St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, March 28
Fairfield, Conn. (Alumni Baseball Diamond)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
16-7
5
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4
Fairfield
12-10
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E
St. John's
0
0
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2
1
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5
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Fairfield
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St. John’s Wins on Catcher’s Balk in Extras against Fairfield
3/28/2023 6:46:00 PM | Baseball
Johnnies pick up 16th win of the season and second in extra innings
NEW YORK – A catcher's balk in the 11th inning plates the winning run in the St. John's baseball team's 5-4 victory over Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Baseball Diamond.
After Anthony Brienza reached on an error to start the top of the 11th and advanced to second, sophomore Luke Orbon laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the Red Storm second baseman 90 feet away from home plate. On a 1-0 pitch in the dirt to David Glancy, Stags' catcher Tyler Kipp touched the ball with his facemask and balked behind the plate.
The Red Storm moved to 2-0 in extra-inning affairs this season, its first since toppling Old Dominion, 7-6, in 10 frames on Opening Day.
Prior to the wild finish, Orbon drove in the game-tying run in the eighth inning following a 2-for-5 day at the dish. Glancy and Marty Higgins also chipped in a base knock and an RBI on the afternoon. Shortstop Jace Jeremiah added two tallies in Tuesday's contest.
The Johnnies (16-7) threatened in the opening frame, loading the bases with no outs with a pair of walks and a single but Fairfield worked out of the jam without allowing a run.
Starter Mario Pesca saw the minimum through his first two innings of work, forcing a 6-4-3 double play to end the second frame.
The Stags took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third behind a bases-loaded walk by Mike Becchetti and a two-run double off of Charlie Pagliarini's bat.
After a blank fourth, the Red Storm capitalized on a pair of RBI singles from Glancy and Higgins in the fifth, slashing Fairfield's lead to one, 3-2.
St. John's tied the game at three apiece in the top of the sixth. Following a leadoff walk to Jeremiah and a bunt single by Jackson Tucker, the Johnnies scored on a throwing error during Brienza's bunt in front of the plate.
Reliever Ben Adams came on in the home half of the fifth and also faced the minimum after catcher Jimmy Keenan caught Becchetti trying to swipe second. The left-hander set the Stags down in order with a scoreless bottom of the sixth before finishing his 2.2-inning performance with one strikeout. Dylan Johnson staved off the Stags' threat in the seventh with a punchout to keep the game deadlocked at three.
In the top of the eighth, the Johnnies took its first lead of the game on an Orbon RBI base knock up the middle, plating Jeremiah from second and jumping out to a 4-3 advantage.
Free bases pained the Red Storm in the bottom of the ninth as Fairfield tallied three walks and one hit by a pitch for a 4-4 tie. Tim Cunningham came on with two outs and the bases loaded, striking out Stags' Dean Ferrera on three pitches to send the game to extras.
The Johnnies' reliever kept Fairfield off the board in the 10th, doubling up Noah Lucier at first base after the Stags' shortstop strayed too far from the bag on a flyout to center. Cunningham went on to earn his first win of the year with 1.1 scoreless innings of work.
After taking a 5-4 lead on the catcher's balk in the 11th, Nick Cirelli earned his third save of the year behind a 1-2-3 frame in the home half with one strikeout.
St. John's will head to Williamsburg, Va., for a three-game set against William & Mary, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. from Plumeri Park.
After Anthony Brienza reached on an error to start the top of the 11th and advanced to second, sophomore Luke Orbon laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the Red Storm second baseman 90 feet away from home plate. On a 1-0 pitch in the dirt to David Glancy, Stags' catcher Tyler Kipp touched the ball with his facemask and balked behind the plate.
The Red Storm moved to 2-0 in extra-inning affairs this season, its first since toppling Old Dominion, 7-6, in 10 frames on Opening Day.
Prior to the wild finish, Orbon drove in the game-tying run in the eighth inning following a 2-for-5 day at the dish. Glancy and Marty Higgins also chipped in a base knock and an RBI on the afternoon. Shortstop Jace Jeremiah added two tallies in Tuesday's contest.
The Johnnies (16-7) threatened in the opening frame, loading the bases with no outs with a pair of walks and a single but Fairfield worked out of the jam without allowing a run.
Starter Mario Pesca saw the minimum through his first two innings of work, forcing a 6-4-3 double play to end the second frame.
The Stags took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third behind a bases-loaded walk by Mike Becchetti and a two-run double off of Charlie Pagliarini's bat.
After a blank fourth, the Red Storm capitalized on a pair of RBI singles from Glancy and Higgins in the fifth, slashing Fairfield's lead to one, 3-2.
St. John's tied the game at three apiece in the top of the sixth. Following a leadoff walk to Jeremiah and a bunt single by Jackson Tucker, the Johnnies scored on a throwing error during Brienza's bunt in front of the plate.
Reliever Ben Adams came on in the home half of the fifth and also faced the minimum after catcher Jimmy Keenan caught Becchetti trying to swipe second. The left-hander set the Stags down in order with a scoreless bottom of the sixth before finishing his 2.2-inning performance with one strikeout. Dylan Johnson staved off the Stags' threat in the seventh with a punchout to keep the game deadlocked at three.
In the top of the eighth, the Johnnies took its first lead of the game on an Orbon RBI base knock up the middle, plating Jeremiah from second and jumping out to a 4-3 advantage.
Free bases pained the Red Storm in the bottom of the ninth as Fairfield tallied three walks and one hit by a pitch for a 4-4 tie. Tim Cunningham came on with two outs and the bases loaded, striking out Stags' Dean Ferrera on three pitches to send the game to extras.
The Johnnies' reliever kept Fairfield off the board in the 10th, doubling up Noah Lucier at first base after the Stags' shortstop strayed too far from the bag on a flyout to center. Cunningham went on to earn his first win of the year with 1.1 scoreless innings of work.
After taking a 5-4 lead on the catcher's balk in the 11th, Nick Cirelli earned his third save of the year behind a 1-2-3 frame in the home half with one strikeout.
St. John's will head to Williamsburg, Va., for a three-game set against William & Mary, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. from Plumeri Park.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cunningham, Tim (1-0)
L: Smeltzer (0-2)
S: Cirelli, Nick (3)
Batting:
2B: Brienza, Anthony 1 ; Mann, Aaron 1
RBI: Orbon, Luke 1 ; Glancy, David 1 ; Higgins, Marty 1
SH: Orbon, Luke 1 ; Tucker, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brienza, Anthony 1 ; Glancy, David 1 ; Jeremiah, Jace 2 ; Tucker, Jackson 1
PO: Glancy, David 1
Batting:
2B: Pagliarini 1 ; Bergevin 1
RBI: Becchetti 1 ; Pagliarini 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Handal 1 ; Sturino 1 ; Bucciero 1 ; Strollo 1
SB: Sturino 1
CS: Becchetti 1
HBP: Becchetti 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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