For the first four and a half innings of play Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Clemson Regional, things were going so well for the St. John’s Red Storm.
Thanks to timely hitting by Michael Donadio and John Valente, St. John’s had a 3-1 lead, while ace Sean Mooney was cruising right along.
Then, the bottom fell out.
Mooney gave up back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fifth, which is never a good sign. Vanderbilt third baseman Will Toffey made him pay almost instantly, sending a three-run home run to left-center and giving the Commodores a 4-3 lead.