St. John’s Takes Down Columbia, 5-1

Wednesday, March 30

Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)

3:30 p.m.

St. John's University

10-15

Columbia

7-13

Columbia

St. John's

3/30/2022 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Johnnies no-hit Lions over first six frames

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's baseball team picked up its eighth win in its last nine tries, defeating Columbia, 5-1, on Wednesday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

With the win, the Johnnies wrapped their 13 game homestand with a record of 9-4, improving to 10-15 overall on the season. Columbia fell to 7-13 with the loss.

Joe Mascio, Vincent Bianchi and Jude Zern combined to hold Columbia without a hit for the game's first six innings, allowing just three Lions to reach base over that span.

Geoff Mosseau, Tim Cunningham, Oliver McCarthy, Dylan Johnson and Chuck Sanzio combined to surrender just one run over the final three frames.

Making his first start of the season, Paul Orbon went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Kevin Michaels, Colin Wetterau and Carlos Hidalgo also drove in runs on the afternoon.

Jackson Tucker singled, walked twice and scored a run, extending his reached-base streak to 19 games.

Chris Conniff also singled and scored a run for the Red Storm.

After back-to-back scoreless innings, the Red Storm broke through in the bottom of the third, plating three runs thanks to five walks, a hit-by-pitch and a sac fly to foul territory in right.

St. John's tacked on another run with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Max Shabestari drew a seven-pitch walk before exiting for a pinch-runner, Conniff. Conniff advanced to second on a wild pitch before Orbon poked an RBI single to right center, putting the Johnnies ahead 4-0.

After Columbia left three runners on base in the seventh, the Lions finally pushed a run across in the top of the eighth. McCarthy retired the inning's first two batters before a double and three straight walks brought home the Lions' lone run.

St. John's added an insurance run in the home half of the eighth, as Orbon lifted a sac fly to center to score Tim McHugh and make it a 5-1 game.

Sanzio, the team leader in saves with five on the season, entered for the ninth and set the Lions down without issue.

The Red Storm will hit the road for the first time in over a month when it travels to Lawrenceville, N.J., to take on Rider. First pitch from Sonny Pittaro Field on Friday is set for 3 p.m.