St. John's improves to 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Oral Roberts, 10-4

After a disappointing walk-off loss on Friday night against Oklahoma State, St. John's bounced back on Saturday afternoon with a 10-4 victory against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

The Red Storm have been known for their dominating pitching but it was the offense that came to play at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater.

First baseman Matt Harris went 2-for-5 driving in four runs, second baseman Robert Wayman went 4-for-5, scoring two runs, and outfielder Alex Caruso continued his hot streak at the top of the order, driving in a run and scoring three of his own. The Johnnies had 8 RBIs on 14 hits while drawing four critical walks. They also showed strong base running, forcing the Golden Eagles into two crucial errors.

Second team All-American pitcher Ryan McCormick was on the bump and pitched 5 innings, giving up two runs (0 earned) along with four walks and zero strikeouts.

While McCormick had a solid outing, the Red Storm offense was even better. They started things quickly by putting up three runs in the first three innings before unleashing their bats for six total runs in the fourth. Harris drove in two of the six runs in the inning, knocking in Wayman and Michael Donadio, but the key to the Red Storm's success was their ability to take pitches. This wore down opposing pitcher, Bryce Howe, who struggled mightily by giving up six total runs on six hits.

After scoring one run in the seventh (Caruso coming across on an error), the Johnnies bullpen put on the finishing touches to an impressive victory. Matt Clancy, who owns a 2.91 ERA, pitched 3.1 innings, giving up just four hits, no runs, and one walk while striking out four Golden Eagles.

St. John's remains in the losers bracket of the double-elimination regional and will face the loser of one-seed Oklahoma State (who the Red Storm has already lost to) versus two-seed Arkansas on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Razorbacks defeated Oral Roberts 8-6 on Friday, so the Johnnies should be competitive no matter who they face.