St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 13
DeLand, Fla. (Melching Field at Conrad Park)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
0-1
3
vs
4
Ball State
1-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
St. Johns
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
7
1
Ball St.
0
0
1
0
0
0
3
0
4
5
0
Photo by: Steve Simoneau
Photo by: Steve Simoneau
Photo by: Steve Simoneau
Photo by: Steve Simoneau
Photo by: Steve Simoneau
St. John’s Falls in Season Opener to Ball State, 4-3
2/13/2026 4:13:00 PM | Baseball
The Red Storm are back in action for a doubleheader tomorrow
DeLand, Fla. – The St. John's baseball team dropped its season opener to Ball State at Melching Field at Conrad Park on Friday afternoon, 4-3.
The Red Storm (0-1) took the lead in the third inning before a three-run seventh inning by Ball State lifted the Cardinals (1-0) to an opening day victory.
Ayden Frey went 2-for-4 from the dish in his Johnnie debut, collecting two singles and scoring a run. Jon LeGrande tallied the squad's first round-tripper of the season with a two-run blast to open the scoring in the top of the third. The senior outfielder also swiped his first stolen base of the season.
On the mound, Liam O'Leary began his St. John's career with a strong outing. The junior right-hander went 5.0 innings, allowing just one run and striking out four batters on 76 pitches.
Following two scoreless innings, the Red Storm got on the board in the top of the third. After Dylan Fitzsimmons drew a walk, LeGrande cranked a 397-foot homer to right field to give St. John's a 2-0 lead.
Ball State responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame, but the Johnnies tacked on another run in the top of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Frey and Rob Mansour put runners on the corners, Cristian Bernardini logged a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Frey to score but Mansour was thrown out trying to advance, making it 3-1, through four innings
After a scoreless fifth, Tommy Conley came in for relief in the bottom of the sixth inning. The southpaw forced a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to end the frame.
The seventh inning saw Ball State rally, opening with a double. Following a pair of fielder's choices, the Cardinals came within one and capitalized on a throwing error to knot the contest at 3-3. Jack Nestler came in to thwart the Ball State hitters before an RBI single was all the home team needed to take a 4-3 lead.
At the top of the eighth frame, St. John's was threatening with a runner on first and second with two outs, but a strikeout ended the frame as the Johnnies went down in order in the ninth.
The Red Storm are back in action tomorrow for a twin bill against Minnesota (11 a.m.) and Ball State (2 p.m.). The Johnnies will then close the weekend on Sunday against Stetson with a 2 p.m. first pitch.
The Red Storm (0-1) took the lead in the third inning before a three-run seventh inning by Ball State lifted the Cardinals (1-0) to an opening day victory.
Ayden Frey went 2-for-4 from the dish in his Johnnie debut, collecting two singles and scoring a run. Jon LeGrande tallied the squad's first round-tripper of the season with a two-run blast to open the scoring in the top of the third. The senior outfielder also swiped his first stolen base of the season.
On the mound, Liam O'Leary began his St. John's career with a strong outing. The junior right-hander went 5.0 innings, allowing just one run and striking out four batters on 76 pitches.
Following two scoreless innings, the Red Storm got on the board in the top of the third. After Dylan Fitzsimmons drew a walk, LeGrande cranked a 397-foot homer to right field to give St. John's a 2-0 lead.
Ball State responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame, but the Johnnies tacked on another run in the top of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Frey and Rob Mansour put runners on the corners, Cristian Bernardini logged a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Frey to score but Mansour was thrown out trying to advance, making it 3-1, through four innings
After a scoreless fifth, Tommy Conley came in for relief in the bottom of the sixth inning. The southpaw forced a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to end the frame.
The seventh inning saw Ball State rally, opening with a double. Following a pair of fielder's choices, the Cardinals came within one and capitalized on a throwing error to knot the contest at 3-3. Jack Nestler came in to thwart the Ball State hitters before an RBI single was all the home team needed to take a 4-3 lead.
At the top of the eighth frame, St. John's was threatening with a runner on first and second with two outs, but a strikeout ended the frame as the Johnnies went down in order in the ninth.
The Red Storm are back in action tomorrow for a twin bill against Minnesota (11 a.m.) and Ball State (2 p.m.). The Johnnies will then close the weekend on Sunday against Stetson with a 2 p.m. first pitch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chambers, John (1-0)
L: Conley, Tommy (0-1)
Batting:
HR: LeGrande, Jon 1
RBI: Bernardini, Cristian 1 ; LeGrande, Jon 2
SF: Bernardini, Cristian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fitzimmons, Dylan 1 ; Frey, Ayden 1 ; LeGrande, Jon 1
SB: LeGrande, Jon 1
HBP: Mansour, Rob 1
Batting:
2B: Griffiths, Brett 1
RBI: Colligan, John 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 1 ; Muizelaar, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Colligan, John 1 ; Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Balius, Gavin 2
SB: Huebner, Brayden 1 ; Balius, Gavin 2
CS: Colligan, John 1
HBP: Gillis, Jacob 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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