CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Clay Burdette homered twice and drove in five runs, leading Xavier to a 16-6 victory over Saint John’s on Sunday afternoon at Marge Schott Stadium. The Musketeers avoided a weekend sweep after dropping the first two games of the Big East series to the Red Storm.

Xavier’s offense erupted for 16 runs on 16 hits, with seven extra-base hits including five home runs. Burdette’s 3-for-5 performance included a three-run homer in the second inning that tied the game at 6 and a two-run shot in the fifth that extended Xavier’s lead to 14-6. Tommy Townsend added a two-run homer in the fifth and finished 2-for-4 with four runs batted in. Luke Hammond also homered and drove in two, while Landon Mensik and Tanner Thomas each went deep.

Saint John’s starter Nick Romer took the loss after allowing one earned run in 1 1/3 innings of relief, though Xavier’s big early innings were charged to multiple pitchers. The Red Storm’s offense managed only seven hits, with Cristian Bernardini hitting a three-run homer in the sixth and Shaun McMillan adding a solo shot in the seventh.

The turning point came in the bottom of the second inning, when Xavier turned a 2-0 deficit into a 6-6 tie after sending 10 batters to the plate. After Luke Hammond’s two-run homer and a solo shot from Mensik pulled the Musketeers within one, Burdette capped the rally with a three-run homer to center, scoring Valdes and Canterberry. The inning also included a single by Fitz, a walk to Valdes and a single by Canterberry.

Xavier extended its lead in the third, scoring three more off reliever Kyle Chase. Townsend doubled in two runs, and another run scored on a throwing error. The Musketeers blew the game open in the fifth, scoring six runs on four hits, including home runs by Townsend, Thomas and Burdette. Fitz added an RBI double as Xavier built a 15-6 advantage.

Saint John’s had taken an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Will Cowan and a single by Ayden Frey, both with the bases loaded after an error, a walk and a hit batsman. The Red Storm added one more in the top of the second on an RBI double from Lewis Rodrig before Xavier’s explosive bottom half.

Xavier right-hander Evan Vasiliou earned the win, allowing three earned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out two. Owen Poole recorded the final out of the seventh for the Musketeers.

Saint John’s had won the first two games of the series, 12-7 on Friday and 8-6 in 11 innings on Saturday. The Red Storm fell to 23-20 overall while Xavier improved to 20-25.

Burdette’s performance marked a sharp turnaround from his previous outings against Saint John’s this weekend, when he went 0-for-5 and 1-for-6. The right fielder also homered on April 19 at Seton Hall.

McMillan was 2-for-3 for Saint John’s with a solo home run in the seventh. Bernardini’s three-run shot in the sixth was the Red Storm’s biggest hit, but Xavier’s bullpen held.

Saint John’s concludes its road trip Tuesday at Hofstra, while Xavier travels to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saint John’s 8, Xavier 7, while its ELO system had given Xavier a 53.60 percent probability to win.