INDIANAPOLIS – The Red Storm secured the win on Friday afternoon by scoring three runs early and three runs late in a 6-4 victory over Butler at Bulldog Park. The two teams had to battle the elements as popup showers delayed the final outcome.

A 3:00 first pitch was moved back to 3:30, but that was only the tip of the iceberg as Butler and St. John's encountered a lengthy delay just moments into the top of the fourth inning.

St. John's jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Bulldogs were able to get two of those back with single runs in the first and third. The rain delay in the fourth kept each team off balance, but scoring would pick back up in the eighth with each team scoring two runs. The Johnnies added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, giving STJ their 14th win of the season. With the loss, Butler moves to 12-17 overall.

Michael Fries was the player of the game for Butler as the senior ended the game 2-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs. Butler ended the contest with eight hits compared to 11 from the Johnnies. STJ third baseman Robbie Knightes was the top player for St. John's going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and one run scored.

Knightes gave St. John's an RBI double in the top of the first to open up the scoring spree. John Valente and Jesse Berardi also recorded RBIs in the first with Valente delivering a sac fly to center and Berardi punching a single back up the middle of the infield.

The 'Dawgs got one run back in the bottom of the first with Tyler Houston coming around to score off a Fries RBI and the deficit was cut to 3-2 in the bottom of the third with Fries knocking a double to left center which again sent Houston to the dish.

The storm hit hard in the top of the fourth and the tarp came on the field which delayed the game for nearly an hour. Once the teams returned to the field it took a while for the players to get back in the groove. Each team went quietly in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but the eighth was very different with St. John's scoring two runs off two hits.

The top of the eighth started with a BU pitching change as Bobby Napoleon took the hill in relief of Jeff Schank. Valente led off the inning with a double to left center and he would quickly come around to score off a one out, ground out from Ty Blankmeyer. St. John's added a second run off an Alex Caruso single to centerfield that allowed pinch runner Jamie Galazin to score.

Butler didn't blink in the bottom half of the inning as the Bulldogs got those two runs back thanks to a double from Chris Marras and an RBI single from Fries. Marras found room in right centerfield that allowed Brodie Meyer to score and a second BU pinch runner would cross home plate as Cole Malloy got Butler back within one after the Fries single.

The ninth inning was action packed as Zach Lauricella led off with a double to right center for STJ. He moved to third on a BU wild pitch and scored moments later off a Knightes single to center. The Butler defense would come up big on the very next play as Kyle Allen got Matt Harris to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

St. John's and Butler traded roles in the ninth inning today as Butler went to bat with their backs against the wall facing a two-run deficit. The inning started off well as Dan Busch punched a base hit through the right side to lead off the inning. Busch was unfortunately part of a costly double play during the next at-bat as Austin Miller hit a sharp line drive at the second baseman. The hard hit ball was right at Blankmeyer and a quick toss to Harris doubled up the Bulldogs, hurting their comeback chances.

Relief pitcher Thomas Hackimer would register his fifth save of the season on the very next at-bat by getting Drew Small to ground out to shortstop.

Hackimer tossed the final two innings of the game to get the save while Ryan McCormick earned the win by throwing the first seven. McCormick only allowed five hits over seven frames while striking out four. Those five hits against McCormick only generated one earned run.

Schank was hit with the loss for BU as the sophomore matched McCormick with seven full innings. The lefty struck out five, but walked four. All three earned runs against Schank came in the opening inning. The second two runs came against Napoleon in the eighth and one more against Allen in the ninth.

These two teams will face off again tomorrow at Bulldog Park. The third and final game of the weekend series will begin at 12 p.m.