NEW YORK (Interstat) — Rob Mansour’s two-out, go-ahead single in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted Saint John’s to a 5-4 comeback victory over Albany on Saturday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium, handing the Great Danes their ninth consecutive loss to open the season.

The Red Storm, who won a 15-inning marathon between the teams on Friday, improved to 3-10. Albany fell to 0-9.

The decisive sequence began with Albany holding a 4-3 lead after a three-run homer by Logan Morris in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the sixth, Saint John’s loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Ethan Nardacci on a walk to Adam Agresti, a hit-by-pitch to Jon LeGrande and a fielder’s choice groundout. Nardacci nearly escaped, striking out Sean Britt for the second out, but Mansour lined a single into center field to score Agresti and LeGrande, putting the Red Storm ahead 5-4.

Mansour finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs. His hit made a winner of reliever Evan Hoeckele, who delivered a critical performance out of the Saint John’s bullpen. Entering with two outs in the top of the sixth after starter Evan Chaffee allowed four runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, Hoeckele stranded a runner and then pitched three more scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, struck out five and walked none over 3 1/3 innings to earn the save, preserving the one-run lead.

The game turned dramatically in the middle innings. Albany had taken a 1-0 lead in the second without a hit, as Luke Filippi doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch from Chaffee. Saint John’s responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame off Albany starter Christian Mello, who walked four and allowed three hits in five innings. The Red Storm scored on an RBI single by Shaun McMillan, a run-scoring groundout by Mansour and another passed ball that allowed McMillan to cross the plate.

Will Cowan extended the Saint John’s lead to 4-1 in the third with a solo home run. Mello, however, settled in and did not allow another hit, finishing with a final line of five innings pitched, four earned runs, two strikeouts and four walks.

Albany’s offense, which managed just six hits, came alive in the fourth. After singles by Patrick DeSarno and Levi McAllister loaded the bases, Morris connected on a three-run homer to left field, his first of the season, to tie the game at 4. DeSarno went 2 for 2 with two walks for the Great Danes.

From that point, the game became a battle of bullpens. After Morris’ homer, Chaffee retired eight of the next nine batters he faced before giving way to Hoeckele with two outs in the sixth. Hoeckele dominated the rest of the way, retiring 10 of the final 11 Albany hitters and striking out the side in the ninth to seal the victory.

The Red Storm defense turned a key double play in the seventh, catching Morris stealing after a leadoff single. Albany also ran into an out in the first inning when DeSarno was caught stealing.

Saint John’s finished with five hits. The teams combined to strand 12 runners on base.

The victory defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 2-1 Saint John’s win and whose ELO system gave the Red Storm a 78.4% probability of victory.

The teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium. Albany will look to avoid a winless opening to its season, while Saint John’s seeks a series sweep.