St. John's University Athletics
Friday, March 7
Queens, N.Y. (Kaiser Stadium)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
1-10
5
vs
18
NJIT
6-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
NJIT
3
0
0
2
11
0
0
2
0
18
12
0
St. John's
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
5
16
0
St. John’s Falls to NJIT, 18-5
3/7/2025 8:00:00 PM | Baseball
Jayder Raifstanger and Luke Orbon both hit homers in the contest
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's baseball team (1-10) fell to NJIT (6-6), 18-5, on Friday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Jayder Raifstanger had a 3-for-5 day at the plate, tallying a double and a homer with two RBIs. The sophomore has now extended his on-base streak to 11 games and has tallied a hit in five straight contests.
Luke Orbon posted two hits, including his first home run of the 2025 campaign, with a pair of RBIs. Jackson Tucker went 2-for-5 on Friday afternoon, scoring a pair of runs himself.
Shaun McMillan had an excellent showing at the dish, reaching base four times on two hits and two walks with a run scored. Jared Beebe logged two hits, including a double, and batted in a run against the Highlanders.
Tyler Longoria pitched a season-high 3.2 innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits while tossing his first career strikeout.
The Highlanders struck first in the top of the opening inning. After Evan Chaffee issued free passes to the first two runners of the game, NJIT's Ray Ortiz singled up the middle to bring a runner home from second. An out later, Ty Sallie went home on a passed ball followed by Austin Francis scoring on a groundout, giving NJIT an initial 3-0 lead.
The Red Storm responded quickly in the bottom of the first, as Raifstanger crushed a 2-2 pitch over the center field wall, putting the Johnnies on the board, 3-1. McMillan and Adam Agresti both worked walks, putting runners on first and second, but Highlander starting pitcher Holden deJong found the last out of the frame, neutralizing the threat.
After a scoreless second inning, the Johnnies tacked on another run in the home half of the third. Tucker doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before Raifstanger laced a double into right-center, bringing him home to cut the Johnnies' deficit to one, 3-2. McMillan proceeded to single into left field, putting runners on the corners with one out, but deJung settled back in, putting away consecutive batters and retiring the side.
NJIT put up a two spot in the top of the fourth. The Highlanders earned a pair of base runners from a walk and a base hit, both of which were brought home off a Cole Campbell bases-clearing double, growing their advantage back to three, 5-2.
Orbon crushed a home run in the first at-bat of the bottom of the fourth inning. The senior clobbered a 3-2 pitch out to right field, cutting the NJIT advantage to 5-3.
The Highlanders recorded 11 runs in the fifth frame, taking advantage of five walks, four hits and three hit-by-pitches, going ahead, 16-3.
The Johnnies loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, off back-to-back Raifstanger and Beebe singles and a McMillan walk. NJIT got out of the jam, producing a strikeout, a pop-up and a groundout to flip the inning.
St. John's tacked on a score in the bottom of the seventh. Following base hits from McMillan and Will Cowan, Orbon whacked an RBI single into center field, plating McMillan to trail, 16-4.
NJIT picked up a pair of insurance runs in the eighth, both coming off hits into right field that grew the lead to 18-4.
Beebe slapped a two-out RBI double into right-center field in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Tucker home who reached on a fielder's choice, which cut NJIT's advantage to 18-5. The Johnnies put two runners on base in the final stanza, but couldn't score, as the Highlanders closed out the game.
The Red Storm will continue its weekend series with the Highlanders tomorrow. First pitch from Jack Kaiser Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
Jayder Raifstanger had a 3-for-5 day at the plate, tallying a double and a homer with two RBIs. The sophomore has now extended his on-base streak to 11 games and has tallied a hit in five straight contests.
Luke Orbon posted two hits, including his first home run of the 2025 campaign, with a pair of RBIs. Jackson Tucker went 2-for-5 on Friday afternoon, scoring a pair of runs himself.
Shaun McMillan had an excellent showing at the dish, reaching base four times on two hits and two walks with a run scored. Jared Beebe logged two hits, including a double, and batted in a run against the Highlanders.
Tyler Longoria pitched a season-high 3.2 innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits while tossing his first career strikeout.
The Highlanders struck first in the top of the opening inning. After Evan Chaffee issued free passes to the first two runners of the game, NJIT's Ray Ortiz singled up the middle to bring a runner home from second. An out later, Ty Sallie went home on a passed ball followed by Austin Francis scoring on a groundout, giving NJIT an initial 3-0 lead.
The Red Storm responded quickly in the bottom of the first, as Raifstanger crushed a 2-2 pitch over the center field wall, putting the Johnnies on the board, 3-1. McMillan and Adam Agresti both worked walks, putting runners on first and second, but Highlander starting pitcher Holden deJong found the last out of the frame, neutralizing the threat.
After a scoreless second inning, the Johnnies tacked on another run in the home half of the third. Tucker doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before Raifstanger laced a double into right-center, bringing him home to cut the Johnnies' deficit to one, 3-2. McMillan proceeded to single into left field, putting runners on the corners with one out, but deJung settled back in, putting away consecutive batters and retiring the side.
NJIT put up a two spot in the top of the fourth. The Highlanders earned a pair of base runners from a walk and a base hit, both of which were brought home off a Cole Campbell bases-clearing double, growing their advantage back to three, 5-2.
Orbon crushed a home run in the first at-bat of the bottom of the fourth inning. The senior clobbered a 3-2 pitch out to right field, cutting the NJIT advantage to 5-3.
The Highlanders recorded 11 runs in the fifth frame, taking advantage of five walks, four hits and three hit-by-pitches, going ahead, 16-3.
The Johnnies loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, off back-to-back Raifstanger and Beebe singles and a McMillan walk. NJIT got out of the jam, producing a strikeout, a pop-up and a groundout to flip the inning.
St. John's tacked on a score in the bottom of the seventh. Following base hits from McMillan and Will Cowan, Orbon whacked an RBI single into center field, plating McMillan to trail, 16-4.
NJIT picked up a pair of insurance runs in the eighth, both coming off hits into right field that grew the lead to 18-4.
Beebe slapped a two-out RBI double into right-center field in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Tucker home who reached on a fielder's choice, which cut NJIT's advantage to 18-5. The Johnnies put two runners on base in the final stanza, but couldn't score, as the Highlanders closed out the game.
The Red Storm will continue its weekend series with the Highlanders tomorrow. First pitch from Jack Kaiser Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: deJong, Holden (3-1)
L: Chaffee, Evan (0-3)
S: Morrissey, MT (1)
Batting:
2B: Campbell, Cole 1 ; Sallie, Ty 1
RBI: Campbell, Cole 1 ; Sallie, Ty 4 ; Ortiz, Ray 2 ; Eppinger, Andrew 2 ; Francis, Austin 2 ; Caballero, Jaden 1 ; Doyle, Michael 1 ; Vega, Nick 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Campbell, Cole 4 ; Sallie, Ty 2 ; Ortiz, Ray 2 ; Eppinger, Andrew 1 ; Francis, Austin 1 ; Caballero, Jaden 2 ; Doyle, Michael 3 ; Thomas, Mattie 1 ; Vega, Nick 2
SB: Caballero, Jaden 1
HBP: Ortiz, Ray 1 ; Eppinger, Andrew 1 ; Francis, Austin 1 ; Caballero, Jaden 1 ; Thomas, Mattie 1 ; Vega, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Tucker, Jackson 1 ; Raifstanger, Jayder 1 ; Beebe, Jared 1
HR: Raifstanger, Jayder 1 ; Orbon, Luke 1
RBI: Raifstanger, Jayder 2 ; Beebe, Jared 1 ; Orbon, Luke 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tucker, Jackson 2 ; Raifstanger, Jayder 1 ; McMillan, Shaun 1 ; Orbon, Luke 1
SB: LeGrande, Jon 1
CS: Tucker, Jackson 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/UTL
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballSt. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.11.25
Sunday, May 11
St. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.10.25
Saturday, May 10
St. John's Baseball vs Iona Highlights 4.29.2025
Tuesday, April 29
St. John's Baseball vs Rutgers Highlights 4.22.2025
Tuesday, April 22