St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Falls at Wagner, 4-2
3/22/2023 6:07:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm sees six-game winning streak snapped
NEW YORK (March 22, 2023) – The St. John's baseball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end following a 4-2 setback at Wagner on Wednesday afternoon.
Marty Higgins and Luke Orbon paced the Red Storm with two hits apiece and an RBI. Tate Ballestero reached base three times in Staten Island as the leadoff batter. Jimmy Keenan was the only other Johnnie to squander a hit with his double in the fifth.
Wagner (11-8) let five pitchers loose on Wednesday as John LaPointe, Jason Masick, Jagger Duquette, Ryan Bilka and Alec Burnett combined to hold the Red Storm to just two runs on five hits. David Melfi also factored in two of the team's four runs, going 1-for-2 with two walks, a run and an RBI.
The Seahawks tallied one run in each of the first three innings, jumping ahead early.
In the top of the fourth, St. John's broke through on an RBI single from Luke Orbon, plating Jackson Tucker and cutting its deficit to two. After blanking the Seahawks in the fourth, Keenan sent a scorcher to the right in the fifth, knocking in Aaron Mann and bringing the Red Storm within one, 3-2.
Relievers Ben Adams and Nick Cirelli kept the Johnnies in the game with stellar outings out of the pen. Adams surrendered just one walk and two hits in 1.2 innings of work while Cirelli unloaded four strikeouts, two looking, in 1.1 innings of work.
The Seahawks tacked on one more run as David Malfi scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, the Johnnies battled, putting the tying run on second before Wagner closed the door on the Red Storm comeback.
St. John's will return to action on Friday, taking on Richmond in a three-game slate this weekend.
Marty Higgins and Luke Orbon paced the Red Storm with two hits apiece and an RBI. Tate Ballestero reached base three times in Staten Island as the leadoff batter. Jimmy Keenan was the only other Johnnie to squander a hit with his double in the fifth.
Wagner (11-8) let five pitchers loose on Wednesday as John LaPointe, Jason Masick, Jagger Duquette, Ryan Bilka and Alec Burnett combined to hold the Red Storm to just two runs on five hits. David Melfi also factored in two of the team's four runs, going 1-for-2 with two walks, a run and an RBI.
The Seahawks tallied one run in each of the first three innings, jumping ahead early.
In the top of the fourth, St. John's broke through on an RBI single from Luke Orbon, plating Jackson Tucker and cutting its deficit to two. After blanking the Seahawks in the fourth, Keenan sent a scorcher to the right in the fifth, knocking in Aaron Mann and bringing the Red Storm within one, 3-2.
Relievers Ben Adams and Nick Cirelli kept the Johnnies in the game with stellar outings out of the pen. Adams surrendered just one walk and two hits in 1.2 innings of work while Cirelli unloaded four strikeouts, two looking, in 1.1 innings of work.
The Seahawks tacked on one more run as David Malfi scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, the Johnnies battled, putting the tying run on second before Wagner closed the door on the Red Storm comeback.
St. John's will return to action on Friday, taking on Richmond in a three-game slate this weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LAPOINTE, John (1-0)
L: Pesca, Mario (1-3)
S: BURNETT, Alec (2)

Batting:
2B: Higgins, Marty 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1
RBI: Orbon, Luke 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1
SH: Keenan, Jimmy 1
SF: Keenan, Jimmy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mann, Aaron 1 ; Tucker, Jackson 1
SB: Tucker, Jackson 1
HBP: Ballestero, Tate 1 ; Tucker, Jackson 1

Batting:
HR: CAZARES, DiMaggio 1
RBI: MELFI, David 1 ; CAZARES, DiMaggio 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CONNIFF, Chris 1 ; BEY, Cody 1 ; MELFI, David 1 ; CAZARES, DiMaggio 1
SB: CONNIFF, Chris 1 ; BEY, Cody 2 ; BAKER, Xavier 1
CS: KOBAYASHI, Maimu 1
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