St. John’s Drops Series Opener to Rider

Friday, April 1

Lawrenceville, N.J. (Sonny Pittaro Field)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

10-16

Rider

14-10

St. John's

Rider

4/1/2022 7:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Kevin Michaels tallied two RBIs against the Broncs

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.- The St. John's baseball team saw its four-game win streak snapped as it fell to Rider, 13-3, on Friday afternoon at Sonny Pittaro Field.

Kevin Michaels led the Johnnies offensively, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. The redshirt sophomore has recorded two or more RBIs in a team-high seven games.

Colin Wetterau also recorded an RBI with a run-scoring double and has reached base in 10 straight contests.

David Glancy went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, and Tate Ballestero scored once while tallying a base hit and a walk.

Jackson Tucker extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a 1-for-4 effort. The freshman outfielder added a walk and a stolen base, bringing his season total in that category to 11.

Oliver McCarthy was solid out of the bullpen, shutting out the Broncs in his lone inning of work. Joe Joe Rodriguez was tagged with the loss for St. John's (10-16).

The Red Storm struck first in the opening frame when Wetterau doubled down the left-field line to score Glancy and give the Johnnies the early 1-0 edge.

Rider responded in the bottom of the second with four runs of its own to grab a 4-1 lead. Socrates Bardastos led off the frame with a solo home run to right before the Broncs added three two-out runs to grab the three-run advantage after two innings.

St. John's answered back with two more runs in the visitor half of the third to pull within one, 4-3. Glancy and Ballestero tallied back-to-back singles to set the table for Michaels, who promptly doubled to center to bring both runners home and trim the Rider lead to a single run.

The Broncs expanded the lead with three more runs with two outs to lead, 7-3, in the bottom of the third. Alex Diamantis drew a bases-loaded walk before Jordan Erbe singled through the left side of the infield to bring home two more and give Rider a four-run edge.

Rider began to pull away in the home half of the fourth, pushing five runs across to grow the lead to 12-3. After an error and a double brought in the first two tallies of the frame, Brian O'Donnell launched a three-run shot to right center to give the Broncs the nine-run advantage.

Rider added another run in the bottom of the sixth before shutting out the Johnnies over the final three frames to secure the series-opening win.

The Red Storm and Broncs will wrap up the three-game series tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader that will start at noon from Sonny Pittaro Field.