St. John’s Edges Butler, 8-7

Saturday, April 20

Queens, N.Y. (Kaiser Stadium)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

Butler

4/20/2024 6:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm picks up its 25th win of the season on Saturday

QUEENS, N.Y. (April 20, 2024) – The St. John's baseball team (25-8-1, 6-2) staves off a late comeback by Butler (14-24, 1-7) to secure an 8-7 victory inside Jack Kaiser Stadium on Saturday.

St. John's had ample production from the right side of the infield as first baseman Marty Higgins and second baseman Anthony Brienza recorded two RBIs and a run scored. Chad Falcon and Garrett Scavelli each chipped in two hits on the afternoon with the latter crossing home plate twice.

Butler jumped out to a 4-0 edge in the opening frame. The Bulldogs sent all nine batters to the dish, logging six hits in the first inning.

Both teams were held scoreless until the Johnnies put a two-spot on the board in the bottom of the fourth. One day after smacking his 100^th career hit, Higgins delivered a leadoff single on a hot shot toward third. After moving up 180 feet on a sacrifice bunt and a single by Scavelli, Falcon delivered an RBI single, poking a 1-0 pitch through the right side to knock in the Red Storm's first run. Brienza dropped down a bunt of his own on the ensuing pitch, knocking in Scavelli and bringing St. John's within two, 4-2.

Starter Evan Chaffee settled in after Butler pestered him early, going on to allow just two hits and retiring 10 straight batters before concluding his outing with two outs in the sixth inning. The southpaw induced six straight groundouts between the third and fourth frames before registering his second-straight 1-2-3 stanza in the fifth. Chaffee finished his 5.2 innings of work with six strikeouts and walked just one batter.

St. John's AJ Lausten earned his first collegiate win on Saturday as both teams exchanged blows in the sixth and seventh innings. The right-hander kept Butler at bay through his 2.1 frames of action, surrendering just two hits on the afternoon. The Hartford, Wis., native punched four Bulldogs while throwing 29 of his 40 pitches for strikes.

The Red Storm capitalized on a fielding miscue by Butler in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and runners on first and second, the Bulldogs dropped a popup behind first base and allowed one run to score. Two pitches later, Higgins sent an 0-1 offering up the middle, bringing Blake Mayberry and pinch runner Cristian Bernardini around to score for a 5-4 Red Storm advantage.

St. John's extended its lead to four, 8-4, with another three runs in the eighth inning. Brienza slapped a double down the right-field line, knocking in Scavelli for a two-run edge. Tucker followed up with his third triple of the year to bring Brienza around to score and put the Johnnies ahead by three. Beauchamp knocked home one more for good measure on a sacrifice fly to right, claiming an 8-4 advantage.

Butler did not go down quietly as the Bulldogs nearly came all the way back with a three-run top of the ninth. However, the Johnnies were able to get the final out as Sam Mettert blew strike three past a swinging Keegan Connors to end the game.

The Johnnies will look for its second conference sweep of the season when they return to action on Sunday against Butler. First pitch from Jack Kaiser Stadium is slated for noon.