JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Top-ranked Notre Dame scored two runs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, and pulled away from St. Johns, en route to a 7-3 win that completed a three-game sweep for the Fighting Irish on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops St. Johns to 26-18 overall and 13-10 in the BIG EAST.

The Red Storm fall to fifth place in the conference and now take a one-week hiatus from conference play before playing at Rutgers (May 12-13) on the final weekend of the season. Notre Dame (40-6-1 overall) stands atop the conference with an 18-2 mark, followed by Rutgers (15-8), Seton Hall (12-7-1) and Virginia Tech (13-9-1).

Freshman starting pitcher Joe Reid (Rutherford, N.J./St. Marys) went 7.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, with five walks and three strikeouts. He falls to 3-2 with the loss.

Similar to its doubleheader sweep on Saturday, the Irish got on the board early. Steve Stanley was issued a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before Alex Porzels double to right drove home the games first run. In the second inning, Kris Billmaier led off with a double and scored on a double to left-center by Andrew Bushey, giving ND a 2-0 lead.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Billmaier walked to lead off the inning, moved to third on a single by Paul OToole and scored on Busheys sacrifice fly.

Fighting Irish starter J.P. Gagne, meanwhile, held the Red Storm hitless until the fifth inning. The Red Storm appeared to have cut the lead to 3-1 when senior Chris Fallon (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) hit a towering fly ball to right. The home plate umpire ruled the ball a home run  giving Fallon his 36th career and setting the all-time school record  but Notre Dame contested the play and the third base umpire ruled the ball foul, sending Fallon back to the plate, where he struck out. The momentum seemed to carry St. Johns. Sophomore Chad Cambra (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) followed with a single up the middle and moved to third on a single by junior Bryan Hedgecock (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge). Hedgecock was thrown out stealing second and Cambra scored on the play, cutting the lead to 3-1.

SJU crept back into it in the sixth when junior Billy Graiser (Muttontown, N.Y./Miller Place) hit a leadoff single and scored on a double to the left field wall from freshman outfielder Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H./Salem). DeRosa, however, was left stranded, and the Red Storm were unable to tie the game. Cambra led off the seventh with a triple to the centerfield wall and, after Hedgecock flew out, was thrown out on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, ending St. Johns last threat.

The Irish tacked on two more runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, off of sophomore reliever Tom Klemm (Salem, N.H./Salem), en route to the win.

Cambra went 2-for-4 with a triple, single and two runs scored, while Hedgecock finished 2-for-4 with a double, single and one RBI.

St. Johns returns to action on Monday night, hosting Columbia at The Ballpark at 7 p.m.