St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Enters D1Baseball.com Poll at No. 22
2/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
D1Baseball Rankings
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Off to its best start since 2010, the St. John's Baseball team entered the D1Baseball.com rankings this week, checking in at No. 22 after winning four games over the past seven days to improve to 7-0 on the season.
With wins in each of their first seven contests, the Johnnies have matched the start of the 2010 squad that went on to win a school-record 43 games and claim the program's sixth of eight BIG EAST titles.
Taking on No. 8 North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon in Chapel Hill, St. John's will have the opportunity to secure its best start since 1981, when the Redmen won their first 14 games en route to finishing the season with a 34-4 mark led by future MLB stars Frank Viola and John Franco.
Over the course of their first seven games, the Johnnies have excelled both offensively and defensively, as the team is hitting .363 while the pitching staff is limiting opponents to a .231 batting average with an ERA of 1.97.
Eight of the Red Storm's nine everyday starters are hitting above .300 while four of those players are hitting .400 or better, led by John Valente at .516. Jamie Galazin is hitting .464 with a team-best four extra-base hits, while Jesse Berardi is batting .433 with a team-best 12 RBIs and Michael Donadio is hitting at a .400 clip and sits just two hits shy of 200 for his career.
After facing the Tar Heels on Wednesday, the Red Storm will close out its spring break trip in the Carolinas with the LeClair Classic at East Carolina beginning on Friday at noon.
