St. John’s Downs Quinnipiac, 8-1

Friday, March 17

Queens, N.Y. (Kaiser Stadium)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

11-5

Quinnipiac

5-9

Quinnipiac

St. John's

3/17/2023 6:25:00 PM | Baseball

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Jackson Tucker posts career-high four hits in Friday’s contest

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's baseball team saw its winning streak jump to four with an 8-1 victory over Quinnipiac at Jack Kaiser Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Outfielder Jackson Tucker turned it on for the Red Storm with a career-high four hits while crossing home plate three times against the Bobcats.

Aaron Mann continued to produce for the Johnnies, posting his fifth multi-RBI game of the season after going 1-for-1 with a pair of knock-ins and three hit-by-pitches. Sophomore Luke Orbon also put forth a solid performance with a 3-for-4 showing, registering a run and two RBIs.

Left fielder Paul Orbon extended his reached base streak to 16 games with a 1-for-4 day at the dish.

The Johnnies (11-5) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame. After loading the bases with no outs, Mann ripped a single down the left-field line that was mishandled by John Heitzman, bringing all three runners around to score. The Johnnies added a tally on Higgins' RBI groundout to short for the four-run edge.

St. John's tacked on another run in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double by Tucker. With runners on the corners following a Tucker steal and a walk to Ballestero, Luke Orbon ripped a scorcher to the right-center gap, bringing Tucker in on a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 lead.

Red Storm starter Xavier Kolhosser kept the Bobcats (5-9) off balance through his four scoreless innings of work, striking out three and allowing just two hits with one walk to pick up his first collegiate win.

Unfortunately for St. John's, Quinnipiac broke up the shutout in the fifth with a one-run frame, slashing its deficit to four, 5-1.

The Johnnies reclaimed a five-run advantage in the sixth on a Ballestero RBI double down the right field line, plating Tucker from first for a 6-1 edge.

After a blank seventh, St. John's continued to pour it on in the eighth as Luke Orbon roped a double down the left-field line to score Tucker again, lifting the Johnnies to a six-run lead. The Red Storm scored its final run after Ballestero got caught in a rundown and evaded a tag sliding back to third, causing Orbon to retreat to second and drawing a throw that sailed into right-center. The Johnnies' catcher cruised into home plate for the final run of the contest and a seven-run advantage.

Reliever Louis Marinaro toppled the Bobcats for the final two innings, retiring six of the eight batters he faced and striking out one to hold on for the 8-1 win.

St. John's will return to action on Saturday, heading up to Hamden, Conn., to face the Bobcats in game two. First pitch from Quinnipiac Baseball Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.