St. John’s Takes Down Butler In a Thriller, 11-10

Friday, May 16

Indianapolis, Ind. (Bulldog Park)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

28-22, 12-8

Butler

15-38, 4-16

St. John's

Butler

St. John’s Takes Down Butler In a Thriller, 11-10

5/16/2025 5:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Jackson Tucker became the program’s all-time career runs leader

INDIANAPOLIS – The St. John's baseball team (28-22, 12-8 BIG EAST) took down Butler (15-37, 4-15 BIG EAST) in a thriller, 11-10, on Friday afternoon at Bulldog Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

Jackson Tucker reached base four times on Friday afternoon, tallying three runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and an RBI. With his trio of scores, the senior surpassed Michael Donadio's all-time career runs scored record that has been in place since 2017. The speedy outfielder has now logged 197 tallies across his four-year Red Storm tenure.

Luke Orbon collected a career-high four RBIs at Bulldog Park, alongside a double, two free passes and a score. Shaun McMillan logged two hits, two RBIs and a run in the contest. Will Cowan registered three hits, including a double, with an RBI and a tally.

Jared Beebe and Jayder Raifstanger each scored twice against the Bulldogs. Beebe reached base three times on a double, a single and a hit by pitch to go along with an RBI.

Jed Boyle was fantastic yet again, picking up his eighth win of the season while tossing 2.1 innings of one-hit ball. The righty also tied his career high of seven punchouts from April 7, 2024, at Villanova.

The Red Storm took advantage of a bases load situation to kick off the first inning. Tucker and Raifstanger led off the frame by reaching on consecutive errors, while Beebe loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch. McMillan and Cowan drove in Tucker and Raifstanger on a pair of RBI singles, while Orbon scored Beebe on an RBI groundout, giving the Johnnies an early 3-0 edge.

In the bottom of the second, Butler put itself on the board. Two Bulldogs reached on a pair of singles, before a base hit and an error in the same play scored the runner on second, cutting the home deficit down to two, 3-1.

Butler continued chipping away at St. John's lead in the home half of the third. Three batters reached on a pair of hit-by-pitches with a single to load the bases. A Bulldog came across to score on a Red Storm error to trail by one, 3-2.

In the next inning, Butler tacked on four more tallies to take the lead. A pair of two-run singles plated four Bulldogs, giving the home team a three-score 6-3 advantage.

The Red Storm notched five scores in the opening half of the fifth frame. St. John's started the stanza with Tucker smacking a single into center field and Raifstanger working a six-pitch walk. They both moved over a bag on a wild pitch, before Tucker was scored on a McMillan RBI base knock. Sean Britt proceeded to walk to load the diamond, ahead of Orbon smashing a three-run bases clearing double to the center field wall. Anthony Brienza capped off the scoring by singling up the middle, plating Orbon to give the Johnnies the lead back, 8-6.

In the flip side of the fifth frame, Butler added a number to their scoring column. After David Ayers led off the inning with a single and moved all the way to third on an error, he scored on an RBI single, cutting St. John's edge to one, 8-7.

The Red Storm retaliated in the away half of the sixth with a tally. After striking out, Tucker found himself on base by outrunning the throw from a wild pitch. He then stole second and advanced to third on another wild pitch, scoring on a Beebe RBI single that grew the lead back to two, 9-7.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs used an Ayers solo home run to only trail by one, 9-8.

The scoring production continued as the Johnnies posted another run in the top of the seventh. Cowan led off the frame by doubling down the left field line, while Brienza reached on a fielder's choice, two outs later. Jon LeGrande proceeded to laser an RBI single through the left side, scoring Cowan to give the Red Storm a 10-8 edge.

Butler tied the game up in the home side of the seventh frame. Two players reached on walks, in front of a two-run double that cleared the bases and knotted the game, 10-10.

St. John's retook the lead in the eighth stanza. After Beebe doubled to right-center field and went to third base on a passed ball, he scored on a Britt sacrifice fly, putting the team up by one, 11-10.

Boyle worked himself out of trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two runners on, the southpaw tossed back-to-back strikeouts to flip the side. Boyle picked up three more strikeouts as he shut down the Bulldogs in the ninth to claim this eighth win of the year.

The Red Storm will finish off its regular season slate tomorrow afternoon with a rubber match against the Bulldogs. First pitch from Bulldog Park is slated for 1 p.m.