St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Baseball to Open 2004 Season at Arkansas
2/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2004
JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer begins his ninth season at the helm of the St. John's baseball program with the Red Storm traveling more than 1,3000 miles (according to Mapquest.com) for a three-game series at Southeastern Conference power Arkansas.
St. John's, picked seventh in the 2004 BIG EAST Preseason poll, will be playing the Razorbacks for the first time in school history.
Arkansas opened its season last weekend with a three-game sweep of Louisiana Tech, outscoring the Bulldogs 37-4, as the Razorbacks pitching staff held them to a .235 batting average, including a .154 mark with runners in scoring position.
"We're excited to get going," Blankmeyer said. "It's always a challenge when you start, but the guys have been working really hard in practice and were ready to get out there."
The Red Storm, meanwhile, will play their first games of the season this weekend. Senior Geno Orsogna (Norfolk, Mass.), who has a career record of 9-5 with a 4.58 earned run average, will start the opener for St. John's. Orsogna, who returned last year after missing 2002 as a result of surgery, posted a 5-2 record with a 3.32 ERA during his sophomore season in 2001.
Senior Joe Reid (Rutherford, N.J.) and sophomore Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, N.Y.) will start the final two games of the series. Reid was a third-team All-BIG EAST selection last year, posting a 3-3 record with a 3.74 earned run average and a team-high 68 strikeouts. Varvaro, meanwhile, went 4-6 with a 4.83 earned run average.
On offense, Blankmeyer will look to senior shortstop Mike Rozema (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and senior outfielder Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H.), the team's captains this season. Rozema was a first-team All-BIG EAST selection last year and earned three All-American honors. He led the team in batting, and ranked 27th nationally, with a .408 average. DeRosa has been a solid bat in the lineup the last two years, posting a .325 batting average with 12 home runs and 64 RBI in that span.
First pitch for Friday's first game is 3:35 ET. The teams will play single games on Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. ET.
For the most up-to-date information and statistics on St. John's Athletics, please visit www.RedStormSports.com, or call our hotline at 1-888-GO-STORM.
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