St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Pittsburgh
3/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
In the opener, freshman Jim Wladyka (Rutherford, N.J.) threw six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits to pick up his first collegiate win.
St. Johns jumped on top of Pitt starter Scott Schultz with five runs, all coming with two outs. Freshman first baseman Jim Martin (Norwood, Mass.) delivered the big blow in the inning, hitting a bases loaded double that scored three runs. Senior Charlie Bilezikjian (Staten Island, N.Y.) walked with two out and advanced after senior Jason Kane (Rutherford, N.J.) was hit and senior J.P. Cirigliano (Flushing, N.Y.) walked. Martin, who advanced to third on an error, scored on a single from sophomore Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H.), giving SJU a 4-0 lead. DeRosa moved to second on a catchers interference play and scored on a single from sophomore Mike Rozema (Fair Lawn, N.J.).
Pitt would cut the lead to 5-3, but an RBI single from Kane in the fourth extended the margin to three runs, 6-3. St. Johns put the game away with a seven-run fifth inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple to center from Bilezikjian. In that inning, DeRosa and junior catcher Josh Young (Pittsford, N.Y.) each drove in runs with singles.
In the nightcap, the Red Storm jumped out to a 5-2 lead after four-and-a-half innings, but could not hold it. SJU jumped on top in the first when Bilezikjian walked and scored on Kanes RBI triple. The lead grew to three runs in the fourth when freshman catcher Blake Hershelman (Georgetown, Del.) hit a sole home run and Bilezikjian added a three-run shot.
Senior starter Greg Holmes (Stony Brook, N.Y.) was charged for four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth as the Panthers opened a 10-5 lead.
St. Johns cut the gap to two runs, 10-8, in the seventh inning on a three-run home run from Hershelman, but could not get closer.
Hershelman finished the night with two home runs, one sole and the three-run shot.
Holmes took the loss in the second game, dropping to 2-1 this season.
St. Johns continues its road trip this weekend, playing a doubleheader at West Virginia on Saturday, beginning at noon.
