St. John’s Falls to Fordham, 2-1

Sunday, March 24

Bronx, N.Y. (Houlihan Park)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

16-5

Fordham

8-14

St. John's

Fordham

3/24/2024 3:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm sees 13-game winning streak snapped on Sunday

QUEENS, N.Y. (March 22, 2024) – The St. John's baseball team fell to Fordham, 2-1, in pitchers' duel at Houlihan Park on Sunday afternoon. The setback ended the Red Storm's 13-game winning streak.

Sophomore Jimmy Keenan logged three of the team's seven hits on the afternoon, posting a pair of singles and a double. Garrett Scavelli chipped in two base knocks of his own, including an RBI double in the ninth.

The Johnnies (16-5) threatened with two outs in the first inning. Blake Mayberry singled before a Keenan double down the left-field line moved him to third and a walk to Luke Orbon loaded the bases. Fordham starter Koen Smith worked out of the jam and kept the Red Storm off the board.

Right-hander Kyle Chase made his collegiate debut on Sunday, after missing his freshman season due to Tommy John surgery. The Levittown, N.Y., native tossed a perfect home half of the first on 11 pitches, striking out the first and last batter of the frame.

The Red Storm put a runner 90 feet away from home plate for the second-straight inning, nearly capitalizing on a Fordham (8-14) dropped fly ball in the outfield. However, Smith staved off St. John's scoring opportunity and held the scoreless tie.

Originally scheduled starter Evan Chaffee came on in relief of Chase to start the second inning and found himself in trouble. With runners on the corners, the lefty stepped off the rubber as the Rams' Tommy McAndrews was caught trying to steal home and ended the frame.

The Johnnies held Fordham scoreless through the first four innings with Keenan and Anthony Brienza being instrumental defensively in the fourth. The duo collaborated for a pair of caught-stealing opportunities on pitch-out attempts, including one to end the frame and keeping the game deadlocked at zero.

Both squads continued to be blanked through the first seven innings, seeing reliever Louis Marinaro keeping the Fordham lineup off balance in the latter two frames. Coming into the game with runners on second and third with one out in the sixth, the southpaw induced back-to-back pop-ups to Brienza get out of the frame unscathed. Marinaro followed up with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh, part of a 1-2-3 frame to remain tied.

The Rams caught a break in the eighth after Matt Dieguez extended a single into a double, despite the ball arriving at second base before he slid into the bag. Fordham knocked in two runs after the play to break the draw.

The Johnnies did not go down quietly as Scavelli roped a double into the left-center alley. Aidan Cohall chugged around third and dove head first into the plate, evading the tag and scoring the Red Storm's first run of the day. Fordham induced back-to-back putouts to end the Johnnies' 13-game winning streak.

St. John's will look to bounce back and take the series when Fordham returns to Queens tomorrow afternoon. First pitch from Jack Kaiser Stadium is slated for a 3 p.m.