The St. John’s baseball team defeated Central Connecticut State University 9-1 on Apr. 7 in New Britain, Connecticut.
The win is significant for the Red Storm, improving their record to 15-17 overall and maintaining a perfect start in BIG EAST play at 3-0.
Freshman Dylan Fitzsimmons led the offense with three doubles, two runs scored, and four runs batted in. Shaun McMillan contributed with two hits including a triple, scoring twice and driving in one run. Jayder Raifstanger added a double and scored once, while Adam Agresti crossed home plate three times and Lewis Rodriguez stole two bases.
On the pitching side, Thomas Harding earned the win after throwing three innings of one-run baseball with five strikeouts. Brady Clark, Nick Gilpin, Tommy Conley, and Kyle Chase combined for seven scoreless innings of relief work with four additional strikeouts.
The Red Storm took an early lead in the first inning after Rodriguez walked and eventually scored on an error. Fitzsimmons then doubled to bring home another run. CCSU responded by capitalizing on an error but was limited to just one run as Harding closed out the inning.
St. John’s broke open the game in the fifth inning by scoring four runs through hits from Raifstanger, McMillan, Fitzsimmons, Frey, and others. The sixth inning saw more insurance runs driven by Fitzsimmons’ third double of the game and a pinch-hit single from Sean Britt.
After this victory—the team’s fifth straight—St. John’s will prepare for its BIG EAST home opener against Georgetown at Jack Kaiser Stadium starting Friday.
