St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 14
Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Baseball Stadium)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Liberty
St. John’s to Open 2025 Campaign at Liberty
2/13/2025 11:29:00 AM | Baseball
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Due to expected inclement weather, The Red Storm will play a doubleheader against the Flames on Friday
QUEENS, N.Y. – The reigning BIG EAST Champion St. John's baseball team will square off with Liberty to open its 2025 campaign this weekend, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday starting at noon from Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Due to inclement weather, the Johnnies' Saturday contest will be played following its noon game on Friday at 4 p.m. Sunday's game is slated for a 1 p.m. start. Friday's first game and Sunday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+, while Friday's second game will be an audio-only broadcast. Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's captured its conference-leading 10th BIG EAST Tournament Title and made its 38th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year. The group finished the 2024 campaign with a 38-18-1 overall record and a 14-7 mark in BIG EAST play to place second in the league.
The Johnnies swept their way through its 17th conference tournament appearance and first under reigning BIG EAST Coach of the Year Mike Hampton, walking off Georgetown, 11-9, in the opening round before beating Xavier, 8-7, the next day. The Red Storm defeated the Hoyas again in the BIG EAST Championship Game, 4-2.
St. John's was selected to make its third-ever appearance at the Charlottesville Regional, last season. The Johnnies tallied their 67th program win in the NCAA Tournament, rallying to take down Penn, 10-9, in extra innings in their second game of the regional. Anthony Brienza completed the team's comeback with a walk-off RBI single in the 12th inning.
The Red Storm's pitching staff dominated last season with a 4.35 ERA (17th in NCAA) and four shutouts (25th in NCAA). St. John's was one of 11 teams at the Division I level that had three pitchers with six or more wins last season. Of BIG EAST pitchers to toss at least seven innings last year, the Johnnies had four of the conference's top-10 hurlers in ERA.
The Johnnies were predicted to finish third in the 2025 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, the highest preseason positioning for St John's since it was picked second before the start of the 2020 season. Four players; Jackson Tucker, Luke Orbon, Evan Chaffee and Louis Marinaro, were selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, marking the most selections for the program since 2019.
Chaffee is positioned to be the Red Storm's starter in its season opener on Friday, following a solid first season in red and white. The redshirt sophomore is expected to make a big jump in 2025, after shining in 15 appearances, making 13 starts with a 3-1 record and 55 strikeouts across 70.1 innings of work.
Orbon returns as the Johnnies' shortstop, after an impressive 2024 campaign that saw him slash .271/.367/.427 with 52 hits, 38 runs scored and 33 RBIs. The senior also earned an All-Tournament Team nod at the conclusion of the program's 10th BIG EAST Tournament Championship run.
Tucker will continue to be a rock in center field for the Red Storm, after boasting a .293 mark at the plate to go with a team-best 55 runs and 21 stolen bases last year. Brienza enters his final season in Queens, after producing a steady 2024 season where he batted .282 with 55 hits, 39 runs scored and 20 RBIs.
Marinaro was a lockdown reliever for St. John's last year, posting a 6-3 mark with a 3.38 ERA, 58 punchouts and just 16 walks in 48 innings of work. Over his final six appearances of the regular season, the lefty allowed just one run on six hits with 19 strikeouts over 16.2 innings of relief.
St. John's and Liberty will meet for the 15th time in program history and for the first time since the 2018 season. In the last series between the two teams from May 4-6, 2018, the Red Storm swept the Flames across a three-game set at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Liberty comes into 2025 after posting a 24-34 overall record with an 11-13 finish in its inaugural season in Conference USA. Head Coach Bradley LeCroy enters his first season with the Flames after two successful campaigns at VCU, where he won the 2024 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Regionals.
Starting pitcher Ben Blair was named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team following a selection to the 2024 CUSA All-Freshman Team. The righty posted a 2-2 record with three saves and a 3.51 ERA over 48.2 innings with 42 strikeouts last year.
Following its opening weekend, the Red Storm will look ahead to a three-game set with Wake Forest at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C., from Feb. 21-23.
Due to inclement weather, the Johnnies' Saturday contest will be played following its noon game on Friday at 4 p.m. Sunday's game is slated for a 1 p.m. start. Friday's first game and Sunday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+, while Friday's second game will be an audio-only broadcast. Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's captured its conference-leading 10th BIG EAST Tournament Title and made its 38th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year. The group finished the 2024 campaign with a 38-18-1 overall record and a 14-7 mark in BIG EAST play to place second in the league.
The Johnnies swept their way through its 17th conference tournament appearance and first under reigning BIG EAST Coach of the Year Mike Hampton, walking off Georgetown, 11-9, in the opening round before beating Xavier, 8-7, the next day. The Red Storm defeated the Hoyas again in the BIG EAST Championship Game, 4-2.
St. John's was selected to make its third-ever appearance at the Charlottesville Regional, last season. The Johnnies tallied their 67th program win in the NCAA Tournament, rallying to take down Penn, 10-9, in extra innings in their second game of the regional. Anthony Brienza completed the team's comeback with a walk-off RBI single in the 12th inning.
The Red Storm's pitching staff dominated last season with a 4.35 ERA (17th in NCAA) and four shutouts (25th in NCAA). St. John's was one of 11 teams at the Division I level that had three pitchers with six or more wins last season. Of BIG EAST pitchers to toss at least seven innings last year, the Johnnies had four of the conference's top-10 hurlers in ERA.
The Johnnies were predicted to finish third in the 2025 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, the highest preseason positioning for St John's since it was picked second before the start of the 2020 season. Four players; Jackson Tucker, Luke Orbon, Evan Chaffee and Louis Marinaro, were selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, marking the most selections for the program since 2019.
Chaffee is positioned to be the Red Storm's starter in its season opener on Friday, following a solid first season in red and white. The redshirt sophomore is expected to make a big jump in 2025, after shining in 15 appearances, making 13 starts with a 3-1 record and 55 strikeouts across 70.1 innings of work.
Orbon returns as the Johnnies' shortstop, after an impressive 2024 campaign that saw him slash .271/.367/.427 with 52 hits, 38 runs scored and 33 RBIs. The senior also earned an All-Tournament Team nod at the conclusion of the program's 10th BIG EAST Tournament Championship run.
Tucker will continue to be a rock in center field for the Red Storm, after boasting a .293 mark at the plate to go with a team-best 55 runs and 21 stolen bases last year. Brienza enters his final season in Queens, after producing a steady 2024 season where he batted .282 with 55 hits, 39 runs scored and 20 RBIs.
Marinaro was a lockdown reliever for St. John's last year, posting a 6-3 mark with a 3.38 ERA, 58 punchouts and just 16 walks in 48 innings of work. Over his final six appearances of the regular season, the lefty allowed just one run on six hits with 19 strikeouts over 16.2 innings of relief.
St. John's and Liberty will meet for the 15th time in program history and for the first time since the 2018 season. In the last series between the two teams from May 4-6, 2018, the Red Storm swept the Flames across a three-game set at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Liberty comes into 2025 after posting a 24-34 overall record with an 11-13 finish in its inaugural season in Conference USA. Head Coach Bradley LeCroy enters his first season with the Flames after two successful campaigns at VCU, where he won the 2024 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Regionals.
Starting pitcher Ben Blair was named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team following a selection to the 2024 CUSA All-Freshman Team. The righty posted a 2-2 record with three saves and a 3.51 ERA over 48.2 innings with 42 strikeouts last year.
Following its opening weekend, the Red Storm will look ahead to a three-game set with Wake Forest at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C., from Feb. 21-23.
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