St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 14
Kennesaw, Ga. (Fred Stilwell Stadium)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Kennesaw State
St. John’s to Kick off 2020 with Atlanta Challenge
2/13/2020 10:41:00 AM | Baseball
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Red Storm will play Kennesaw State, Georgia State and Georgia Tech in greater Atlanta
ATLANTA (Feb. 13, 2020) – The St. John's baseball team will begin its 2020 campaign this weekend in the Peach State, playing three teams in as many days in The Atlanta Challenge. The Johnnies will kick off the season on Friday at Kennesaw State before traveling to Georgia State on Saturday. St. John's will then close out the weekend with a contest against No. 19 Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon.
For the first time in a quarter century, St. John's will begin a season without Ed Blankmeyer in the dugout. The legendary Red Storm skipper and ABCA Hall of Famer resigned in early January to pursue a professional opportunity with the New York Mets, where he will serve as the organization's extended spring training coordinator and manage the Brooklyn Cyclones, the club's New York-Penn League affiliate. Continuity will not be hard to come by; however, as longtime assistant coach Mike Hampton will serve as the team's interim head coach for 2020. Hampton, who spent 18 years learning under Blankmeyer, also welcomes back pitching coach George Brown and assistant coach Danny Bethea, both of whom played for Blankmeyer and Hampton as student-athletes before hearing their names called in the MLB Draft. Hampton has been on staff for four BIG EAST Tournament Championships, six BIG EAST Regular Season crowns, nine 40-win seasons, 10 NCAA Tournament berths and a Super Regional appearance in 2012. Since 1956, St. John's had just four coaches: Jack Kaiser, Joe Russo, Ed Blankmeyer and now Mike Hampton; the first three of those men are all members of the ABCA Hall of Fame.
The Red Storm is coming off the program's 29th winning record in the last 30 seasons, as the Johnnies went 31-23 in 2019 with a 9-9 mark in BIG EAST play. After sweeping local rival Seton Hall in the final series of the regular season, the Johnnies earned a berth to the BIG EAST Tournament for a league-record 16th consecutive year. Four players garnered First Team All-BIG EAST honors while five were drafted or signed to affiliated free agent contracts. One of those All-BIG EAST First Teamers, outfielder Mike Antico, was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in December.
Antico enjoyed a banner year in 2018, hitting .386 with six home runs and 28 RBIs. His .386 batting average was good enough for 22nd in the nation while his .500 on-base percentage ranked 16th among all eligible Division I players. Also a terror on the base paths, Antico swiped 20 bags in just 24 attempts, the highest single-season steal total by a St. John's player since Matt Wessinger stole 34 during the 2012 Super Regional campaign. Antico is the third St. John's outfielder in the last five years to be named the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, joining Alex Caruso (2016) and Anthony Brocato (2018).
Antico will be far from the only offensive weapon that the Johnnies welcome back in 2020, as the Red Storm returns more than 75 percent of its run production from a year ago and seven position players who started 37 or more games in 2019. Together, those seven student-athletes combined for 20 of the team's 28 home runs while all seven hit .259 or better.
Two returners and a junior college transfer are set to make up the Red Storm's weekend rotation. Senior southpaw Nick Mondak is slated to throw Friday before Joe Joe Rodriguez, a junior college national champion last season at Cumberland Community College, takes the ball on Saturday. Ian Murphy, a sophomore right-hander who started eight games as a freshman, is scheduled to toe the rubber on Sunday against Georgia Tech.
The Johnnies have taken on two of their three opening weekend opponents in the past. Friday's game between St. John's and Kennesaw State will come four years to the day after the Red Storm's only meeting with the Owls, as the two teams split a doubleheader on Feb. 14, 2015. St. John's and Georgia Tech have met nine times, a series history that favors the Yellow Jackets, 6-3. The Red Storm will face off with Georgia State for the first time on Saturday.
For the first time in a quarter century, St. John's will begin a season without Ed Blankmeyer in the dugout. The legendary Red Storm skipper and ABCA Hall of Famer resigned in early January to pursue a professional opportunity with the New York Mets, where he will serve as the organization's extended spring training coordinator and manage the Brooklyn Cyclones, the club's New York-Penn League affiliate. Continuity will not be hard to come by; however, as longtime assistant coach Mike Hampton will serve as the team's interim head coach for 2020. Hampton, who spent 18 years learning under Blankmeyer, also welcomes back pitching coach George Brown and assistant coach Danny Bethea, both of whom played for Blankmeyer and Hampton as student-athletes before hearing their names called in the MLB Draft. Hampton has been on staff for four BIG EAST Tournament Championships, six BIG EAST Regular Season crowns, nine 40-win seasons, 10 NCAA Tournament berths and a Super Regional appearance in 2012. Since 1956, St. John's had just four coaches: Jack Kaiser, Joe Russo, Ed Blankmeyer and now Mike Hampton; the first three of those men are all members of the ABCA Hall of Fame.
The Red Storm is coming off the program's 29th winning record in the last 30 seasons, as the Johnnies went 31-23 in 2019 with a 9-9 mark in BIG EAST play. After sweeping local rival Seton Hall in the final series of the regular season, the Johnnies earned a berth to the BIG EAST Tournament for a league-record 16th consecutive year. Four players garnered First Team All-BIG EAST honors while five were drafted or signed to affiliated free agent contracts. One of those All-BIG EAST First Teamers, outfielder Mike Antico, was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in December.
Antico enjoyed a banner year in 2018, hitting .386 with six home runs and 28 RBIs. His .386 batting average was good enough for 22nd in the nation while his .500 on-base percentage ranked 16th among all eligible Division I players. Also a terror on the base paths, Antico swiped 20 bags in just 24 attempts, the highest single-season steal total by a St. John's player since Matt Wessinger stole 34 during the 2012 Super Regional campaign. Antico is the third St. John's outfielder in the last five years to be named the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, joining Alex Caruso (2016) and Anthony Brocato (2018).
Antico will be far from the only offensive weapon that the Johnnies welcome back in 2020, as the Red Storm returns more than 75 percent of its run production from a year ago and seven position players who started 37 or more games in 2019. Together, those seven student-athletes combined for 20 of the team's 28 home runs while all seven hit .259 or better.
Two returners and a junior college transfer are set to make up the Red Storm's weekend rotation. Senior southpaw Nick Mondak is slated to throw Friday before Joe Joe Rodriguez, a junior college national champion last season at Cumberland Community College, takes the ball on Saturday. Ian Murphy, a sophomore right-hander who started eight games as a freshman, is scheduled to toe the rubber on Sunday against Georgia Tech.
The Johnnies have taken on two of their three opening weekend opponents in the past. Friday's game between St. John's and Kennesaw State will come four years to the day after the Red Storm's only meeting with the Owls, as the two teams split a doubleheader on Feb. 14, 2015. St. John's and Georgia Tech have met nine times, a series history that favors the Yellow Jackets, 6-3. The Red Storm will face off with Georgia State for the first time on Saturday.
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