St. John’s University is set to begin its 2026 home baseball schedule with a three-game series against UAlbany at Jack Kaiser Stadium this weekend. The first game will take place on Friday at 3 p.m., followed by Saturday’s game at 2 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Games one and three will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the second game will be available via the Red Storm YouTube Channel. Marc Ernay will provide commentary for all three games.
Last weekend, St. John’s played away games against No. 22 Kentucky and Penn State. In the opening game against Kentucky on February 27, St. John’s lost 3-1 but limited their opponent to six hits, with Liam O’Leary leading the pitching effort before Kentucky scored decisive runs late in the game.
On February 28, St. John’s lost another close match to Kentucky, 3-0. The team managed to get runners on base in nearly every inning but allowed two runs after errors in the seventh inning. Evan Chaffee pitched 6.2 innings and gave up only one run, while Dylan Fitzsimmons recorded three singles in four at-bats. Cristian Bernardini contributed a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning during a late rally that fell short.
The final game of the Kentucky series ended with another loss for St. John’s, as they were defeated 3-1 on March 1. Kentucky scored early runs, but Shaun McMillan helped St. John’s stay competitive by going two-for-three with a single and a double.
Against Penn State, St. John’s suffered a heavy defeat, losing 12-2 in seven innings as Penn State took an early lead that they maintained throughout the game. Tommy Conley gave up four runs in the second inning; Adam Agresti and Lewis Rodriguez each drove in one run for St. John’s.
Evan Chaffee was recognized for his performance against Kentucky by being named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this week. He has started three games so far this season, pitching a total of 16.1 innings with an ERA of 3.86 and leading his team with twelve strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .266 average.
Dylan Fitzsimmons and Shaun McMillan have been key contributors offensively for St John’s early this season; Fitzsimmons leads the team in hits and has reached base safely in ten out of eleven games, while McMillan is second in hits and has reached base nine times out of eleven contests.
The history between St John’s and UAlbany dates back to 2004; St John’s holds a commanding lead over UAlbany with twenty-two wins compared to four losses all-time and has enjoyed multiple winning streaks of five or more consecutive victories over their opponent from Albany.
The last meeting between these teams at Jack Kaiser Stadium occurred on April 9, 2019; trailing by two runs entering the seventh-inning stretch, St John’s scored three times across two innings to secure a narrow victory (5-4). Since May 6, 2014, St John’s has won six straight home games against UAlbany—their most recent home loss came on April 16, 2013 (6-8).
UAlbany enters this weekend winless after seven games played—these included road trips to Texas Tech as well as participation in Greenville’s First Pitch Invitational facing James Madison University, Michigan State University, and Illinois—and recently lost despite closing within reach after overcoming an early deficit versus Illinois.
UAlbany was predicted to finish fourth according to America East coaches following their appearance last spring in conference tournament semifinals; however both offense (averaging just under four runs per contest) and pitching (team ERA:Â 9.60) remain areas needing improvement so far this year.
Pitcher Dylan Banner (7â…” innings pitched across two appearances) and Levi McAllister (six starts: four hits including one home run plus four RBIs) represented UAlbany on Preseason All-America East Team lists ahead of this campaign.
After facing UAlbany this weekend at home, St John’s is scheduled for midweek matchups against Marist College (March 10) and Fairfield University (March 11), both starting at 3 p.m., also at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
