St. John’s Takes Series Finale from Villanova, 11-8

Sunday, May 1

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. (Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

17-26-1, 0

Villanova

17-21-1, 0

St. John's

Villanova

St. John’s Takes Series Finale from Villanova, 11-8

5/1/2022 4:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Three Johnnies hit a home run on Sunday

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.- The St. John's baseball team outlasted Villanova in an 11-8 slugfest at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Conniff enjoyed a stellar day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Nick Cirelli and David Williams each hit a home run in Sunday's win. Cirelli went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored while Williams tallied one hit in two at-bats with two walks, three RBIs and three runs scored.

Four other Johnnies notched an RBI, including Kevin Michaels who went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.

On the mound, Chuck Sanzio picked up his first win of the season, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to help the Red Storm salvage a win in the final game of the three-game series.

St. John's (17-26-1, 3-8-1) cracked the scoreboard first in the opening frame, plating four runs to jump in front, 4-0. Jackson Tucker led off the inning with a single before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a fly out. Michaels laced a single to center to send Tucker home for the first run of the afternoon. Cirelli followed up with a two-run homer to make it a three-run game early. An RBI single by Colin Wetterau later in the inning gave the Red Storm its fourth tally of the frame.

Villanova (17-21-1, 7-8 BIG EAST) quickly responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first to cut the Johnnies' lead in half, 4-2. Leadoff batter Chris Rotondo got hit by a pitch to start the inning, eventually scoring on a Red Storm error. An RBI single by Jack O'Reilly provided the second run of the inning for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats scored two more in the home half of the second to tie the score at four. With runners on second and third and two outs, a wild pitch and an error sent both runners home to even the ledger.

Villanova continued its offensive barrage in the bottom of the third, pushing three runs across to take a 7-4 lead. A.J. Hansen hit a two-run homer to right, and two batters later, Hale singled to right center to give the home side a three-run cushion.

After a scoreless fourth and fifth, St. John's scratched one run across in the top of the sixth to inch closer, 7-5. Conniff hit his first double of the season before Tucker tallied a base hit to send Conniff home.

The Johnnies regained the lead, 8-7, with a three-run seventh. Paul Orbon got the rally started with an RBI double that scored Williams from first. Conniff tipped the scales in the Red Storm's favor with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, to put the Johnnies in front.

Villanova tied the score at eight in the bottom of the seventh courtesy of a Hansen RBI double.

St. John's wrestled the lead back for good in the top of the eighth when Williams launched a three-run shot to make the score 11-8.

Sanzio notched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to secure the victory in the series finale.

The Red Storm will be back in action on Tuesday, May 3 when it takes on Marist in Pomona, N.Y. First pitch from Clover Stadium is set for 6 p.m.