St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 12
Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
St. John’s to Host Xavier for BIG EAST Home Opener
4/11/2019 3:29:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm and Musketeers will begin three-game set Friday on ESPN3
Victorious in three-straight games and 15 of its last 17 overall, the St. John's baseball team will open up the home portion of its BIG EAST schedule on Friday afternoon, beginning a three-game series with Xavier at 3 p.m. The Friday contest between St. John's and Xavier will air on ESPN3, as will Sunday's series finale. Saturday's game will feature an audio broadcast on RedStormSports.com.
St. John's enters the weekend following a pair of thrilling come-from-behind wins over Albany and LIU Brooklyn. On Tuesday against the Great Danes, the Red Storm trailed by two at the seventh inning stretch before tacking on two runs to tie things up in the ensuing frame and scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth. The following day against LIU Brooklyn, the Johnnies trailed by three after eight and a half before evening the score in the bottom of the ninth and winning on a walk-off double in the 11th. Both game-winning hits came off the bat of Brandon Bossard, whose RBI single proved to be the difference on Tuesday before he ripped a run-scoring double off the right field wall in the bottom of the 11th on Wednesday.
The friendly confines of Jack Kaiser have been extra kind to the Red Storm so far in 2019, as the Johnnies have yet to lose a decision in Queens. In those 10 wins, the Red Storm is hitting .312 as a team while limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. On the season as a whole, the Johnnies are hitting .264 while opponents are batting at a .231 clip. On average, St. John' is outscoring its opponent by more than five runs a game at Jack Kaiser Stadium, scoring 8.5 times per outing compared to just 3.4 for the visiting team.
The Red Storm's weekend rotation of Joe LaSorsa, Sean Mooney and Jeff Belge has been nearly untouchable this season at The Jack. With each pitcher having made two starts at home, the trio has combined to register a 0.95 ERA and a .140 opponent batting average in 38.0 innings pitched. Through games played on Wednesday, the Red Storm ranks 30th nationally with a 3.46 staff ERA while LaSorsa (12th-1.23) and Sean Mooney (32nd-1.58) rank among the individual leaders in that category. While his ERA might not be quite as microscopic as his counterparts, Belge ranks among the nation's leaders in punchouts, as his 12.53 strikeouts per nine innings rank 27th in Division I.
After struggling offensively to start the season against some stellar competition, the Red Storm has been swinging a hot bat over the past month. Following a series loss to No. 24 UC Irvine from March 8-10, the Red Storm returned to New York with a 3-9 record and was batting just .194 as a team. In their last 14 games, the Johnnies have recorded double-digit hits 10 times and are hitting .329. No one has been better at the plate over this current stretch than Mike Antico, who is batting .442 with 19 runs scored and 10 RBIs in 14 appearances. Wyatt Mascarella has also been stellar for the Red Storm during that same time period, hitting .422 with 14 RBIs. All nine of the Red Storm's everyday starters are hitting .308 or better in their last 14 games.
Xavier comes to Queens with a record of 12-21 against one of the toughest schedules in the country. After beginning the season with a three-game set against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the Musketeers tested their mettle with road series against another pair of nationally ranked opponents in Texas and Arizona State. Despite going 0-9 in those contests, Xavier did manage to pick up a midweek win at No. 8 Louisville in late February.
2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Allbry Major is leading the way offensively for Xavier in 2019, hitting a team-best .320 with 15 extra-base hits. The 6-foot-5 switch hitter is one of two Musketeers batting better than .300 on the year, as senior Chris Givin checks in at .309. Conor Grammes, who is also the team's Sunday starter, is hitting .298 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.
On the mound, the Musketeers currently sport a team ERA of 6.98 thanks in large part to their loaded early-season schedule, but are coming off a three-game sweep of Georgetown that saw the Hoyas score just eight runs on the weekend.
BIG EAST opponents since 2014, St. John's and Xavier have had a number of memorable meetings in their relatively brief tenure as conference foes. The Musketeers maintain the upper hand on St. John's in postseason play, going 4-0 against the Johnnies in BIG EAST Tournament games en route to three conference titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Red Storm has enjoyed a lopsided advantage in regular season games against Xavier, going 12-3 in 15 tries, including a series win in Cincinnati last year that saw the Johnnies post a school-record 34 runs in a 34-7 victory.
Overall against BIG EAST foes, the Red Storm has won 12-straight series dating back to April of 2017.
St. John's enters the weekend following a pair of thrilling come-from-behind wins over Albany and LIU Brooklyn. On Tuesday against the Great Danes, the Red Storm trailed by two at the seventh inning stretch before tacking on two runs to tie things up in the ensuing frame and scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth. The following day against LIU Brooklyn, the Johnnies trailed by three after eight and a half before evening the score in the bottom of the ninth and winning on a walk-off double in the 11th. Both game-winning hits came off the bat of Brandon Bossard, whose RBI single proved to be the difference on Tuesday before he ripped a run-scoring double off the right field wall in the bottom of the 11th on Wednesday.
The friendly confines of Jack Kaiser have been extra kind to the Red Storm so far in 2019, as the Johnnies have yet to lose a decision in Queens. In those 10 wins, the Red Storm is hitting .312 as a team while limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. On the season as a whole, the Johnnies are hitting .264 while opponents are batting at a .231 clip. On average, St. John' is outscoring its opponent by more than five runs a game at Jack Kaiser Stadium, scoring 8.5 times per outing compared to just 3.4 for the visiting team.
The Red Storm's weekend rotation of Joe LaSorsa, Sean Mooney and Jeff Belge has been nearly untouchable this season at The Jack. With each pitcher having made two starts at home, the trio has combined to register a 0.95 ERA and a .140 opponent batting average in 38.0 innings pitched. Through games played on Wednesday, the Red Storm ranks 30th nationally with a 3.46 staff ERA while LaSorsa (12th-1.23) and Sean Mooney (32nd-1.58) rank among the individual leaders in that category. While his ERA might not be quite as microscopic as his counterparts, Belge ranks among the nation's leaders in punchouts, as his 12.53 strikeouts per nine innings rank 27th in Division I.
After struggling offensively to start the season against some stellar competition, the Red Storm has been swinging a hot bat over the past month. Following a series loss to No. 24 UC Irvine from March 8-10, the Red Storm returned to New York with a 3-9 record and was batting just .194 as a team. In their last 14 games, the Johnnies have recorded double-digit hits 10 times and are hitting .329. No one has been better at the plate over this current stretch than Mike Antico, who is batting .442 with 19 runs scored and 10 RBIs in 14 appearances. Wyatt Mascarella has also been stellar for the Red Storm during that same time period, hitting .422 with 14 RBIs. All nine of the Red Storm's everyday starters are hitting .308 or better in their last 14 games.
Xavier comes to Queens with a record of 12-21 against one of the toughest schedules in the country. After beginning the season with a three-game set against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the Musketeers tested their mettle with road series against another pair of nationally ranked opponents in Texas and Arizona State. Despite going 0-9 in those contests, Xavier did manage to pick up a midweek win at No. 8 Louisville in late February.
2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Allbry Major is leading the way offensively for Xavier in 2019, hitting a team-best .320 with 15 extra-base hits. The 6-foot-5 switch hitter is one of two Musketeers batting better than .300 on the year, as senior Chris Givin checks in at .309. Conor Grammes, who is also the team's Sunday starter, is hitting .298 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.
On the mound, the Musketeers currently sport a team ERA of 6.98 thanks in large part to their loaded early-season schedule, but are coming off a three-game sweep of Georgetown that saw the Hoyas score just eight runs on the weekend.
BIG EAST opponents since 2014, St. John's and Xavier have had a number of memorable meetings in their relatively brief tenure as conference foes. The Musketeers maintain the upper hand on St. John's in postseason play, going 4-0 against the Johnnies in BIG EAST Tournament games en route to three conference titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Red Storm has enjoyed a lopsided advantage in regular season games against Xavier, going 12-3 in 15 tries, including a series win in Cincinnati last year that saw the Johnnies post a school-record 34 runs in a 34-7 victory.
Overall against BIG EAST foes, the Red Storm has won 12-straight series dating back to April of 2017.
Players Mentioned
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