St. John’s Drops Contest to Louisville, 6-2, in Series Finale

Sunday, March 2

Louisville, Ky. (Jim Patterson Stadium)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

1-8

Louisville

8-2

St. John's

Louisville

St. John’s Drops Contest to Louisville, 6-2, in Series Finale

3/2/2025 5:03:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Jayder Raifstanger and Will Cowan both went 2-for-3 at the plate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The St. John's baseball team (1-8) dropped its series finale with Louisville (8-2), 6-2, on Sunday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

Jayder Raifstanger improved his on-base streak to nine games, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a walk. On the season, the sophomore is batting .382 with a team-best 13 hits.

Will Cowan also went 2-for-3 on the day, mashing a pair of doubles while working a walk.

Jackson Tucker and Anthony Brienza each logged a hit and a run scored on Sunday afternoon while Jared Beebe tallied a hit and an RBI against the Cardinals.

Victor Frederick had an impressive showing in his second career appearance. The freshman tossed a season-high five strikeouts and only allowed one run on three hits across four innings of work.

Following a clean first inning, Red Storm starting pitcher Kyle Chase found himself in trouble in the second frame, after he walked and plunked consecutive batters, putting runners on first and second base. The righty got out of the inning after putting together two straight flyouts, keeping the score knotted, 0-0.

The Cardinals posted three runs in the home half of the third inning. Two runners put themselves in scoring position from a walk, a single and a stolen base before Alex Alicea hit a three-run homer, giving Louisville a 3-0 lead.

Louisville made it a five-run game in the fourth as Lucas Moore doubled into left field, bringing a pair of Cardinals home and growing the lead to 5-0. Frederick, who came on in relief for Chase, produced a groundout to second base to flip the side.

Cowan slugged his second double in as many days to kick off the fifth frame, but Louisville starter Peter Michael was able to retire three consecutive Johnnies to keep them off the board.

The Red Storm posted its first run of the ball game in the top of the sixth inning. Tucker provided a leadoff single into center field and stole second an out later. Beebe was able to plate Tucker, smacking an RBI single through the right side to cut St. John's deficit down to four, 5-1. Shaun McMillan was plunked, followed by Cowan working a walk to load the bases with two outs, but the second Cardinal relief pitcher of the frame was able to find a strikeout and stop the bleeding.

The Johnnies tacked on another run in the opening half of the seventh. Brienza led off the side with a single up the middle, ahead of Luke Orbon reaching on a Cardinal fielding error, putting runners on first and second base. Brienza advanced to third on a double play and was plated by Raifstanger's second base knock of the afternoon, cutting the home advantage down to 5-2.

Frederick continued to deal in the fifth, sixth and seventh frames, going 1-2-3 in each inning, while picking up four punchouts to keep Louisville off the base paths.

Cowan crushed a ball into left-center field, one hopping the wall for a stand-up double with two outs in the eighth. The freshman then went to third on a wild pitch, but Cardinal reliever Brandin Crawford struck out the final batter of the inning to get out of the frame unscathed.

Louisville extended its lead back to four, 6-2, in the top of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Nate Earley notched a two-out RBI single down the right field line, bringing a runner home and pushing a runner to third. Conor Burns proceeded to enter the game, generating the inning's final out.

The Johnnies went down in order in the top of the ninth, as the Cardinals took the final game of the weekend series, 6-2.

The Red Storm will continue its road trip on Tuesday when it takes on Ohio State in a midweek contest. First pitch from Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, is set for 3 p.m.