JAMAICA, N.Y. -- The St. John's baseball team entered the penultimate weekend of conference play treating it like they were playing in the postseason tournament. They needed wins. After a doubleheader split on Saturday with Seton Hall, the series finale became crucial.

The Red Storm responded behind a brilliant outing from senior starter Brian Dorsey (Smithtown, N.Y.) and some timely hitting en route to an 8-2 win over the Pirates at The Ballpark.

The win improves St. John's to 26-21 overall and 12-11 in the conference. The Red Storm will need to sweep Rutgers next weekend at home to make the BIG EAST Tournament.

Dorsey went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts as he improved to 6-2 this season. The senior right-hander had allowed only three hits through seven innings before getting into trouble in the eighth, but by that point, the Red Storm had scored seven runs off of two Seton Hall pitchers.

Under heavy rain in the first few innings, the Red Storm took an early lead with single runs in the first and third innings, respectively. In the first, sophomore Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H.) drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a single through the right side from senior Jason Kane (Rutherford, N.J.). The lead grew to 2-0 in the third when senior Charlie Bilezikjian (Staten Island, N.Y.) singled, moved to third on Kane's single, and scored on an RBI groundout from junior Ray Downs (New Rochelle, N.Y.).

With the rain holding off after the fourth inning, the Red Storm offense went to work and gave Dorsey a cushion. In the fifth, Bilezikjian walked and Kane reached on a bunt single before a double steal put runners on second and third. Downs' fly ball to left scored Bilezikjian and a single from freshman Jim Martin (Norwood, Mass.) drove in Kane, giving SJU a 4-0 lead.

St. John's added three more runs in the sixth, taking a 7-0 lead. Junior catcher Asa Grunenwald (Boalsburg, Pa.), who had three hits on the day, singled with one out and scored when senior Billy Graiser (Muttontown, N.Y.) tripled to left-center. DeRosa followed that with a blast to left, his sixth home run of the season.

Dorsey, meanwhile, was cruising. He struck out the side in the sixth and struck out the final two batters in the seventh before the Pirates added two runs in the eighth.

Junior Mike Tamulionis (West Bridgewater, Mass.) struck out two batters in the ninth to end the game, giving SJU the series win.

DeRosa went 2-for-4, with a single and a two-run home run, while Downs drove in a pair of runs and Kane went 3-for-4, with three singles, a run scored and one RBI.

St. John's returns to action on Tuesday, hosting local rival Manhattan at The Ballpark at 7 p.m.