St. John’s Forces Extras, Falls to Fairleigh Dickinson, 7-6, in 10 Innings

Wednesday, April 26

Queens, N.Y. (Kaiser Stadium)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

19-20

Fairleigh Dickinson

25-13-1

Fairleigh Dickinson

St. John's

St. John’s Forces Extras, Falls to Fairleigh Dickinson, 7-6, in 10 Innings

4/26/2023 7:37:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm erases three-run deficit in ninth to force extra innings

QUEENS, N.Y. – After a valiant comeback in the final frame that saw a three-run deficit erased, the St. John's baseball team dropped its Wednesday contest to Fairleigh Dickinson, 7-6, at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

Sophomore Austin Machado reached base safely for the 23^rd straight game, drawing a pair of walks in Wednesday's contest. The Johnnies' catcher also caught two Knights trying to steal second base.

Making his first career start, Andrew Castelluccio found a rhythm early on, facing the minimum through the opening two innings of work before allowing his first hit of the game in the following frame. The freshman hurler staved off a leadoff double in the third inning, logging two of his three strikeouts in the frame while getting Joan Sosa to look at strike three to end his day.

St. John's (19-20) and Fairleigh Dickinson (25-13-1) were held off the board until the Knights broke through in the fifth inning on a looping RBI double behind third base by Jeremy Cheeseman for a 1-0 lead.

FDU tacked on another run in the top of the sixth as Tom Ruscitti recorded a sacrifice fly that brought in Sosa from third, going up by two. The Knights also held the Red Storm out of the hit column through the first six innings of the game before an Aaron Mann leadoff single up the middle halted the no-no in the seventh.

Reliever Tim Cunningham kept the Knights at bay with 1.1 innings of scoreless work while Jake Alfaro finished the final portion of the eighth to keep the deficit at two.

FDU scored again in the top of the ninth, giving itself a three-run cushion before the game's wild finish.

Down to its final out and with only one hit heading into the ninth inning, the Red Storm willed its way back into the contest. After back-to-back strikeouts to start the frame, Machado and Blake Mayberry laced consecutive singles into right field, putting runners on the corners. Center fielder Jackson Tucker slapped a 3-2 pitch down the left-field line for an RBI double, bringing Machado in from third to pull within two, 3-1. In typical Paul Orbon fashion, the redshirt junior knocked a 2-2 offering to left-center, driving in both runs on a two-bagger, deadlocking the score at three and sending the game to extras.

The Knights retaliated with four runs in the top of the 10^th while also capitalizing on a St. John's miscue that allowed the eventual game-winning tally to cross.

The Johnnies did not go away easily as Anthony Brienza smacked a leadoff single to center. Five pitches later, David Glancy ripped a two-run shot down the left-field line for his seventh of the season and brought the Johnnies within two, 7-5. The rally continued with consecutive four-pitch walks to Tate Ballestero and Mann before a fielder's choice put runners on the edges. St. John's managed to squeak in one more run on a muffled throw by FDU third baseman Franklin Gomez Jr. before FDU shut the door on the Red Storm's comeback.

St. John's will hit the road once again, heading to Washington, D.C., for a three-game showdown with Georgetown at Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Friday.