St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Baseball Players Enjoy Stellar Summers
9/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 21, 2004
Queens, NY - After one of the most celebrated seasons in recent years, several St. John's baseball players continued to succeed in wood-bat leagues throughout the country during the summer.
The Red Storm, who finished 37-23 overall, were the runner-up in the BIG EAST and reached an NCAA Regional, had team members competing in the famed Cape Cod League in Massachusetts, the Northwoods League in the Midwest, the Coastal Plains League in North Carolina, the New England Collegiate Baseball League, the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and the Atlantic Baseball Confederation.
Two players - junior pitchers Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, NY) and Craig Hansen (Glen Cove, NY) - pitched for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape League. Hansen was chosen a Cape League All-Star and selected to the All-Cape Cod League team after tying for the league lead in saves with 10. He finished the season with a 1-1 record, a 0.00 earned run average, with two walks and 41 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched. Varvaro, meanwhile, compiled a 3-5 win- loss record, with a 3.50 earned run average, pitching for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape League. A second-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2004, he struck out 57 batters in 54 innings of work.
Junior outfielder Greg Thomson (Levittown, NY) led the Madison (WI) Mallards to the Northwoods League Championship, batting .285 with a home run and 20 RBI. Thomson was the second St. John's player to be selected to the Northwoods All-Star Team, following in the footsteps of All-American shortstop Mize Rozema, now playing in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Senior shortstop P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, NY) enjoyed a stellar season for the Manchester (CT) Silkworms of the NECBL. Antoniato was named the All- Star Game MVP following a 3-for-5, four-RBI performance. He finished the summer with a .306 batting average and 52 hits, fourth most in the league. Antoniato was also a driving force in guiding the Silkworms to their first playoff birth in franchise history.
Junior first baseman Eddie Schultz (Flemington, NJ) hit five home runs and drove in 16 runs for the Concord (NH) Quarry Dogs in the NECBL. Sophomore pitcher Anthony Sullivan (Arlington, MA) also played for the Dogs, finishing with a 2.33 ERA and 42 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a meager .145 batting average.
Senior pitcher Jim Wladyka (Rutherford, NJ) led the Vermont Mountaineers to their first NECBL playoff birth with solid relief work out of the bullpen. Wladyka posted a 1-2 record, with 27 strikeouts in 28 innings.
Senior third baseman Jim Martin (Norwood, MA), who led the Red Storm with a .394 average in BIG EAST games during the 2004 season, led the Keene (NH) Swampbats to the NECBL Northern Division regular season title, collecting 34 hits and 25 RBI. Senior catcher Joe Burke (Brooklyn, NY), a 2004 Big East Second Team Selection, hit one homerun and collected 11 RBI before leaving the team with an injury.
Senior outfielder Blake Hershelman (Georgetown, DE) led the Edenton (N.C) Steamers to the 2004 Coastal Plains League Championship, batting .271 and clubbing three home runs.
Junior outfielder Ken Devenney (Philadelphia, PA) and sophomore Justin Muir (Plainsboro, NJ) both enjoyed All-Star seasons playing for the Long Island Collegians in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League's Kaiser Division. Devenney batted .300 with a home run and 17 RBI. He also legged out 11 doubles and finished with a slugging percentage of .409. Muir compiled a 2-3 record, with a 2.33 ERA. He struck out 53 batters in 46.2 innings of work.
Sophomore catcher Brendan Monaghan (Wayne, NJ) and sophomore infielder Ryan Crespi (Sparta, NJ) both enjoyed solid seasons playing for the Jersey Pilots in the ACBL Wolff Division. Monaghan batted .235, with 11 RBI and Crespi finished with 8 RBI.
Red shirt freshman James Lally (Floral Park, NY) pitched extremely well for the Toms River (NJ) Black Sox in the Atlantic Baseball Confederation. Lally earned five saves in relief and only allowed four earned runs in 25.1 innings. He struck out 23 and walked only five. Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Cole Kimball (Great Meadow, NJ) batted .125 in 16 games for the Black Sox.
A pair of newcomers, sophomore transfer Sam DeLuca (Pelham, NY), batted .317 with 11 doubles for the New York Generals of the ACBL, and sophomore transfer Anthony Smith (Katonah, NY), a freshman All-American last year at George Washington, went 3-2 for Vermont of the ACBL.
Rounding out the honors this summer for the Red Storm baseball team was second-year pitching coach Scott Brown, who guided the Sanford (ME) Mainers to the New England Collegiate Baseball League Championship. The Mainers posted a 26-16 record to win the league's Northern Division and then won three best-of-three series (each by 2-1 margins) to win the title over the Newport Gulls. Brown guided the team to a 32-19 record, including the playoffs, and was named the NECBL Coach of the Year.
St. John's returns to action next week for fall practice. The team will play its intra-squad World Series from October 19-21, and there will be an alumni game on October 2.
