St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
7-12
Charlotte
13-6
Baseball Falls in Series Finale at Charlotte, 10-9
3/15/2026 6:30:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm continue road trip to Stony Brook on Tuesday
The Red Storm (7-12) led by as many as three runs on two separate occasions and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, but the 49ers (13-6) walked it off in the bottom of the ninth to avoid the series sweep.
The top third of the Johnnies' offense carried the load, with Jon LeGrande, Jayder Raifstanger and Shaun McMillan all collecting two hits apiece and each driving in at least one run. Lewis Rodriguez was a perfect 3-for-3 from the dish, adding a run and an RBI to his line. Jack Tate came in to pinch hit in the top of the ninth and delivered an RBI double to put St. John's ahead at the time. Adam Agresti reached base four times, all via walks, including two intentional passes.
The pitching staff was led by Ian Mowad, who went 3.2 innings to start. Four relievers came in and recorded outs, with Victor Frederick and Tyler Longoria as the only two pitchers out of the bullpen to go longer than 1.0 inning.
After a scoreless first inning, St. John's got on the board first with a four-run inning. Following a pair of walks from Agresti and Dylan Fitzsimmons, an Ayden Frey single scored Agresti with runners on first and second and no outs. Three sacrifice bunts kept the line moving, as the Johnnies capitalized on an error, extending the lead to 3-0. LeGrande knocked in the final run of the inning to make it 4-0.
Charlotte answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 4-2.
In the top of the fourth frame, the Johnnies added an insurance run. With Sean Britt reaching on an error and Rodriguez singling, the Red Storm had two runners on with no outs. Britt advanced to third after LeGrande grounded into a double play. Raifstanger roped a single to center to bring Britt around to score, 5-2.
The 49ers chipped away at the lead with a pair of tallies to make it 5-4.
The Johnnie offense kept rolling in the top of the fifth, using a two-out rally to take their second three-run advantage of the afternoon. With two outs and runners on first and second, LeGrande singled to drive in his second run of the contest. Following a Raifstanger walk, McMillan delivered an RBI single to plate the second run of the inning and make it 7-3.
Charlotte erased the deficit in the bottom of the sixth and took the lead in the seventh, 8-7.
St. John's mounted a comeback of its own in the top of the ninth inning. Rodriguez used a one-out single to start the rally and stole second before LeGrande moved him over to third.
Down to their final out, the Johnnies tied the contest with an RBI single from Raifstanger. In the next at-bat, Jack Tate scored Raifstanger from first on a pinch-hit double to give St. John's a 9-8 lead.
The 49ers sealed the deal in the bottom of the ninth to avoid the series sweep, 10-9.
St. John's is back in action on Tuesday at Stony Brook to continue its seven-game road trip. First pitch from Joe Nathan Field is set for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ryan Combs (1-0)
L: Longoria, Tyler (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Tate, Jack 1 ; Britt, Sean 1
RBI: LeGrande, Jon 2 ; Raifstanger, Jayder 2 ; McMillan, Shaun 1 ; Tate, Jack 1 ; Frey, Ayden 1 ; Britt, Sean 1 ; Rodriguez, Lewis 1
SH: Mansour, Rob 1 ; Britt, Sean 1 ; Rodriguez, Lewis 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Raifstanger, Jayder 1 ; Agresti, Adam 1 ; Fitzsimmons, Dylan 1 ; Frey, Ayden 1 ; Britt, Sean 3 ; Rodriguez, Lewis 2
SB: Rodriguez, Lewis 1
CS: LeGrande, Jon 1
PO: LeGrande, Jon 1
Batting:
2B: Spencer Nolan 2 ; Dylan Koontz 1 ; Johnny Sutryk 1 ; Adrian Jimenez 1 ; Cale Stricklin 2
RBI: Spencer Nolan 2 ; Alec DeMartino 2 ; Todd Hudson 2 ; Adrian Jimenez 1 ; Cale Stricklin 1
SH: Johnny Sutryk 1
SF: Adrian Jimenez 1 ; Cale Stricklin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Spencer Nolan 2 ; Robert Nedry 1 ; Dylan Koontz 1 ; Cody Gunderson 1 ; Todd Hudson 1 ; Johnny Sutryk 1 ; Adrian Jimenez 1 ; Cale Stricklin 1 ; Juan Rivera 1
SB: Robert Nedry 1 ; Johnny Sutryk 2
HBP: Robert Nedry 1 ; Dylan Koontz 2 ; Cody Gunderson 1
