As a catcher and nine-spot hitter, Brendan Monaghan is not used to leading off an inning. But that’s what he did in the fifth of a 5-3 St. John’s victory over Villanova on Sunday in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Leading off the fifth, Monaghan did just what the lead-off batter should: get on base however you can.

After working a walk, shortstop Gino Matias singled. It set the stage for Bryan Dirr to give St. John’s the lead with a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled and led to three runs.

St. John’s (13-7, 3-0) took an early advantage over Villanova (10-11, 0-3), scoring in the second inning on an RBI single by Gil Zayas.

Sophomore hurler Nick Luisi made few mistakes as he went a solid five innings, yielding only two runs.

James Lally, one of St. John’s most reliable relievers, notched his second save of the season.

St. John’s 3, Villanova 2

Scott Barnes and Rich Armento may be two of the youngest members of the pitching staff, but they showed Saturday that experience is not quite everything.

Working 6.1 innings in St. John’s 3-2 victory over Villanova in the second of a three-game set Saturday, Barnes yielded only one earned run on four hits.

Armento came on in relief of Barnes and was even more dominant, throwing 2.2 innings while allowing no runs and one hit. The freshman struck out seven batters.

St. John’s 6, Villanova 3

Rob Delaney, having struggled so far this season, showed why he was considered the preseason ace of the staff in St. John’s 6-3 victory over Villanova in the first game Friday.

He pitched 6.2 shutout innings while striking out ten batters to earn his second win of the year.

Chris Joachim led St. John’s offensive attack by going 4-for-4.

-Pinto