St. John’s Drops to Creighton on Friday

Friday, April 21

Omaha, Neb. (Charles Schwab Field Omaha)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

19-16, 4-3

Creighton

16-14, 2-5

St. John's

Creighton

4/21/2023 10:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Jace Jeremiah and Paul Orbon log two hits apiece with a combined four runs scored and three RBIs

OMAHA, Neb. – The St. John's baseball team fell to Creighton, 12-7, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on Friday.

Sophomore Jace Jeremiah put forth a 2-for-4 effort in the series opener, knocking in two runs and scoring once. Paul Orbon also went 2-for-4 at the dish with three runs scored and an RBI against the Bluejays. Third baseman Marty Higgins also chipped in a pair of tallies of his own.

Following a blank opening frame, St. John's (19-16, 2-5 BIG EAST) broke through with a two-run second inning. After seven-straight foul balls in a 16-pitch leadoff at-bat, Austin Machado reached base safely for the 19th consecutive game. That plate appearance wore down Bluejays' starter Dominic Cancellieri, setting up Paul Orbon for an RBI triple and a 1-0 Red Storm lead. Two pitches later, the Johnnies' left fielder moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch for a two-tally advantage.

Creighton (16-14, 4-3 BIG EAST) responded quickly with a two-spot in the home half on its first hit of the game, a double off of Ben North's bat, for a 2-2 deadlock.

The Bluejays added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run homer by Tyler Lozano to take a 4-2 lead.

The Johnnies battled back in the top of the fourth with one tally of their own. After a one-out single by the elder Orbon, who proceeded to swipe second, Jeremiah slapped an RBI single to right-center and bought the Red Storm within one, 4-3.

In the home half of the fourth, Creighton bumped its lead back to two, 5-3, with North driving in his third run of the game.

Reliever Ben Adams halted the Bluejays' threat in the fifth, coming in with one out and runners on first and second. The right-hander retired the first two batters he saw, getting Jack Grace to strike out and Hogan Helligso to fly out to right.

Momentum swung in favor of the Red Storm in the sixth, seeing four runs cross home plate. After Machado and Higgins reached to start the frame, the Johnnies capitalized on back-to-back miscues, seeing two runners score on Jeremiah's rip to the left side and knotting the game at five. Luke Orbon drove in another run on a groundout to first before St. John's shortstop advanced home on a wild pitch for a 7-5 lead.

Creighton also capitalized on a slew of Red Storm miscues, tacking on one run in the sixth and threatening with the bases loaded. Adams brilliantly navigated the one-out fiasco without surrendering another run to keep the score at 7-6 through six innings.

The Bluejays tied the game in the bottom of the seventh before taking their five-run lead in the eighth and closing out the game in the ninth for a 12-7 win.

The Johnnies will return to action against Creighton on Saturday with first pitch slated for 7 p.m. ET at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.