The St. John’s men’s baseball team started off its Big East schedule in much the same way as they started their regular season: losing. After two losses in two games to UConn, St. John’s (8-10, 1-2 Big East) was on the verge of being swept at home. Thanks in part to a solid pitching performance by starting pitcher George Brown (2-0), though, the Red Storm avoided that fate.

Winning by a final score of 10-7, the Johnnies relied on an explosive fourth inning in which they scored seven runs.
“Can’t beat that,” a thankful Brown said.

He was bailed out by the Red Storm’s offense after digging them a hole in the first inning. Though the balls were not hit particularly hard, UConn (8-10, 2-1) managed four hits and benefited from one error in the first. St. John’s was quickly down 3-0.

Despite the bad inning, Brown was able to settle down in the second and turn in a solid 6.2 innings of work.
“I never felt like I lost control,” said Brown, who allowed only one walk. “I was a little more aggressive [later in the game.]”
St. John’s got things started in the third inning when, after centerfielder Brian Kemp stole second base, first baseman Chris Joachim singled him in.

It was the fourth inning, though, that really broke open the game. Gil Zayas led things off with a hard single to third base. Anthony Smith took a walk before Monaghan blasted a double into the rightfield gap.

Mike Aicardi tied things up with an RBI groundout and Jeff Grantham kept things going with an RBI single to leftfield. Kemp joined the party with a hard shot right past third base and down the leftfield line that went for a double. Joachim walked to load the bases and DeLuca singled to third and was able to advance on an errant throw by the Huskies’ third baseman. The play knocked in two more runs.

After a UConn pitching change, St. John’s still was not done, as Zayas singled for the second time in the inning to knock in another pair. Smith finally flew out to end the Johnnies’ onslaught.

They scored another two runs in the next two innings that would prove to be valuable insurance runs. UConn staged a bit of a comeback, scoring four runs in the seventh inning. Ryan Cole came in to relieve Brown but was inefficient, hitting two of the first four batters he faced.

“Cole wasn’t ready to pitch,” said coach Ed Blankmeyer.
The freshman right-hander was unable to record an out before being replaced by Colin Lynch. The inning resulted in four runs on four hits for the Huskies.

“They were playing hot,” said Blankmeyer about UConn’s late surge. “It kind of scares you.”

Lynch would stay in the game and get the job done, though, recording the last seven outs while giving up only one hit and one walk.

There were some scares, but St. John’s walked away with its first Big East win of the year. Brown got the win while UConn’s starter Greg Nappo was pegged with the loss. Lynch recorded his fourth save on the season.