St. John's University Athletics
Ed Blankmeyer Releases 2017 St. John's Baseball Schedule
10/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
2017 St. John's Baseball Schedule (PDF)
QUEENS, N.Y. - Entering his 22nd season at the helm of the St. John's baseball program, Ed Blankmeyer has released his team's schedule for the upcoming 2017 campaign.
In addition to a BIG EAST slate which features home series against Seton Hall, Xavier and Villanova, the Red Storm's schedule is highlighted by a number of trips south of the Mason-Dixon Line, where the Johnnies will engage in early-season competition with a number of teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Red Storm will face six teams that earned berths in last year's field of 64, including defending national champion Coastal Carolina in the fourth game of the season in Conway, S.C.
This year's BIG EAST Tournament will return to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., marking the second time in the last three seasons that the league will crown a champion at the site of the College World Series. St. John's won its last conference crown at TD Ameritrade in 2015.
The eight-time BIG EAST Champions will begin their quest for a league-record ninth title on Fri., Feb. 17, traveling to Conway, S.C., for four games at the Caravelle Resort Tournament. The Red Storm will open the season against Western Carolina, the 2016 SoCon champs, at 11 a.m., followed by a 3 p.m. matchup on Saturday against James Madison. The Johnnies will then take on Richmond Sunday morning at 11 a.m. before closing out their first trip of the season with a 12 p.m. showdown against Coastal Carolina, the defending national champions, on Monday the 20th.
The Red Storm will return home to Queens for a very brief period before hitting the road once again, heading back to the Palmetto State for a stretch of three games from Fri., Feb. 24, through Sun., Feb. 26, in Lexington, S.C. St. John's will square off with Big 12 foe Kansas State on Friday before playing back-to-back games against UMBC on Saturday and Sunday. With the University on Spring Break the following week, the Red Storm will remain down South, taking on North Carolina on Wed., March 1, in Chapel Hill.
Following its midweek match up with the Tar Heels, the Red Storm will travel to Greenville, N.C., for a three-game tournament at East Carolina. The Johnnies will face off with Appalachian State on Friday, March 3, before meeting with the host-school Pirates on Saturday and Western Carolina for the second time on the young season on Sunday. Last year, East Carolina earned an at-large bid to the NCAA and scored an upset victory at the Charlottesville Regional before falling to Texas Tech in three games at the Lubbock Super Regional.
The Red Storm will play its first game in the New York Metropolitan area on Tues., March 7, taking on local foe Iona at 3 p.m. in New Rochelle.
St. John's will take its final long road trip of the 2017 non-conference campaign the following weekend, traveling to Liberty University for a three-game set with Flames in Lynchburg, Va., from March 10-12.
Upon returning from Liberty, the Red Storm will begin nearly a month of games in the Tri-State Area, beginning with a single game at NYIT on Tues., March 14.
The Johnnies will host their home-opener at Jack Kaiser Stadium on Sat., March 18, welcoming Holy Cross for a doubleheader beginning at noon. The two teams will then close out the series the following day at 1 p.m. at The Jack.
After kicking off the home portion of its schedule against the Crusaders, the Red Storm will play a pair of midweek games, traveling to 2016 MAAC Champion Fairfield for a Tuesday tilt before playing host to Saint Peter's on Wed., March 22.
The Red Storm will host its second home series of the season beginning on Saturday, March 25, playing host Maine for a doubleheader beginning at noon followed by a single game on Sunday at 1 pm.
Following the series with the Black Bears, the Red Storm will travel to Staten Island for a Wednesday afternoon contest with Wagner at 3 p.m. on March 29 before undertaking a series with Hofstra that will span three days and two stadiums. The Johnnies and the Pride will kick off the series at 3 p.m. in Queens on Friday, March 31, before playing the second game in Hempstead on Saturday at 1 p.m. The two teams will then face off in the final game of the series on Sun., April 2, at 1 p.m. at The Jack.
Two midweek games at home await St. John's after their three-game set with the Pride, as the Red Storm will host Saint Peter's on Tues., April 4 before welcoming Columbia to Queens on Wednesday.
The Red Storm will kick off BIG EAST play on Fri., April 7, at 6:30 p.m., traveling to Omaha for a three-game series with Creighton. The second game of the set will take place on Saturday at 2 p.m. before concluding with a Sunday contest at noon.
St. John's will play a midweek contest against Albany on Tues., April 11, at Kaiser Stadium before hitting the road for another BIG EAST series, taking on Butler in Indianapolis from Thurs., April 13, to Sat., April 15.
After returning from the Hoosier State, the Red Storm will begin a nine-game home stand on Tues., April 18, welcoming NYIT to Kaiser Stadium for a 3 p.m. tilt. The Johnnies will then begin their final non-conference series of the season welcoming Fairleigh Dickinson to The Jack for a three-game set beginning on April 21.
The Red Storm will take on its fifth 2016 NCAA Tournament team of the year on the evening of Wed., April 26, welcoming defending Ivy League Champion Princeton to Kaiser Stadium at 6 p.m.
The Johnnies will then host their first BIG EAST series of the season in Queens, facing off against the Pirates of Seton Hall from April 28-30.
Local foe Iona will close out the Red Storm's home stand on Tues., May 2, with a 6 p.m. tilt before the Johnnies travel to Bethesda, Md., for a three-game series with BIG EAST foe Georgetown from May 5-8.
The Red Storm will enjoy four days off before beginning the home stretch of its regular season schedule with six of its next seven games at Jack Kaiser Stadium. The Johnnies will host defending BIG EAST Champion Xavier in Queens from May 12-14 before traveling to LIU-Brooklyn for a midweek matchup on Tues., May 16, at 3 p.m. St. John's will then conclude its regular season with a three-game set against Villanova at The Jack from May 18-20.
The BIG EAST Tournament returns to Omaha, Neb., and TD Ameritrade Park from May 25-28, when the Red Storm will look to capture its ninth conference title in school history and second in the last three seasons.