The St. John’s baseball team saw its seven-game winning streak snap with a 4-1 loss to Columbia University on Wednesday. Columbia used nine pitchers to allow one run on seven hits.
Freshman Josh Shaw finished 2-for-4, while senior Ty Blankmeyer was 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and the lone run scored for St. John’s (14-10-1). Senior Alex Caruso had a triple as part of a 1-for-3 day and sophomore Jesse Berardi capped a 1-for-4 day with a double.
Freshman right-hander Matt Messier (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) in 1.1 innings of work.
Junior Kyle Bartelman went 2-for-3 with a solo homerun and two runs scored for Columbia (8-15), while senior Logan Boyher was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Sophomore righty Bryce Barr (1-1) tossed one scoreless frame and also earned the victory for the Lions.
Caruso got things going for the Red Storm with a leadoff triple in the top of the first inning, but Columbia escaped the scoring threat with a strikeout, a lineout and a groundout.
In the second inning, Columbia took advantage of a St. John’s error, which helped them make two unearned runs. Bartelman led off the inning with a solo blast before Lane Robinette drew a one-out walk. A dropped fly ball at the wall in centerfield, however, gave the Lions runners second and third, and chased Messier from the game. Senior Kevin Torres came on and was greeted with back-to-back RBI singles as Columbia took a 3-0 lead.
St. John’s got their lone run of the game, thanks to a Blankmeyer leadoff walk. Blankmeyer advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
The Lions matched the Red Storm’s run in the bottom of the frame. Bartelman started things off with a one-out single before advancing to third on a pair of wild pitches. Robinette added an RBI groundout, making the score 4-1.
St. John’s stranded a pair of runners in the sixth inning. Junior Troy Dixon singled with one out and Shaw reached base on an error, but a pair of fly outs ended the frame before either one of them could score.
In the eighth inning, the Red Storm tried to create a two-out rally when Shaw extended the inning with a single. Berardi then doubled off the wall in centerfield, but Shaw was retired at home to end the inning and keep St. John’s off the board.
The Red Storm was unable to get any runs in the ninth inning when sophomore righty Harrisen Egly pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close out the game.
