Baseball Game Notes 2.Indd
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SCHEDULE/RESULTS St. John’s (42-11, 13-5 BIG EAST) vs. Vanderbilt (33-22-1, 15-13-1 SEC) June 2 [1] NCAA F17 vs. Western Carolina W, 14-3 Doug Kingsmore Stadium F18 vs. James Madison [1] W, 13-1 Clemson Clemson, S.C. F19 vs. Richmond [1] W, 7-3 Regional SEC Network F20 at No. 9 Coastal Carolina [1] W, 7-4 (10) Roy Philpott (p x p); Rusty Ensor (color commentary) F24 vs. Kansas State [2] W, 9-2 F25 vs. UMBC [2] W, 15-3 F26 vs. UMBC [2] W, 8-0 No. 1 M1 at No. 7 North Carolina W, 5-4 M3 vs. Appalachian State [3] W, 7-3 No. 3 vs. No. 2 M4 at No. 9 East Carolina [3] L, 7-4 M5 vs. Western Carolina [3] W, 9-1 No. 4 M7 at Iona Canceled M10 at Liberty W, 5-4 (10) M11 at Liberty W, 4-2 No. 21 St. John’s Heads to Clemson For NCAA Regional M11 at Liberty L, 7-6 M14 at NYIT Postponed • For the 36th time in program history, the St. John’s Red Storm will make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After earning at-large berth to the field of 64, the Red Storm will open up M17 vs. Iona W, 4-3 Regional action on Friday, June 2, taking on Vanderbilt at 12 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. M18 vs. UMass Lowell W, 6-3 M19 vs. Towson Canceled M21 at Fairfield Canceled Red Storm Baseball Quick Hits M22 vs. Saint Peter’s[4] W, 12-9 M25 MAINE W, 3-0 • Just one victory away from tying the program record for wins in a season, St. John’s enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 42-11, good enough for the fourth-best winning M25 MAINE W, 9-3 percentage in the nation behind national seeds Oregon State, Louisville and North Carolina. M26 MAINE W, 15-1 Despite losing the BIG EAST Regular Season title to Creighton on percentage points, the Red M29 WAGNER W, 6-2 Storm claimed the second-highest total of regular season victories in program history behind M31 HOFSTRA Canceled the 2008 squad that went 41-12 before the BIG EAST Tournament. A1 at Hofstra W, 4-1 A2 HOFSTRA W, 14-3 • The Red Storm carries one of the nation’s most prolific offensive attacks into the Clemson A4 SAINT PETER’S Canceled Regional, as the Johnnies currently rank third in Division I with a team batting average of A5 COLUMBIA L, 7-4 .327. Eight of the Red Storm’s nine everyday starters are hitting .305 or better, with four of A7 at Creighton* W, 3-2 (14) those players batting at a .358 clip or higher. The Johnnies are led in that category by senior catcher Troy Dixon, a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award who is hitting .394 on the A8 at Creighon* L, 7-4 season. Nationally, the Egg Harbor Township, N.J., native leads all catchers in that category A9 at Creighton* L, 5-1 while ranking 11th overall. Over four games in Omaha at the BIG EAST Tournament, Dixon A11 ALBANY W, 9-3 hit .538, raising his season-long batting average by 14 points. Since the Red Storm’s series A13 at Butler* W, 6-2 (10) finale against Xavier on May 14, Dixon is hitting .520 with a 1.160 OPS in nine appearances. A14 at Butler* W, 5-3 A15 at Butler* W, 12-3 (11) • Not only a threat offensively, the Red Storm also possesses one of the nation’s top pitching A18 NYIT W, 13-8 staffs. Entering regional play, the Johnnies rank sixth nationally with a 2.97 ERA, led by A21 FDU Canceled 2017 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year Sean Mooney at 1.22. One of A22 FDU W, 9-0 just two student-athletes in the history of the league alongside eventual first round draft pick Chris Lambert from Boston College in 2002 to be named Pitcher of the Year and Fresh- A23 FDU W, 15-8 man of the Year simultaneously, Mooney suffered his first loss of the season last Thursday A26 PRINCETON L, 4-2 in Omaha, the only blemish on an otherwise flawless season. Despite his setback in the BIG A28 SETON HALL* W, 9-2 EAST Tournament, Mooney ranks second nationally in ERA and third in WHIP (0.79), the only A29 SETON HALL* L, 7-0 freshman to rank in top 60 nationally let alone the top three. As a team, the Johnnies are A30 SETON HALL* W, 2-1 the only squad to rank in the top 20 nationally in both batting average and ERA and one of M2 IONA W, 16-4 only two teams alongside Sam Houston State to rank in the top 25 in both. M5 at Georgetown* W, 7-1 M6 at Georgetown* L, 13-5 • Prior to the start of the conference tournament, the Red Storm enjoyed a near-record M7 at Georgetown* W, 9-8 (11) number of All-BIG EAST selections. Led by Mooney, seven members of the Red Storm found a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team, as Dixon, John Valente, Josh Shaw, Jesse Berardi, M12 XAVIER* W, 7-3 Michael Donadio and Anthony Brocato also earned a place on the conference’s top squad. M12 XAVIER* W, 4-3 In addition, freshman reliever Joe LaSorsa was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, as M14 XAVIER* W, 15-3 the Johnnies finished with eight All-BIG EAST selections in total, good enough for second in M16 at LIU Brooklyn W, 9-4 program history behind the 11 honors garnered by the 2015 squad. Head Coach Ed Blank- M18 VILLANOVA* W, 15-1 meyer, in his 22nd year at St. John’s with more than 750 victories to his name, led the BIG M19 VILLANOVA* W, 6-0 EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for the seventh time in his storied tenure. M20 VILLANOVA* L, 9-6 M25 vs. Xavier [5] L, 13-3 Probable Starting Pitchers for First Two Games M26 vs. Seton Hall [5] W, 3-2 M27 vs. Creighton [5] W, 10-2 Date St. John’s Opponent M28 vs. Xavier [5] L, 7-6 6/2 RHP Sean Mooney RHP Patrick Raby J2 vs. Vanderbilt [6] 12 p.m. 8-1, 1.22 ERA 9-3, 2.24 ERA [1] Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 6/3 LHP Kevin Magee TBD [2] at Lexington County Stadium (Lexington, S.C.) [3] LeClair Classic (Greenville, N.C.) 4-0, 2.43 ERA [4] Baseball Heaven (Yaphank, N.Y.) [5] BIG EAST Tournament (Omaha, Neb.) [6] NCAA Regional (Clemson, S.C.) *Denotes BIG EAST game St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament 2017 All-BIG EAST Selections • The Red Storm will be making its 36th appearance all-time in Player of the Year the NCAA Tournament this weekend, a total that is tied with Ryan Bannon, Xavier, Jr., 3B Oklahoma for ninth all-time. The Johnnies are the only team from the Northeast to rank inside the top 10 all-time in NCAA Pitcher of the Year Regional berths. Sean Mooney, St. John’s Fr., RHP (Starter) • The Johnnies have been to six College World Series dating Freshman of the Year back to 1949, with other appearances coming in 1960, 1966, Sean Mooney, St. John’s Fr., RHP (Starter) ^ 1968, 1978 and 1980. Coaching Staff of the Year • Despite the historical success of the program, the Red Storm’s St. John’s, head coach Ed Blankmeyer accomplishments are not solely found in the distant past, as the Johnnies have advanced to nine of the last 14 NCAA All-BIG EAST First Team # Tournaments. Rollie Lacy, Creighton, Jr., SP (RHP) Sean Mooney, St. John’s, Fr., SP (RHP) ^^ • The Red Storm has advanced to one Super Regional since the Zach Prendergast, Seton Hall, Sr., SP (RHP) adoption of the format in 1999, as the 2012 Johnnies won Hunter Schryver, Villanova, Sr., SP (LHP) three-straight games in Chapel Hill to earn a date with even- Zac Lowther, Xavier, Jr., SP (LHP) tual national champion Arizona in Tuscon. Matt Kent, Xavier, So., RP (RHP) John Valente, St. John’s, RS-Jr., 1B • In the Johnnies’ last NCAA appearance in 2015, the Red Josh Shaw, St. John’s, So., 2B Storm advanced to the Stillwater Regional Final, eliminating Jesse Berardi, St. John’s, Jr., SS ^ top-seeded Oklahoma State before falling to Omaha-bound Rylan Bannon, Xavier, Jr., 3B ^^ Arkansas, led by current budding Boston Red Sox star Andrew Troy Dixon, St. John’s, Sr., C ^^ Benintendi. Tyler Houston, Butler, Jr., OF ^^ Anthony Brocato, St. John’s, Jr., OF ^ • In the Red Storm’s last seven Regional appearances, the John- Michael Donadio, St. John’s, Sr., OF ^ nies have won at least two games four times. Juke Kuzbel, Georgetown, Sr., DH • St. John’s is 65-64 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. All-BIG EAST Second Team ## Jeff Schank, Butler, Sr., SP (LHP) • Former Red Storm Head Coach, Athletic Director and current Keith Rogalla, Creighton, Jr., SP (RHP) Athletic Director Emeritus Jack Kaiser is one of just 10 men to Cullen Dana, Seton Hall, So., SP (LHP) hold the distinct honor of having played (1949) and coached Garrett Schilling, Xavier, Jr., SP (RHP) (1960, 1966, 1968) in a College World Series. A trip to Omaha Ethan DeCaster, Creighton, Jr., RP (RHP) for the Johnnies would elevate Ed Blankmeyer to that frater- Joe LaSorsa, St.