St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Places Four on All-BIG EAST First Team
5/22/2019 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Antico, Hollowell, LaSorsa and Mascarella earns spots on conference’s top team
MASON, OHIO (May 22, 2019) – The BIG EAST released its end-of-season honors on Wednesday and St. John's saw four of its players named to the league's top squad, as Mike Antico, Gavin Hollowell, Joe LaSorsa and Wyatt Mascarella all earned spots on the All-BIG EAST First Team.
St. John's placed more players on the All-BIG EAST First Team than any other program in the league. Creighton, the regular season champs, saw three of its players named to the conference's top team. Two student-athletes apiece from Xavier and Butler were also tabbed for the All-BIG EAST First Team.
The Johnnies, who begin their quest for a 10th conference tournament title on Thursday at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, have placed at least four student-athletes on the All-BIG EAST Team in each of the last three seasons. Last year, six Johnnies earned first team all-conference accolades a season after seven Johnnies garnered the distinction in 2017. In 2015, the Red Storm set a conference record with eight first team selections and 11 all-conference honorees overall.
Antico and Mascarella were unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Mascarella claimed First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second time in as many seasons while Hollowell and LaSorsa both earned their second all-conference honors after finding second team spots in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Antico's All-BIG EAST nod marked the first of his St. John's tenure.
One of just two returning offensive starters from last year's BIG EAST Championship squad that went 40-17 and 15-3 in conference play, Antico paced the Johnnies at the dish in 2019. Entering Thursday's BIG EAST Championship opener, Antico is batting .367 on the season with a team-high 41 runs scored and 27 RBIs. Sporting an OPS of 1.059, the junior outfielder has also drawn a team-high 37 walks and leads the squad with 20 extra-base hits after smacking 11 doubles, four triples and five home runs. A terror on the base paths, Antico has also been successful in 19 of his 22 stolen base attempts on the year, good enough for the highest single-season total by a St. John's player since Matt Wessinger swiped 34 bags in 2012.
In BIG EAST play, Antico has been unconscious, hitting .431 with seven doubles, a triple and four home runs in 18 games. His batting average ranked second in the league behind only BIG EAST Player of the Year Jake Holton of Creighton (.467) while his .754 slugging percentage topped the conference. His 19 walks in BIG EAST play led the league, helping him record an astounding 1.329 OPS against conference foes.
After hitting just .152 in his first 11 games of the season, Antico hit .419 over his final 37 outings.
Mascarella, the other returning starter from last year's Red Storm, earned his second consecutive First Team All-BIG EAST honor after hitting .268 with 33 RBIs, the latter of which is just one off the team lead in that category. The senior backstop recorded 15 extra-base hits, including four home runs. Two of his roundtrippers came in one of the nation's most expansive ballparks, as he left the yard twice at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha during the Red Storm's series against Creighton.
During BIG EAST play, Mascarella hit .281 while reaching base at a .420 clip and slugging .516. He hit three of his four home runs against conference foes and finished second on the team with 15 RBIs during league action.
Hollowell earns his second career All-BIG EAST accolade after shoring up a reputation as one of the conference's most dominant relievers. On the season, the 6-foot-7 right hander went 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA, registering eight saves and striking out three times as batters (45) as he walked (15). After a shaky start to the campaign, the Skillman, N.J., native picked up seven saves in his final 12 appearances, going 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA during that stretch. He struck out 39 batters and surrendered just eight walks in 26.0 innings over those final 12 outings.
During BIG EAST play, Hollowell compiled a 2.45 ERA and tallied four saves in 18.1 frames, striking out 30 and surrendering just seven walks while limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.
Hollowell's eight saves this year are a career-high and are currently tied for eighth on the program's single-season record list. With 16 saves in his three seasons with the Red Storm, Hollowell currently ranks fifth on the program's all-time saves ledger and third among three-year hurlers behind Craig Hansen (26) and Colin Lynch (24), the former of whom was a first round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2005.
LaSorsa, who had already established himself as one of the league's most versatile pitching threats as a freshman and sophomore, earned his second All-BIG EAST accolade after assuming the Red Storm's top starting role in 2019. In 14 appearances, 13 of which were starts, LaSorsa went 5-5 with a 1.82 ERA, good enough for 11th in the country in the latter category through games played on May 21. In his lone relief outing of the season, LaSorsa picked up his ninth career save with two innings of shutout work in a rain-shortened series at Western Carolina in February.
On the season, LaSorsa struck out 64 batters while surrendering 33 walks and limiting opponents to a .198 batting average. During BIG EAST play, LaSorsa stifled the opposition to a .190 clip at the dish.
The 6-foot-5 southpaw went seven innings or longer five times in his 13 starts, including a complete game victory against Kansas on March 16 at Jack Kaiser Stadium. With his team needing at least two wins in the final series of the regular season against rival Seton Hall to qualify for the BIG EAST Championship, LaSorsa kicked off action against the Pirates with eight scoreless innings of work, scattering six hits and a walk in front of a nationally televised audience on FS1. He was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week twice in 2019 following each of those aforementioned efforts.
The defending BIG EAST Champions, St. John's has won three times as many league titles as the next highest active member of the league. Seton Hall and Xavier both boast three conference crowns on their resumes.
St. John's will open BIG EAST Championship play against second-seeded Xavier tomorrow evening at Prasco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
2019 BIG EAST Regular Season Awards and All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year
Jake Holton, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Pitcher of the Year
Mitch Ragan, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Freshman of the Year
Nick Lorusso, Villanova, Fr., RHP/3B
Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton, Head Coach Ed Servais
2019 All-BIG EAST First Team
Connor Schultz, Butler, So., RHP
Mitch Ragan, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Joe LaSorsa, St. John's, Jr., LHP
^ Conor Grammes, Xavier, Jr., RHP/DH
Gavin Hollowell, St. John's, Jr., RHP (RP)
^Jake Holton, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Isaac Collins, Creighton, Jr., 2B
^ Chris Givin, Xavier, Sr., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, So., 3B
^ Wyatt Mascarella, St. John's, Sr., C
Harrison Freed, Butler, Jr., OF
^ Mike Antico, St. John's, Jr., OF
Tyler Schedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Jr., OF
2019 All-BIG EAST Second Team #
(listed alphabetically by school)
Denson Hull, Creighton, Sr., LHP
Evan Johnson, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Will Robertson, Creighton, Jr., OF
Jared Wegner, Creighton, Fr., DH
Jeremiah Burke, Georgetown, Jr., RHP
Jack Cushing, Georgetown, Sr., RHP
Kyle Ruedisili, Georgetown, Grad., OF
Ryan Weisenberg, Georgetown, Sr., 2B
Ricky DeVito, Seton Hall, Jr., RHP
Matt Toke, Seton Hall, Jr., 1B
Nick Lorusso, Villanova, Fr., RHP/3B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Fr., 3B
Lane Flamm, Xavier, Fr., RHP (RP)
Natale Monstra, Xavier, Jr., C
Matt Warkentin, Xavier, Sr., 1B
^ - denotes unanimous first team selection
# - there is a 15-member second team due to a tie in voting
St. John's placed more players on the All-BIG EAST First Team than any other program in the league. Creighton, the regular season champs, saw three of its players named to the conference's top team. Two student-athletes apiece from Xavier and Butler were also tabbed for the All-BIG EAST First Team.
The Johnnies, who begin their quest for a 10th conference tournament title on Thursday at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, have placed at least four student-athletes on the All-BIG EAST Team in each of the last three seasons. Last year, six Johnnies earned first team all-conference accolades a season after seven Johnnies garnered the distinction in 2017. In 2015, the Red Storm set a conference record with eight first team selections and 11 all-conference honorees overall.
Antico and Mascarella were unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Mascarella claimed First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second time in as many seasons while Hollowell and LaSorsa both earned their second all-conference honors after finding second team spots in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Antico's All-BIG EAST nod marked the first of his St. John's tenure.
One of just two returning offensive starters from last year's BIG EAST Championship squad that went 40-17 and 15-3 in conference play, Antico paced the Johnnies at the dish in 2019. Entering Thursday's BIG EAST Championship opener, Antico is batting .367 on the season with a team-high 41 runs scored and 27 RBIs. Sporting an OPS of 1.059, the junior outfielder has also drawn a team-high 37 walks and leads the squad with 20 extra-base hits after smacking 11 doubles, four triples and five home runs. A terror on the base paths, Antico has also been successful in 19 of his 22 stolen base attempts on the year, good enough for the highest single-season total by a St. John's player since Matt Wessinger swiped 34 bags in 2012.
In BIG EAST play, Antico has been unconscious, hitting .431 with seven doubles, a triple and four home runs in 18 games. His batting average ranked second in the league behind only BIG EAST Player of the Year Jake Holton of Creighton (.467) while his .754 slugging percentage topped the conference. His 19 walks in BIG EAST play led the league, helping him record an astounding 1.329 OPS against conference foes.
After hitting just .152 in his first 11 games of the season, Antico hit .419 over his final 37 outings.
Mascarella, the other returning starter from last year's Red Storm, earned his second consecutive First Team All-BIG EAST honor after hitting .268 with 33 RBIs, the latter of which is just one off the team lead in that category. The senior backstop recorded 15 extra-base hits, including four home runs. Two of his roundtrippers came in one of the nation's most expansive ballparks, as he left the yard twice at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha during the Red Storm's series against Creighton.
During BIG EAST play, Mascarella hit .281 while reaching base at a .420 clip and slugging .516. He hit three of his four home runs against conference foes and finished second on the team with 15 RBIs during league action.
Hollowell earns his second career All-BIG EAST accolade after shoring up a reputation as one of the conference's most dominant relievers. On the season, the 6-foot-7 right hander went 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA, registering eight saves and striking out three times as batters (45) as he walked (15). After a shaky start to the campaign, the Skillman, N.J., native picked up seven saves in his final 12 appearances, going 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA during that stretch. He struck out 39 batters and surrendered just eight walks in 26.0 innings over those final 12 outings.
During BIG EAST play, Hollowell compiled a 2.45 ERA and tallied four saves in 18.1 frames, striking out 30 and surrendering just seven walks while limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.
Hollowell's eight saves this year are a career-high and are currently tied for eighth on the program's single-season record list. With 16 saves in his three seasons with the Red Storm, Hollowell currently ranks fifth on the program's all-time saves ledger and third among three-year hurlers behind Craig Hansen (26) and Colin Lynch (24), the former of whom was a first round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2005.
LaSorsa, who had already established himself as one of the league's most versatile pitching threats as a freshman and sophomore, earned his second All-BIG EAST accolade after assuming the Red Storm's top starting role in 2019. In 14 appearances, 13 of which were starts, LaSorsa went 5-5 with a 1.82 ERA, good enough for 11th in the country in the latter category through games played on May 21. In his lone relief outing of the season, LaSorsa picked up his ninth career save with two innings of shutout work in a rain-shortened series at Western Carolina in February.
On the season, LaSorsa struck out 64 batters while surrendering 33 walks and limiting opponents to a .198 batting average. During BIG EAST play, LaSorsa stifled the opposition to a .190 clip at the dish.
The 6-foot-5 southpaw went seven innings or longer five times in his 13 starts, including a complete game victory against Kansas on March 16 at Jack Kaiser Stadium. With his team needing at least two wins in the final series of the regular season against rival Seton Hall to qualify for the BIG EAST Championship, LaSorsa kicked off action against the Pirates with eight scoreless innings of work, scattering six hits and a walk in front of a nationally televised audience on FS1. He was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week twice in 2019 following each of those aforementioned efforts.
The defending BIG EAST Champions, St. John's has won three times as many league titles as the next highest active member of the league. Seton Hall and Xavier both boast three conference crowns on their resumes.
St. John's will open BIG EAST Championship play against second-seeded Xavier tomorrow evening at Prasco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
2019 BIG EAST Regular Season Awards and All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year
Jake Holton, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Pitcher of the Year
Mitch Ragan, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Freshman of the Year
Nick Lorusso, Villanova, Fr., RHP/3B
Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton, Head Coach Ed Servais
2019 All-BIG EAST First Team
Connor Schultz, Butler, So., RHP
Mitch Ragan, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Joe LaSorsa, St. John's, Jr., LHP
^ Conor Grammes, Xavier, Jr., RHP/DH
Gavin Hollowell, St. John's, Jr., RHP (RP)
^Jake Holton, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Isaac Collins, Creighton, Jr., 2B
^ Chris Givin, Xavier, Sr., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, So., 3B
^ Wyatt Mascarella, St. John's, Sr., C
Harrison Freed, Butler, Jr., OF
^ Mike Antico, St. John's, Jr., OF
Tyler Schedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Jr., OF
2019 All-BIG EAST Second Team #
(listed alphabetically by school)
Denson Hull, Creighton, Sr., LHP
Evan Johnson, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Will Robertson, Creighton, Jr., OF
Jared Wegner, Creighton, Fr., DH
Jeremiah Burke, Georgetown, Jr., RHP
Jack Cushing, Georgetown, Sr., RHP
Kyle Ruedisili, Georgetown, Grad., OF
Ryan Weisenberg, Georgetown, Sr., 2B
Ricky DeVito, Seton Hall, Jr., RHP
Matt Toke, Seton Hall, Jr., 1B
Nick Lorusso, Villanova, Fr., RHP/3B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Fr., 3B
Lane Flamm, Xavier, Fr., RHP (RP)
Natale Monstra, Xavier, Jr., C
Matt Warkentin, Xavier, Sr., 1B
^ - denotes unanimous first team selection
# - there is a 15-member second team due to a tie in voting
Players Mentioned
OF
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RHP
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LHP
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