Red Storm Sports News

• Box Score

Washington (1-5) scored four unearned runs in the third inning and clung to a lead the rest of the way in handing St. John's a 6-3 loss in the Red Storm's finale at the ECU Invitational on Saturday night. Senior Sam DeLuca gave St. John's a first-inning lead and drove in all three of the team's runs, while freshman Brian Kemp had two hits, scored two runs and stole a base from his leadoff position.

Starting pitcher Jared Yecker (0-2) did not allow an earned run over five innings in the game, but two Red Storm errors led to four Husky unearned runs in the third inning. Yecker allowed five hits and one walk, struck out one and threw 48 of his 78 pitches for strikes. Miguel Valcarcel and Justin Gutsie pitched the final three innings, as the Red Storm aimed for a late comeback.

DeLuca went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and collected three RBI in the loss, and Kemp went for his second straight multi-hit game from the top of the Red Storm order. Gil Zayas also had two hits, and junior transfer Michael Aicardi walked and scored a run in his St. John's debut.

DeLuca knocked in runs with RBI base hits in the first and third innings to stake the Red Storm to an early 2-0 lead. In the first, DeLuca ripped a single up the middle to score Kemp, and in the third, he hit an infield single to second base to plate Aicardi from second base.

The Huskies took their first lead in the bottom half of the third, scoring four runs on two hits and one St. John's error. Bradley Boyer hit a one-out double and scored on an RBI groundout by Jake Rife, and Andy Lentz reached on an error and scored from second base on a wild pitch. After a walk to designated hitter Matt Hague, Curt Rindal hit a towering home run to left field to give Washington a 4-2 advantage through three innings.

The Red Storm got one run back and threatened for more in the top of the sixth, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Kemp led things off with a walk, and then Daniel Rose laced a double into the left-center field gap to put runners on second and third with no outs. DeLuca drove in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field, but Husky pitcher Jorden Merry worked around the runner on third base with a lineout and groundout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Washington tacked on a run to take a late 5-3 advantage. Valcarcel, who had relieved Yecker in the seventh, allowed a single and got one out before giving way to Gutsie in the seventh. The first batter he faced, Boyer, hit a double that landed just inside the left field line to score Joey Dunn from second base.

Zayas led off the St. John's ninth with a single up the middle, but a double play and a groundout eliminated any chance of a late rally. Tyler Cheney got the final three outs for UW and picked up his first save in the Huskies' first win of the year.

The Red Storm returns to action next weekend at the Lamar Classic, with games versus Kansas State, UC-Santa Barbara and host Lamar on the schedule. The tournament begins on March 2 and marks the first of seven games on a Spring Break trip through Texas and Louisiana.