St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Fairfield
Varvaro Leads Red Storm Past Fairfield, 10-3
3/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2004
Fairfield, Conn. - It may have been cold and windy at Alumni Diamond on Tuesday afternoon, but the St. John's bats were warm, and starting pitcher Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, N.Y.) was hotter. The Red Storm took a 6-0 lead after five innings, and the sophomore hurler allowed only two hits in a 10-3 win over Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon.
The win, St. John's fifth-straight, improves its record to 8-8 overall, while the Stags fall to 2-6.
The Red Storm jumped on top in the second inning when junior Blake Hershelman (Georgetown, Del.) singled through the left side. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Hershelman scored when sophomore Eddie Schultz (Flemington, N.J.) laced a double to center.
St. John's added two more runs in the third, taking a 3-0 lead. Freshman Eric Grabowski (Spencer, Mass.) reached on an infield single and scored when junior P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, N.Y.) blasted a triple to the wall in right-center. Junior Jim Martin (Norwood, Mass.) followed with a hard single up the middle, giving the Red Storm a three-run lead.
The lead grew to 6-0 with three runs in the fifth. Senior Mike Rozema (Fair Lawn, N.J.) singled and Antoniato reached on an error. A double steal moved the runners up and the bases were loaded after Martin walked. With none out, Hershelman was hit by a pitch to keep the bases loaded. Junior Joe Burke (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grounded into a double play, scoring Antoniato, and Martin scored on a passed ball.
That was enough for Varvaro, who was perfect through three innings, and did not allow a hit until there was one out in the fifth. He got into trouble in the fourth, putting runners on first and third with one out. He induced No. 3 hitter Sal Mancuso to ground out, forcing the runner at second. The throw to first was not in time, but freshman first baseman Chris Joachim (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) alertly threw home and Burke tagged Nick Hudyma out at the plate to end the threat.
Fairfield scored three runs in the sixth, cutting the Red Storm's lead in half. Varvaro walked Andy Lynn with one out and Mancuso reached on an error, putting runners on the corners. On a full count, Antuan Barnett hit a blast to center for a home run.
Varvaro was relieved by freshman Justin Muir (Plainsboro, N.J.), who worked two scoreless innings, striking out five batters.
St. John's sealed the game with a four-run ninth inning. Senior Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H.) hit a triple to lead off the inning and scored when Rozema reached on a fielder's choice. Rozema stole second and moved to third on an error before an Antoniato single scored him. Antoniato stole second and moved to third on an error and was delivered home on Martin's single. Martin moved to third on a single from sophomore Ken Devenney (Philadelphia, Pa.) and scored on a single from Burke.
Varvaro improved to 2-0, throwing 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits, with three walks and six strikeouts.
St. John's returns to home on Wednesday, hosting Columbia at 3 p.m.
