St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 30
Omaha, Neb. (TD Ameritrade Park Omaha)
7:30 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Creighton
St. John’s Heads to Omaha for Four Games with Creighton
4/29/2021 11:18:00 AM | Baseball
Red Storm and Bluejays to kick off series on Friday night at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
The St. John's baseball team will return to action this weekend at the home of the College World Series, traveling to Omaha for a four-game set with Creighton beginning on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
All four games of the series will be broadcast live on the Creighton Athletics YouTube page. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET before the Sunday single-game finale kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.
This past weekend in Queens, St. John's (13-12, 4-7 BIG EAST) secured its best series result of conference play so far, splitting four decisions with local rival Seton Hall. The Red Storm picked up wins in Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale anchored by a pair of standout pitching performances. On Friday, Nick Mondak fanned a season-high nine batters and walked only one in seven innings of two-run work before handing the ball over to Joe Joe Rodriguez, who rebounded from some early trouble to retire nine straight batters and keep Seton Hall off the board in extras. On Sunday, freshman right-hander Tyler Roche punched out seven and allowed only three hits in 6.1 innings of shutout work. Roche then passed the baton to Ethan Routzahn, who tallied a career-high six strikeouts in 2.2 frames to notch the win. The Red Storm pitching staff struggled to keep Seton Hall off the board in a doubleheader sweep for the Pirates on Saturday, as the Johnnies were outscored 30-5 in 14 innings of play.
The Red Storm's rotation will feature a change from the previous two weekends. Mondak will still take the ball on Friday night, but Matt Semon is scheduled to make his first start of 2021 when he toes the rubber for the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader. Brian Hendry will then go in game three before Roche looks to carry over momentum from his stellar start last weekend in the Sunday series finale.
Entering the series against Seton Hall having never had a multi-hit game in his young collegiate career, Marty Higgins broke out in a big way against the Pirates. The redshirt freshman from Nutley, N.J., earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors on Monday after going 7-for-11 (.636) with three doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. That lone RBI came in a clutch spot for the Johnnies, as Higgins led off the bottom of the 11th of Friday's win with a walk-off double to right. Higgins, who has started and reached base in all 11 BIG EAST games, leads the team with a .310 batting average on the year, including a .371 mark against conference foes.
In addition to Higgins' efforts at the dish, Brandon Miller hit .375 (3-for-8) in three starts against the Pirates while Carson Bartels went 5-for-14 (.357) with a pair of doubles. Ryan Hogan recorded hits in four of his 13 at-bats (.308) with a team-high three RBIs and reached base at a .471 clip.
With the midway point of BIG EAST play set for this weekend, the Red Storm is in need of a strong showing to help its chances at a 17th consecutive conference tournament appearance. Entering the Creighton series, St. John's sits in sixth place, three games behind Xavier (7-4) in fourth. Only the top four teams in the final regular season standings earn an invitation to Prasco Park.
Creighton (14-8, 6-1 BIG EAST) enters its series with St. John's atop the BIG EAST standings after taking three of four from Georgetown this past weekend in College Park, Md. In a three-game set against Villanova to open BIG EAST play earlier this month, the Bluejays swept the Wildcats by a combined score of 27-2. Another scheduled four-game set against UConn was called off due to COVID issues with the Huskies.
As a team, the Bluejays boast the BIG EAST's top ERA (3.70) and second-best batting average (.278). Through games played on Wednesday, the Bluejays rank 30th nationally in ERA and 28th in WHIP (1.25). Creighton's rotation is led by Friday starter Dylan Tebrake, the reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, who sports a 5-0 record with a 2.92 ERA. In a seven-inning complete game shutout win over Georgetown, the sophomore faced just three batters over the minimum, scattering two hits and a walk while fanning eight. Fellow sophomore Paul Bergstrom, the team leader in appearances this season with 11, has yet to allow a run in 16.2 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .157 off the southpaw.
At the plate, five Bluejays are hitting better than .300, led by redshirt freshman outfielder Alan Roden at .353. The Middleton, Wis., native has left the yard seven times and driven in 35 runs in 22 appearances, all of which have been starts. Roden and Coastal Carolina transfer Dax Roper have combined for 12 of Creighton's 22 long balls on the season.
St. John's and Creighton, the last two teams to claim a BIG EAST Baseball Championship, are 11-11 against one another since the Bluejays joined the conference for the 2013-14 academic year.
The Bluejays have won each of the past two regular season series held in Omaha, taking two out of three from the Red Storm in 2017 and 2019. In 2018, the Johnnies swept a three-game series from Creighton in Queens as part of a 9-0 start to conference play.
In their last meeting during the 2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, tournament records fell left and right as the Bluejays outslugged the Johnnies, 17-13. The 30 runs between the two teams were the most in a single game in tournament history while Creighton's six homers broke the previous record of five set by Notre Dame (2005) and UConn (1990). St. John's outfielder Mike Antico recorded five hits, tying a single-game BIG EAST Tournament record.
All four games of the series will be broadcast live on the Creighton Athletics YouTube page. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET before the Sunday single-game finale kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.
This past weekend in Queens, St. John's (13-12, 4-7 BIG EAST) secured its best series result of conference play so far, splitting four decisions with local rival Seton Hall. The Red Storm picked up wins in Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale anchored by a pair of standout pitching performances. On Friday, Nick Mondak fanned a season-high nine batters and walked only one in seven innings of two-run work before handing the ball over to Joe Joe Rodriguez, who rebounded from some early trouble to retire nine straight batters and keep Seton Hall off the board in extras. On Sunday, freshman right-hander Tyler Roche punched out seven and allowed only three hits in 6.1 innings of shutout work. Roche then passed the baton to Ethan Routzahn, who tallied a career-high six strikeouts in 2.2 frames to notch the win. The Red Storm pitching staff struggled to keep Seton Hall off the board in a doubleheader sweep for the Pirates on Saturday, as the Johnnies were outscored 30-5 in 14 innings of play.
The Red Storm's rotation will feature a change from the previous two weekends. Mondak will still take the ball on Friday night, but Matt Semon is scheduled to make his first start of 2021 when he toes the rubber for the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader. Brian Hendry will then go in game three before Roche looks to carry over momentum from his stellar start last weekend in the Sunday series finale.
Entering the series against Seton Hall having never had a multi-hit game in his young collegiate career, Marty Higgins broke out in a big way against the Pirates. The redshirt freshman from Nutley, N.J., earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors on Monday after going 7-for-11 (.636) with three doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. That lone RBI came in a clutch spot for the Johnnies, as Higgins led off the bottom of the 11th of Friday's win with a walk-off double to right. Higgins, who has started and reached base in all 11 BIG EAST games, leads the team with a .310 batting average on the year, including a .371 mark against conference foes.
In addition to Higgins' efforts at the dish, Brandon Miller hit .375 (3-for-8) in three starts against the Pirates while Carson Bartels went 5-for-14 (.357) with a pair of doubles. Ryan Hogan recorded hits in four of his 13 at-bats (.308) with a team-high three RBIs and reached base at a .471 clip.
With the midway point of BIG EAST play set for this weekend, the Red Storm is in need of a strong showing to help its chances at a 17th consecutive conference tournament appearance. Entering the Creighton series, St. John's sits in sixth place, three games behind Xavier (7-4) in fourth. Only the top four teams in the final regular season standings earn an invitation to Prasco Park.
Creighton (14-8, 6-1 BIG EAST) enters its series with St. John's atop the BIG EAST standings after taking three of four from Georgetown this past weekend in College Park, Md. In a three-game set against Villanova to open BIG EAST play earlier this month, the Bluejays swept the Wildcats by a combined score of 27-2. Another scheduled four-game set against UConn was called off due to COVID issues with the Huskies.
As a team, the Bluejays boast the BIG EAST's top ERA (3.70) and second-best batting average (.278). Through games played on Wednesday, the Bluejays rank 30th nationally in ERA and 28th in WHIP (1.25). Creighton's rotation is led by Friday starter Dylan Tebrake, the reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, who sports a 5-0 record with a 2.92 ERA. In a seven-inning complete game shutout win over Georgetown, the sophomore faced just three batters over the minimum, scattering two hits and a walk while fanning eight. Fellow sophomore Paul Bergstrom, the team leader in appearances this season with 11, has yet to allow a run in 16.2 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .157 off the southpaw.
At the plate, five Bluejays are hitting better than .300, led by redshirt freshman outfielder Alan Roden at .353. The Middleton, Wis., native has left the yard seven times and driven in 35 runs in 22 appearances, all of which have been starts. Roden and Coastal Carolina transfer Dax Roper have combined for 12 of Creighton's 22 long balls on the season.
St. John's and Creighton, the last two teams to claim a BIG EAST Baseball Championship, are 11-11 against one another since the Bluejays joined the conference for the 2013-14 academic year.
The Bluejays have won each of the past two regular season series held in Omaha, taking two out of three from the Red Storm in 2017 and 2019. In 2018, the Johnnies swept a three-game series from Creighton in Queens as part of a 9-0 start to conference play.
In their last meeting during the 2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, tournament records fell left and right as the Bluejays outslugged the Johnnies, 17-13. The 30 runs between the two teams were the most in a single game in tournament history while Creighton's six homers broke the previous record of five set by Notre Dame (2005) and UConn (1990). St. John's outfielder Mike Antico recorded five hits, tying a single-game BIG EAST Tournament record.
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