St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, May 23
Mason, Ohio (Prasco Park)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
St. John’s Looks to Repeat for 10th BIG EAST Title
5/22/2019 3:05:00 PM | Baseball
Johnnies will begin the postseason on Thursday evening against second-seeded Xavier
MASON, OHIO (May 22, 2019) – The St. John's baseball team returns to Mason, Ohio, for the BIG EAST Baseball Championship presented by Jeep beginning on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against second-seeded Xavier. The first three days of the double-elimination tournament at Prasco Park will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network before Championship Sunday airs on FS2.
The defending BIG EAST champs, St. John's (30-21, 9-9 BIG EAST) will look to secure its third conference title in the last five years and its 10th overall. The no. 3 seed in this year's tournament, St. John's has won three times as many league championships as the next highest active member of the league, as both Seton Hall and Xavier have claimed the conference crown three times. Creighton, the 2019 BIG EAST Regular Season Champs, has never won the league's tournament since joining for the 2014 season. A title this weekend for the Johnnies would give the program its 38th NCAA Regional appearance all-time and its fourth in the past five seasons. The Red Storm entered 2019 tied for eighth in the history of Division I with Oklahoma and Southern California in terms of NCAA berths.
St. John's turned in a 5-4 record this season against the BIG EAST Tournament field, dropping a pair of series to Creighton and Xavier before sweeping Seton Hall this past weekend at Jack Kaiser Stadium. Those three victories over the Red Storm's biggest rival secured the team's first and only sweep of BIG EAST play and the program's first sweep of the Pirates since 2010. The Red Storm, which is making its 16th consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearance, has already secured a winning record, marking the 23rd time in 24 tries under Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer that the Johnnies have finished above .500.
The BIG EAST announced its annual end-of-season awards on Wednesday and St. John's placed four of its student-athletes on the conference's top squad, as Mike Antico, Gavin Hollowell, Joe LaSorsa and Wyatt Mascarella were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Antico and Mascarella were unanimously selected to the conference's top squad. Mascarella earned his second First Team All-BIG EAST accolade in as many seasons while Hollowell and LaSorsa also took home their second career all-conference honors. LaSorsa was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2017 and Hollowell found a spot on the second team a year ago.
Antico and LaSorsa will look to carry the momentum of a strong regular season finish into Prasco Park, as the pair was recognized in the final BIG EAST Weekly Awards of 2019. LaSorsa garnered his second conference pitcher of the week accolade after tossing eight scoreless frames in the opening game of the Red Storm's sweep of Seton Hall. The junior left hander scattered just six hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 1.82 on the season, a total that ranks 11th nationally. Antico earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after picking up a pair of hits in each of the Red Storm's three victories last week. Over that three-game stretch, Antico went 6-for-8 (.750) with four walks and a hit-by-pitch to reach base at an. 864 clip.
LaSorsa is scheduled to take the ball for St. John's in game one before Jeff Belge toes the rubber for the Red Storm in game two. Belge, also a 6-foot-5 southpaw, will seek to replicate the success he enjoyed last season at Prasco Park. After Seton Hall forced a winner-take-all game with a 19-2 drubbing in the opening contest of Championship Sunday, Belge shut down the Pirates and delivered another BIG EAST title for the Johnnies. The Syracuse native carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 7-0 win, tossing eight innings of two-hit work with a career-best nine strikeouts. For his efforts, he was presented with the Jack Kaiser Award as the tournament's most outstanding player. He also fanned nine against Clemson in the NCAA Regional.
During BIG EAST play, Belge went 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in six appearances, all of which were starts. He struck out a team-high 33 batters in 29.2 innings of work during conference action, limiting opponents to a .189 average during that span.
The defending BIG EAST champs, St. John's (30-21, 9-9 BIG EAST) will look to secure its third conference title in the last five years and its 10th overall. The no. 3 seed in this year's tournament, St. John's has won three times as many league championships as the next highest active member of the league, as both Seton Hall and Xavier have claimed the conference crown three times. Creighton, the 2019 BIG EAST Regular Season Champs, has never won the league's tournament since joining for the 2014 season. A title this weekend for the Johnnies would give the program its 38th NCAA Regional appearance all-time and its fourth in the past five seasons. The Red Storm entered 2019 tied for eighth in the history of Division I with Oklahoma and Southern California in terms of NCAA berths.
St. John's turned in a 5-4 record this season against the BIG EAST Tournament field, dropping a pair of series to Creighton and Xavier before sweeping Seton Hall this past weekend at Jack Kaiser Stadium. Those three victories over the Red Storm's biggest rival secured the team's first and only sweep of BIG EAST play and the program's first sweep of the Pirates since 2010. The Red Storm, which is making its 16th consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearance, has already secured a winning record, marking the 23rd time in 24 tries under Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer that the Johnnies have finished above .500.
The BIG EAST announced its annual end-of-season awards on Wednesday and St. John's placed four of its student-athletes on the conference's top squad, as Mike Antico, Gavin Hollowell, Joe LaSorsa and Wyatt Mascarella were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Antico and Mascarella were unanimously selected to the conference's top squad. Mascarella earned his second First Team All-BIG EAST accolade in as many seasons while Hollowell and LaSorsa also took home their second career all-conference honors. LaSorsa was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2017 and Hollowell found a spot on the second team a year ago.
Antico and LaSorsa will look to carry the momentum of a strong regular season finish into Prasco Park, as the pair was recognized in the final BIG EAST Weekly Awards of 2019. LaSorsa garnered his second conference pitcher of the week accolade after tossing eight scoreless frames in the opening game of the Red Storm's sweep of Seton Hall. The junior left hander scattered just six hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 1.82 on the season, a total that ranks 11th nationally. Antico earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after picking up a pair of hits in each of the Red Storm's three victories last week. Over that three-game stretch, Antico went 6-for-8 (.750) with four walks and a hit-by-pitch to reach base at an. 864 clip.
LaSorsa is scheduled to take the ball for St. John's in game one before Jeff Belge toes the rubber for the Red Storm in game two. Belge, also a 6-foot-5 southpaw, will seek to replicate the success he enjoyed last season at Prasco Park. After Seton Hall forced a winner-take-all game with a 19-2 drubbing in the opening contest of Championship Sunday, Belge shut down the Pirates and delivered another BIG EAST title for the Johnnies. The Syracuse native carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 7-0 win, tossing eight innings of two-hit work with a career-best nine strikeouts. For his efforts, he was presented with the Jack Kaiser Award as the tournament's most outstanding player. He also fanned nine against Clemson in the NCAA Regional.
During BIG EAST play, Belge went 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in six appearances, all of which were starts. He struck out a team-high 33 batters in 29.2 innings of work during conference action, limiting opponents to a .189 average during that span.
Players Mentioned
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