Garrett Scavelli Smacks Two Homers in St. John’s 15-7 Win at UConn

Saturday, April 13

Storrs, Conn. (Elliot Ballpark)

2:05 p.m.

St. John's University

22-7-1, 0

UConn

15-17, 0

St. John's

Connecticut

Garrett Scavelli Smacks Two Homers in St. John’s 15-7 Win at UConn

4/13/2024 7:12:00 PM | Baseball

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The Red Storm earns first road win against Huskies since 2013

STORRS, Conn. – Outfielder Garrett Scavelli registered two home runs in the St. John's baseball team's first victory at UConn in over a decade with a 15-7 win inside Elliot Ballpark on Saturday.

The Red Storm (23-6-1, 4-1) snapped a five-game skid on the road against the Huskies (15-17, 3-2) with its eight-run triumph, marking its first win in Storrs since a 3-0 shutout on April 5, 2013. Furthermore, the win also marked its largest margin of victory versus UConn away from Queens since April 26, 2009, when the Johnnies earned a 13-4 decision.

All nine starters registered at least one base hit in Saturday's contest, seeing six also cross home plate on at least two occasions. Scavelli led the charge with a 2-for-4 day at the dish, driving in a team-best four runs in his first collegiate multi-homer game. The Johnnies' left fielder also scored three times on Saturday.

Designated hitter Blake Mayberry paced the team with three hits on the afternoon, all of which were doubles. The Philadelphia native became the first Johnnie to log a trio of two-baggers in a game since Aaron Mann against Villanova on May 7, 2023. Mayberry also chipped in two tallies.

Shortstop Luke Orbon smacked his third home run of the season, driving in three runs and crossing home plate twice in the victory. Jimmy Keenan rounded out those with multiple RBIs on the day, going 2-for-4 with two knock-ins and a trio of runs scored. Marty Higgins and Jace Jeremiah cracked the starting lineup on Saturday, both scoring twice for the Red Storm.

The Johnnies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, thanks to a second-inning solo shot from Scavelli over the right-field fence.

UConn quickly responded with a four-spot on the board in the home half of the second. Korey Morton matched Scavelli with a solo home run before Matt Malcom went deep for a two-run homer and a 3-1 lead. The Huskies added one more on an RBI groundout to claim a three-run edge.

St. John's retaliated equally as fast with three runs in the top of the third. Following a leadoff single from Jackson Tucker and a two-out walk to Keenan, Orbon turned on the first pitch he saw and laced a rocket over the right-field wall for a three-run dinger, deadlocking the game at four through three frames.

Red Storm starter Evan Chaffee settled in after UConn's best offensive inning of the day, blanking the Huskies in the third and fourth frames. The southpaw worked out of trouble in the latter stanza, stranding runners on the corners by getting Jake Studley to fly out to center.

St. John's utilized the long ball again in the fifth to claim a two-run edge. Mayberry laced a two-out double down the left-field line to start the rally. Two pitches later, Keenan belted a moonshot over the right-center field scoreboard to claim a 6-4 advantage.

The Huskies cut its deficit in half, 6-5, with one run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Luke Broadhurst. However, Chaffee limited UConn from getting more than its one tally in the frame, painting the edge for strike three on Maddix Dalena, who hit three home runs on Friday, and leaving the bases loaded. The Johnnies' starter remained undefeated with Saturday's win, moving to 3-0 on the year.

In the top of the sixth, the Red Storm tacked on two more runs. Higgins took a pitch off the body before advancing to second on a walk to Scavelli. After both runners moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Jeremiah, two tallies crossed on a miscue by UConn's Broadhurst for an 8-5 edge.

Scavelli made the Huskies pay once again in the seventh inning, taking an 0-1 offering into the berm in right field for a three-run homer and an 11-5 lead. The Red Storm added one more before the end of the frame as Tucker dropped down a bunt and saw Jeremiah cross on the safety squeeze for a 12-5 lead.

UConn chipped away at the Red Storm lead with a pair of tallies, 12-7 in the seventh. However, the Johnnies halted the first-and-second threat with a strikeout from Sam Mettert, followed by a superb pick in the dirt from first baseman Higgins on a 360 throw from Orbon to end the inning.

St. John's cashed in twice in the eighth inning, once on a passed ball and another on a lured throw on a steal attempt for a 14-7 lead. St. John's added one more in the ninth on a Beauchamp RBI single through the left side for an eight-run cushion.

Mettert finished his four innings of work with back-to-back scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth. The Indianapolis, Ind., native picked up his fourth save of the season, logging two of his three strikeouts in the ninth, including a swing-and-miss to Caleb Shpur to end the game.

The Johnnies will return to Elliot Ballpark for the rubber match against UConn on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. St. John's will look for its first road series win over the Huskies since April 24-26, 2009.