick Cirelli and Tate Ballestero both knocked in a run for St. John's (0-1).
Tim Cunningham was tagged with the loss. The right-hander retired five consecutive batters in the eighth and ninth innings before giving up the decisive run in the top of the 10th.
St. John's opened the scoring quickly, as Tucker, Glancy and Ballestero singled in the game's first three at-bats. Later in the frame, Cirelli drove in the second run for the Johnnies with a productive groundout.
Murphy capitalized on the two-run cushion and completed six innings of work with no runs and only two hits allowed. The preseason All-BIG EAST selection retired the Blue Raiders in order in four of his first six frames.
Murphy ran into his first sign of trouble in top of the seventh when he allowed a leadoff walk to Wyatt Morgan and pinch-runner Brian Dillingham advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior infielder Fausto Lopez then launched a two-run homer to knot things up at two.
After Jake Alfaro made his collegiate debut and got a two-pitch groundout to start the eighth, Cunningham came in kept the game tied through the ninth.
The Blue Raiders scratched across the decisive run in the top of the 10th when Luke Vinson doubled down the rightfield line to score Briggs Rutter and put the Blue Raiders up, 3-2. The Red Storm got a runner in scoring position in the home half off a Tucker double with two outs, but a Glancy comebacker to the pitcher ended the Red Storm rally.
The Red Storm and Blue Raiders will meet again tomorrow for a noon first pitch from Brooks Field. The Johnnies will also take on UNC Wilmington at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The Blue Raiders (1-0) scored all their runs in the seventh inning or later to sink the Red Storm in the first meeting between the two programs.
Ian Murphy posted a stellar outing in his 2022 debut on the hill, tossing 7.0 innings and striking out five while allowing only four hits. Murphy's lone blemish of the afternoon came in the form of a two-run homer that tied the game in the seventh. Friday's start tied the longest of Murphy's career.
Kevin Michaels and Jackson Tucker each recorded two-hit games to kick off their St. John's careers. Tucker and redshirt sophomore David Glancy each scored once while Nick Cirelli and Tate Ballestero both knocked in a run for St. John's (0-1).
Tim Cunningham was tagged with the loss. The right-hander retired five consecutive batters in the eighth and ninth innings before giving up the decisive run in the top of the 10th.
St. John's opened the scoring quickly, as Tucker, Glancy and Ballestero singled in the game's first three at-bats. Later in the frame, Cirelli drove in the second run for the Johnnies with a productive groundout.
Murphy capitalized on the two-run cushion and completed six innings of work with no runs and only two hits allowed. The preseason All-BIG EAST selection retired the Blue Raiders in order in four of his first six frames.
Murphy ran into his first sign of trouble in top of the seventh when he allowed a leadoff walk to Wyatt Morgan and pinch-runner Brian Dillingham advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior infielder Fausto Lopez then launched a two-run homer to knot things up at two.
After Jake Alfaro made his collegiate debut and got a two-pitch groundout to start the eighth, Cunningham came in kept the game tied through the ninth.
The Blue Raiders scratched across the decisive run in the top of the 10th when Luke Vinson doubled down the rightfield line to score Briggs Rutter and put the Blue Raiders up, 3-2. The Red Storm got a runner in scoring position in the home half off a Tucker double with two outs, but a Glancy comebacker to the pitcher ended the Red Storm rally.
The Red Storm and Blue Raiders will meet again tomorrow for a noon first pitch from Brooks Field. The Johnnies will also take on UNC Wilmington at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: HAMM (1-0)
L: Cunningham, Tim (0-1)
S: SWAN (1)
Batting:
2B: LOPEZ 1 ; RUTTER 1 ; VINSON 1
HR: LOPEZ 1
RBI: LOPEZ 2 ; VINSON 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DILLINGHAM 1 ; LOPEZ 1 ; RUTTER 1
Batting:
2B: Tucker, Jackson 1
RBI: Ballestero, Tate 1 ; Cirelli, Nick 1
SH: Tucker, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tucker, Jackson 1 ; Glancy, David 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
1B/LHP
/ BaseballC/INF
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
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