St. John's moves on to Championship Sunday for the 13th time in Red Storm history.
Top Seed St. John’s Moves On To Sunday’s Final With 12-8 Win Over Butler
No. 1 St. John's 12, No. 3 Butler 8 (PDF)
MASON, Ohio – The Friday nightcap of the second day of the 2018 BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep was another high-scoring affair as No. 1 seed St. John’s defeated No. 3 seed Butler, 12-8 at Prasco Park. The Red Storm, ranked 18th nationally, moved on to Championship Sunday for the second time in four years, fifth time since 2010. St. John’s has won the title eight times previously with four runner-up finishes.
Combined with the afternoon game, a 21-5 win by Seton Hall over Georgetown, the championship had 46 runs scored on Friday.
Butler (34-19) will play Seton Hall in the second elimination game which has been moved up to 1 p.m. ET due to weather.
St. John’s (38-14) held Butler scoreless for five innings, having built a 12-2 lead through the sixth. But the Bulldogs made it a game late with four runs scored in the seventh and two in the ninth. In the ninth inning, Butler sent in pinch hitter Cole Malloy to hit for James Gargano as the leadoff. Malloy blasted a solo home run to left center bringing the Bulldogs within four, 12-7.
The next batter, another pinch hitter, Connor Dall, doubled to right center in a hard hit ball that bounced off the scoreboard for a ground rule double. The hit forced St. John’s to go to closer Gavin Hollowell to get the Red Storm out of the jam. Hollowell’s first batter faced, Tyler Houston, reached first on a blubbed ball to shortstop. With two runners on and no outs, the Bulldogs loaded the bases as Hollowell got blasted in the shoulder from a line drive infield hit from Gehrig Parker. He was able to get himself out of the inning with a double play at Michael Hartnagel’s at bat, allowing just one run to score. Hollowell struck out the final batter swinging, a six-count at bat.
After getting into some early trouble, St. John’s Kevin Magee settled down to pick up his sixth win of the year. The senior southpaw struck out nine over 5.1 innings of two-run ball, scattering six hits and walking just one over that span.
Luke Stampfl continued his hot streak for the Red Storm, leaving the yard for the second time in as many days with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. The graduate student also logged a sac fly, finishing the game with four RBIs.
Robert Boselli III also hit a roundtripper and ended the day with three RBIs.
John Valente, Jamie Galazin, Josh Shaw and Mike Antico tallied two hits apiece in the Johnnies’ 12-run outburst. Galazin and Shaw drove in two runs each while Valente knocked in one.
For the second time in as many days, the Red Storm fell into an early two-run hole, as the Bulldogs pushed across a pair to make it 2-0 after a half an inning.
The Johnnies wasted no time answering the Butler charge, responding with three of their own in the home half of the frame. With runners on first and second with two outs following a Galazin base knock and a Boselli walk, Stampfl launched a 3-1 breaking ball over the left field wall, quickly erasing the Butler lead and making it 3-2 in favor of the Johnnies.
St. John’s then scored four runs in the second inning and five more in the third.
Parker had the solo home run for Butler in the first inning. A double steal would make the game 2-0 as Garrett Christman took second and Hartnagel would break for home.
Parker finished the day 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Hartnagel also had two RBI and went 2-for-5.