NEW YORK (Interstat) — The Saint John’s Red Storm erased a five-run deficit with a seven-run fifth inning, rallying past the Hofstra Pride 10-7 in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded in the evening, saw the Red Storm improve to .500 at 18-18, while the Pride fell to 11-18.

Hofstra built a commanding 7-2 lead by the middle of the fifth inning, capitalizing on wild pitches and timely hitting. The Pride scored four runs in the top of the fifth, with three runs crossing on wild pitches and two more on a two-run single by Gallello and an RBI single by Leonard.

The momentum shifted dramatically in the bottom half of the frame. Trailing 7-3, Saint John’s ignited its comeback when Shaun McMillan launched a two-run homer to left field, scoring Jon LeGrande to cut the deficit to 7-5. After a walk and a pitching change, the Red Storm loaded the bases with no outs.

Rob Mansour then delivered a pivotal two-run single to left center, tying the game at 7-7. Following another Hofstra pitching change, Lewis Rodriguez put Saint John’s ahead for good with a two-run single through the left side, scoring Mansour and Chaz Wright to make it 9-7.

The Red Storm added an insurance run in the sixth on a solo home run by Adam Agresti.

The most important part of the game was Saint John’s seven-run fifth inning, which completely reversed the game’s trajectory. After Hofstra’s four-run top of the inning appeared to secure control, the Red Storm sent 12 men to the plate in the bottom half, recording four hits, drawing four walks, and batting around to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 9-7 lead.

Saint John’s bullpen sealed the victory with dominant relief. After starter Nick Gilpin allowed two earned runs over four innings, the combination of Carter Wall, Brady Clark and Nick Romer shut down the Pride over the final 4 1/3 innings. Clark earned the win with two scoreless innings of one-hit ball, and Romer recorded the save with 1 2/3 perfect innings, striking out one.

Hofstra, which out-hit Saint John’s, was led by Leonard and Gallello, who each drove in two runs. The Pride, however, stranded multiple runners and grounded into two double plays, including one to end their big fifth inning.

Saint John’s managed eight hits but took advantage of 10 walks issued by Hofstra pitching. The Red Storm also grounded into two double plays early but broke through in the decisive fifth.

The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 6-5 Saint John’s victory, though its ELO system gave the Red Storm a 70.1 percent probability to win.

Hofstra will look to rebound Wednesday at home against Fairleigh Dickinson. Saint John’s resumes play Friday, beginning a three-game Big East series at Connecticut. The two teams are scheduled to meet again on April 28 at Hofstra.