St. John's University Athletics
Ron Darling Highlights Fourth Annual Bullpen Winter Banquet
1/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 28, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - Major League All-Star and 1986 World Series Champion Ron Darling highlighted the Fourth Annual Bullpen Winter Banquet held on Wednesday night at the New York Athletic Club. Nearly 200 people were in attendance for the event held to benefit the St. John's baseball program.
"This was a wonderful evening for St. John's baseball," said head coach Ed Blankmeyer. "I asked Ron to speak at this event because I felt that he has a great connection with St. John's. He did a great job tonight and everyone enjoyed themselves."
St. John's alum, World Series MVP and Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola was also in attendance and spoke privately with the team and coaching staff prior to the event. Viola discussed his experiences at St. John's, including his classic 1981 matchup against Darling and his trip to the 1980 College World Series.
John Franco, former New York Mets All-Star reliever and St. John's alum, was also in attendance, giving this year's event plenty of Major League pitching star power.
"To have three major leaguers with long professional careers in attendance tonight was special," Blankmeyer added.
Darling joins Roger Clemens, David Wright and Franco on the list of guest speakers for the annual banquet.
Before Darling addressed the crowd, there was a special presentation highlighting what many consider to be the greatest collegiate baseball game ever played. On May 21, 1981, in the NCAA Tournament Northeast Regional, Viola took the mound against Darling in a 12-inning marathon. Viola tossed 11.0 scoreless innings and had eight strikeouts before handing the game to reliever Eric Stampfl. In a complete game effort, Darling tallied 16 strikeouts and carried a no-hitter into the 12th inning. St. John's would prevail in the game, 1-0.
"I love that St. John's holds this event every year to improve the experience for these student-athletes," Darling said. "I was honored to speak tonight and I truly enjoy spending time with the St. John's baseball family."
"Ron did a fantastic job and it was great seeing him and my former teammates tonight," said Viola. "This was a great event and I am happy to be back."
There was also a presentation honoring the 1985 St. John's baseball team that won the first-ever BIG EAST Tournament Championship. Don Landolphi, an assistant coach for the 1985 squad, and Hall of Fame baseball coach Jack Kaiser presented gifts to members of the team that were in attendance.
The Peter P. Smith Most Valuable Player Award was presented to Tim Morris. An 11th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2009 MLB Draft, the first baseman etched his name into the record books in an impressive 2009 campaign. Morris set a new single season school-record with 69 runs scored and finished with 90 hits, becoming just the second player in school history to reach the 90-hit plateau. A third team All-American and a first team All-BIG EAST selection, Morris posted the fourth-best single season batting average (.415), and added 12 doubles, 12 home runs and 62 RBI.
Bruce Kern was presented with the Howie Gershberg Award as the team's most outstanding pitcher. In his first season at the Division I level, the junior college transfer posted a 5-4 record in 13 appearances, including 11 starts. The righty tossed a team-high 65.0 innings and also led the team with 57 strikeouts. After recording seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief to earn his first-career win in his St. John's debut, Kern closed the season with a complete game five-hitter in a win against Cincinnati in his first-ever BIG EAST Tournament appearance.
"This is a family and it's great to see so many alumni give back each year and come out and support us," said Joe Witkowski. "The St. John's baseball program is all about tradition."
The St. John's baseball team begins the 2010 campaign on Feb. 19 with a three game-set at New Orleans. The Red Storm will play its first 13 games on the road before opening at home against Fairfield on March 16.
