St. John’s Baseball continued Big East play on April 25, opening the series with a doubleheader against the UConn Huskies.
Game 2 of the series was moved to the previous day due to inclement weather on Saturday. The Red Storm would try to get back in the conference win column after a sweep by Creighton. The Huskies entered the series on a hot 10-game win streak, sweeping Georgetown and winning mid-week one-off games against Boston College, the University of Massachusetts, Army and Hofstra University.
The series opener ended in the Johnnies losing a shootout 13-8.
Making the start for St. John’s was freshman David Rodriguez. He would struggle in Game 1, allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks in just three innings pitched. The Johnnies’ offense would pick him up, scoring seven runs of their own in the second and fourth innings.
Senior center fielder Jackson Tucker and junior left fielder Jon LeGrande led the Red Storm’s early surge with three RBIs each. LeGrande’s single to right field would bring the first run for the home team and Tucker’s bases-loaded one-out double was crucial to St. John’s early comeback.
Leads would be exchanged again in the fifth inning. Outfielder Sam Biller would take the lead back for the Huskies with a solo home run into the Johnnies’ bullpen. LeGrande would respond to the homer with another right field single for his third RBI of the game.
UConn would instantly take their lead back for good in the sixth inning. Tyler Minick opened the frame with a leadoff bomb to left field off of sophomore Jacob Ruiz. Senior catcher Matt Garbowski would bring in the Huskies’ 11th run of the game on an opposite-field double.
An Aidan Dougherty double and a Minick single for his fifth hit of the game would combine for two more runs in the ninth to seal the 13-8 victory for UConn.
Game 2 of the doubleheader wouldn’t see much improvement from St. John’s. The Huskies would put up another double-digit performance in a 17-6 win.
Evan Chaffee would make the start for the Johnnies against Tommy Ellisen in the afternoon matchup. Like Game 1, the Red Storm starter would struggle early, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits in 5 ⅔ innings of work. Ellisen would go a similar distance, pitching six innings while only allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks.
Dougherty would be a massive part of the Huskies’ offense in Game 2. The junior left fielder brought in four runs on five hits, four of which were doubles. Minick would also continue his attack on St. John’s pitching with three RBIs and a two-run home run.
LeGrande would lead the Johnnies’ offense again, batting in three runs on three hits, including a triple and two singles. Shaun McMillan would also contribute to the attack with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
The third and final game of the series would complete UConn’s blowout sweep with a 14-3 win.
Victor Frederick would start for the Red Storm, pitching 4 ⅓ innings and allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. Charlie West started for the Huskies, throwing six strong innings and allowing three runs, one earned, on two walks and two hits.
Graduate infielder Bryan Padilla led UConn in Game 3 with a three-run home run and an RBI sacrifice bunt for four RBIs. Dougherty would continue his tear with his sixth double of the series and a solo home run, his first in a Huskies uniform.
The series sweep boosted UConn’s winning streak to an impressive 13 games and improved to an 11-4 Big East record, tied for second place with Xavier. The Red Storm drops to an even 6-6 conference record. They will face Iona at home on Tuesday for their next game.
