The St. John’s baseball team finished a weekend slate of games 2-1-1.
March 9: St. John’s 16, Fairleigh Dickinson 1
Five players registered multi-RBI games as St. John’s earned the win over Fairleigh Dickinson, in a game that was shortened to eight innings due to darkness.
Junior Gui Gingras went 3-for-5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle as part of a career-high five-RBI game. Junior Michael Donadio was 3-for-3 with two RBI and also finished a triple shy of the cycle, while sophomore Jamie Galazin went 4-for-5 with two RBI and three stolen bases. Junior Robbie Knightes and sophomore Jesse Berardi added two RBI a piece, and senior Alex Caruso was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Freshman Joe Kelly (1-0) earned the win with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
March 11: St. John’s 3, Southern Illinois 6
St. John’s left 12 men on base and saw its winning streak snapped at three games after a series-opening 6-3 loss to Southern Illinois. Junior Troy Dixon went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for St. John’s (5-7), while senior Alex Caruso finished 1-for-2 with two walks and one run scored. Senior starter Joey Christopher (0-2) took the loss after allowing five runs, one earned, in 3.2 innings of work. Jake Hand was 1-for-4 with two RBI for Southern Illinois (9-4), while Nick Hutchins and Ryan Sabo each finished 1-for-3 with two runs. Joey Marciano (2-1) tossed 5.0 innings of three-run ball for the victory.
March 12: St. John’s 4, Southern Illinois 1
Junior catcher Troy Dixon cleared the bases with a tiebreaking, three-run double with two outs in the top of the ninth, as St. John’s leveled it series against Southern Illinois with a 4-1 victory. Dixon finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI to lead St. John’s (6-7), while sophomore Jamie Galazin went 3-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Junior starter Joe Nellis had three strikeouts in 6.0 innings of one-run ball in a no-decision, while senior Thomas Hackimer (2-0) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings for the win.
March 13: St. John’s 2, Southern Illinois 2 (12 innings)
In the series-finale between St. John’s and Southern Illinois, the game ended in a 2-2 tie due to a travel curfew. The tie was the first for the Red Storm since a 4-4 game against Boston College on May 8, 1999.
Sophomore Jesse Berardi was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for St. John’s (6-7-1), while classmate John Valente finished 2-for-2 with one run scored. Five Red Storm relievers combined to toss 10.0 scoreless innings, including freshman Cole Whitney (1.1 IP), senior Kevin Torres (3.1 IP), graduate student Joe Napolitano (0.2 IP), senior Thomas Hackimer (2.2 IP) and freshman Joe Kelly (2.0 IP).
St. John’s returns to action on March 16, hosting Fairfield University (4-7) for a 3 p.m. home-opener at Kaiser Stadium.
