St. John's University Athletics
Matchups Announced For 2011 BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge
10/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 19, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's baseball team will face three of the top Big Ten teams in the third annual BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge held Feb. 18-20 at current and former minor league complexes in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Fla., areas. The Red Storm is slated to face Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio State in the event.
The challenge will feature eight teams from each conference. St. John's, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and West Virginia represent the BIG EAST. The Big Ten field includes Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. St. John's is 5-1 in the first two challenges, a mark that ranks tied with Ohio State as the best among the 17 teams that have appeared in both challenges.
The three opponents have a combined 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and nine Big Ten Tournament crowns in the past 10 seasons. Minnesota and Ohio State have six NCAA Tournament appearances apiece in that stretch, while Michigan has four. The Gophers lead the way with four conference titles in the past 10 years, while the Wolverines have three and the Buckeyes have two.
The Red Storm will open the challenge against Minnesota at 1 p.m. on Feb. 18. The game, a battle between defending conference tournament champions, is slated to be played at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium. Minnesota made its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010 and finished the season 32-30.
St. John's continues play against Michigan at 1 p.m. on Feb. 19 in a game played at Al Lang/Progressive Energy Park. The Wolverines were 35-22 in 2010. The squad concludes the challenge against Ohio State at 10 a.m. on Feb. 20 in a game played at the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex. The Buckeyes finished the 2010 season with a 28-23 mark.
St. John's (43-20) advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time in 2010, defeating VCU, then-No. 22 Mississippi and then-No. 1 Virginia to reach the Charlottesville Regional title game. The Red Storm defeated then-No. 18 Connecticut to win its conference-record sixth BIG EAST Tournament crown. Named the NCBWA and Louisville Slugger Freshman Player of the Year, Jeremy Baltz became the first St. John's player to earn All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Baseball America, Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) in the same season. Head coach Ed Blankmeyer recorded his 500th career win and led the team to a school-record 43-win campaign.
