Johnnies take East by Storm
This was supposed to be the big year for St. John’s baseball, the season the Red Storm finally get past the elusive NCAA Regionals and beyond. Publications had the team ranked as high as No. 11 in the country in the preseason.
Then St. John’s came out and laid an egg, losing nine of its first 13 games. The seniors called a team meeting during the last non-conference weekend series against Liberty in Virginia.
“We had to play laid back and not be so uptight, worrying about all the rankings,” junior pitcher Matt Carasiti said.
Since then, the Red Storm have regained the form that made them so highly touted in the first place.
Yesterday, St. John’s beat South Florida, 7-3, in the Big East Tournament championship game in Clearwater, Fla., becoming the first team from the program to win both the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season. The Red Storm (37-21) did not lose a single game in the double-elimination format and this was their record seventh tournament title.
“That’s a tough accomplishment, to win both,” St. John’s coach Ed Blankmeyer said. “If we continue to compete at this level of baseball, we can play with anyone.”
Carasiti took home the tournament’s most outstanding player award. After getting the win Wednesday against Notre Dame, the 6-foot-3 right-hander came back on three days’ rest and gave up just two earned runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Carasiti, a projected top six round pick in the upcoming MLB First-Year Player Draft, gave up three runs in the third and nothing after. Zach Lauricella got St. John’s within 3-2 with a long home run in the fourth. Bret Dennis had three RBIs and Matt Wessinger and Sean O’Hare both had two hits apiece. Holy Cross alum Kevin Kilpatrick got the save with 2 1/3 hitless innings.
St. John’s finds out today where it will be going for the NCAA Regionals. Carasiti doesn’t care where the Red Storm end up.
“I think we can do damage in any regional with our pitching staff and the way we’re hitting,” Carasiti said.
