Box Score
CHANDLER, Ariz. – The Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) dealt Saint John’s its first loss of the season by a score of 8-4 on Wednesday, March 3. The Johnnies (5-1, 0-0 MIAC) left 13 men on base and batted just .188 (3-for-16) with runners in scoring position in the game.
The Tigers (1-3 overall) dealt SJU a bit of its own medicine by plating six RBI with two outs, including a bases-clearing triple with a full count in the fourth inning. The Johnnies entered the contest with 15 two-out RBI thru five games but failed to score the 16th on the afternoon.
Sophomore Bert Marsnik (Annandale, Minn.) led the Johnnies with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate, while junior Matt Butorac (Maple Grove, Minn.) and senior Kyle Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) added two hits apiece. Butorac laced a two-run double in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-4, but R.I.T. added a pair of two-out runs in the eighth to end the scoring.
Freshman Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) was saddled with the loss in his first career start after allowing four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings.
SJU returns to action Friday, March 5, against Rockford (Ill.). The nine-inning game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST in Chandler, Ariz.