St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Set To Play In Keith LeClair Classic
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 26, 2009
Tournament Central
Game Notes (PDF)
QUEENS, N.Y. - After posting a 2-1 record at the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge in the opening weekend of play, the St. John's baseball team will head to Greenville, N.C., for a trio of games in the Keith LeClair Classic. The Red Storm will face the host East Carolina Pirates on Feb. 27 at 5 p.m., before taking on College of Charleston at 11 a.m., on Feb. 28. St. John's will conclude play in the classic with a 10 a.m., game on March 1 against Oklahoma State.
Inside The Series With East Carolina
This is the fifth meeting between the two schools in an all-time series that began in 1997. The series is tied 2-2 with the Pirates winning the most recent meeting, 5-1, in 2007. St. John's took two of three in a series against East Carolina in 1997, when the teams first met.
Scouting The Pirates
East Carolina is 3-0 after posting a sweep against Monmouth to open the 2009 campaign. Stephen Batts is leading the team with a .643 average (9-for-14) and has a double, a triple and three RBI. Kyle Roller, meanwhile, has a team-best 1.000 slugging percentage and a team-best six RBI. Seth Maness is scheduled to pitch for the Pirates. The righty is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and has tallied six strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
Inside the Series With College of Charleston
St. John's has met College of Charleston 11 times in a series that began in 1997. The Cougars hold a slight edge in the series, 6-5, but St. John's won the last time the teams met in 2006. The Red Storm won four of the first five meetings, including taking two of three in 1997.
Scouting The Cougars
The Cougars posted a 3-0 sweep against Miami (Ohio) to open the season. Joash Brodin is batting .545 with a team-best seven RBI and has added two home runs. Matt Mansilla also has two home runs, five RBI and a team-best 1.200 slugging percentage. The Cougars batted .374 on the weekend and belted seven home runs.
Inside the Series With Oklahoma State
St. John's and Oklahoma State have met just once before this weekend. The Cowboys posted a 17-4 victory when the teams met in 2002.
Scouting The Cowboys
Oklahoma State is 4-0 after posting a pair of wins against both BYU and Manhattan. Neil Medchill leads the team with 10 RBI and 10 runs scored. Doug Kroll has two home runs and a team-best .875 slugging percentage. Oklahoma State batted .313 on the weekend and outscored the opposition, 46-26. Tyler Blandford is slated to start for the Cowboys. The righty earned a no-decision in his first appearance this season, striking out seven and allowing three runs in 4.1 innings.
St. John's To Play First Game At Citi Field
The New York Mets have announced that the brand-new Citi Field will be opened to the public for the first time on Sunday, March 29 at 1:10 p.m., as St. John's takes on Georgetown in a BIG EAST matchup.
"It is a tremendous opportunity to be the first team to play at the new Citi Field," said head coach Ed Blankmeyer. "This will be a great day for St. John's baseball and BIG EAST baseball."
St. John's use of the New York Mets' home ballpark is not unprecedented. In 2000, while the current Jack Kaiser Stadium was being constructed, the Red Storm played eight games at Shea Stadium and posted a 6-2 record in those games.
Hopkins Named BIG EAST Player Of The Week
Sophomore Greg Hopkins was named the season's first BIG EAST Player of the Week by the BIG EAST Conference. The third baseman batted .538 (7-for-13) with three doubles and a triple. Hopkins also posted a team-best .923 slugging percentage, while adding two RBI and two runs scored. The accolade for Hopkins marks the second-straight season in which a St. John's player has been named the Player of the Week following the opening weekend of play (Joe Witkowski).
Offensive Attack To Open 2009
St. John's scored 35 runs in its opening three games, including a total of 35 runs in the first two games of the season. The Red Storm defeated Penn State, 15-6, in the season opener, and followed that with an 18-3 win against Iowa. The team's 15 runs in the opener were the most runs on opening day since an 11-5 win against Virginia Tech in 2000. St. John's had not totaled 33 runs through the first two games of a season since 1963 and had not tallied at least 15 runs in each of the first two games of a season since 1948.
