St. John’s opened the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament with a 4-2 win over Creighton on May 21 at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio.
The victory advances St. John’s to the winners bracket, where they will face the winner of the UConn and Xavier game. The team has now won its opening game in four of its last five tournament appearances.
After falling behind in the third inning, St. John’s took control in the fifth with a two-run double from Dylan Fitzsimmons. Liam O’Leary, a unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST selection, pitched eight innings and allowed only two runs while striking out six batters on a season-high 137 pitches. Victor Frederick closed out the game with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fifth save of the season.
O’Leary’s performance made him one of just five pitchers in St. John’s history—and the first since Sean Mooney in 2017—to throw at least 100 innings during a single season for the team.
Offensively, Fitzsimmons and Jayder Raifstanger each collected two hits for St. John’s, while Jon LeGrande scored twice and stole a base. Additional RBIs came from Cristian Bernardini and Raifstanger as well.
Creighton scored first but was unable to maintain their lead after St. John’s rally in the fifth inning put them ahead for good. Despite bringing the tying run to plate in their final at-bat, Creighton could not overcome Frederick’s pitching.
St. John’s will continue play tomorrow against either UConn or Xavier as they look to advance further into tournament competition.
