St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Opens NCAA Regional Play Against Mississippi
6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 1, 2010
- 2010 NCAA Tournament Central
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QUEENS, N.Y. - After winning a conference-record sixth BIG EAST Tournament crown, St. John's will open play in its 33rd NCAA Tournament against Mississippi. Head coach Ed Blankmeyer has led St. John's to the NCAA Tournament six times, including three times in the past four seasons.
Stat Of The Week
33: St. John's has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 33 times, a number that ranks tied for seventh all-time among Division I baseball programs.
Inside The Series With Mississippi
- The game on Friday will mark the first-ever contest between St. John's and Mississippi.
Scouting The Rebels (38-22)
- Mississippi is appearing in its eighth-straight NCAA Tournament.
- The Rebels went 2-2 in the SEC Tournament, defeating South Carolina and Auburn, and falling to Alabama and LSU.
- Matt Smith paces the offense with team-bests in average (.344), doubles (14), home runs (12) and RBI (51).
- Zach Miller has 46 RBI, while Matt Synder adds 10 home runs and 33 RBI.
- SEC Pitcher of the Year Drew Pomeranz leads the pitching staff, posting an 8-2 record with a 2.21 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 93.2 innings.
- Brett Huber, a second team All-SEC honoree, has 12 saves and a 2.54 ERA.
St. John's Enters Collegiate Baseball Poll At No. 30
- After winning a conference-record sixth BIG EAST Tournament, St. John's has entered the Collegiate Baseball poll with a No. 30 ranking.
- The Red Storm went 4-0 in the conference tournament, including a win against USF, a pair of wins against then-No. 9 Louisville and a win against then-No. 18 Connecticut.
- St. John's first entered the national polls this season on March 1 after a 6-0 start gave the team a No. 30 ranking in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll.
St. John's Records Program's Sixth 40-Win Season
- With its May 30 win against then-No. 18 Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship, St. John's reached the 40-win plateau for the sixth time in program history.
- St. John's first reached 40 wins in 1978 when the squad reached the College World Series and finished the season 40-18.
- The Red Storm then put together four-consecutive 40-win seasons from 2005-08.
- St. John's recorded 41 wins in 2005, 40 in 2006, 41 in 2007 and set a school-record with 42 victories in 2008.
Hansen Named BIG EAST Tournament MVP, Joins Panik On All-Tournament Team
- After going 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings, Kyle Hansen received the Jack Kaiser Award as the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was also named to the All-Tournament team.
- Hansen allowed only one run and surrendered a total of just five hits in a pair of starts.
- The righty had eight strikeouts in 8.0 innings of one-run ball to earn a no-decision against USF before tossing 6.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to win the championship.
- Joe Panik was also named to the All-Tournament team after batting .375 (6-for-16) with two doubles, three RBI and three runs in four games.
- Panik was 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in the 3-0 win against UConn in the championship.
A Tough Path To The BIG EAST Title
- En route to winning a conference-record sixth BIG EAST crown, St. John's encountered a challenging path that included three games against ranked opponents.
- After opening its 4-0 run in the tournament with a win against USF, the Red Storm defeated No. 9 Louisville twice before topping No. 18 UConn in the championship game.
An Opportune Time For Season's First Shutout
- St. John's recorded its first shutout of the year in the BIG EAST Championship game, a 3-0 win against No. 18 Connecticut on May 30.
- The Red Storm had come close 10 times previously, allowing two runs six times and just one run on four occasions.
St. John's Wins Conference-Record Sixth BIG EAST Tournament
- With a 3-0 win against No. 18 Connecticut, St. John's won its conference-record sixth BIG EAST Tournament crown.
- Entering the 2010 tournament, St. John's and Notre Dame were tied with five championships each.
- St. John's won the first-ever BIG EAST Tournament in 1985 and added titles in 1986, 1988, 1993 and 1997.
Walk-Off Win No. 6 As O'Hare Becomes Latest Hero
- St. John's won in walk-off style for the sixth time this year as Sean O'Hare gave the Red Storm a 3-2 win against USF with a single on May 26 in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
- The win also marked the Red Storm's second-straight walk-off victory against USF as Matt Wessinger singled to give St. John's a 6-5 win on May 9.
- O'Hare is the fifth-different player to provide walk-off heroics, joining Josh Daniel (May 11 vs. NYIT), Jimmy Parque (April 23 vs. Georgetown), Joe Panik (March 24 vs. Columbia) and Wessinger (May 9 vs. USF and April 24 vs. Georgetown).
Baltz Named BIG EAST Rookie Of The Year
- A unanimous All-BIG EAST first team honoree, Jeremy Baltz was also named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.
- In the regular season, the outfielder batted .400 and led the BIG EAST in RBI (71) and slugging percentage (.771), and tied for the lead in home runs (20).
- Baltz is the third St. John's player to earn BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors, joining Mike Maerten (1991) and Rich Aurilia (1990).
Five Players Earn All-BIG EAST Accolades
- Five St. John's players earned All-BIG EAST accolades as announced at the 2010 BIG EAST Tournament opening ceremonies.
- Freshman Jeremy Baltz earned first team All-BIG EAST honors and was one of just two players that were unanimous first team selections.
- Junior Daniel Burawa, sophomore Joe Panik, and freshmen Kyle Hansen and Sean O'Hare were each third-team choices.
Players Mentioned
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