St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 1
Lawrenceville, N.J. (Sonny Pittaro Field)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Rider
St. John’s Travels to Rider for Three-Game Set
3/31/2022 3:52:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm will play its first road series since the first week of March
QUEENS, N.Y.-- After beating Columbia, 5-1, to close out a 13-game homestand, the St. John's baseball team will hit the road for the first time in over a month to take on the Rider Broncs. First pitch on Friday from Sonny Pitarro Field is set for 3 p.m.
Saturday's game will get underway at 1 p.m. while the Sunday finale is scheduled for a noon start.
Live stats for all three weekend contests are available on GoBroncs.com.
The Red Storm closed out the first portion of its home slate with a record of 9-4, winning eight of its last nine games. The Johnnies have scored five or more runs in each of their last nine outings.
Joe Joe Rodriguez is scheduled to start Friday's opener with Brandon Backman and Sonny Fauci taking the ball on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Last time out against Quinnipiac, Rodriguez picked up his first win of the 2022 campaign, throwing 7.0 strong innings with four strikeouts and allowing no earned runs. Backman has been solid in all three of his starts this season, fanning at least three batters and giving up two runs of fewer in every appearance. Fauci leads all active pitchers with a 1.80 ERA, allowing one run in his 5.0 frames of work this season.
The team's leader in several offensive categories, Tate Ballestero is batting .389 and reaching base at a .481 clip. The Morristown, N.J., native also paces the Johnnies with 35 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and two home runs. Ballestero boasts a team-high 1.059 OPS and is one of two position players to start every game for the Red Storm this season.
Despite having his 12-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday, David Glancy continues to be a major contributor at the plate. Glancy leads the team in runs scored with 22 runs and has crossed the plate at least once in eight of his last nine games. The Neptune, N.J., native is one of five Johnnies with an on-base streak of 10 or more games, reaching safely in 15 straight contests. The redshirt sophomore also owns a team-high 12 extra-base hits (five doubles, one triple and six homers).
A steady presence at the top of the lineup, Jackson Tucker paces the Johnnies in walks with 20 and leads the BIG EAST in walk rate, earning 0.95 free passes per contest. The Staten Island native has reached base in 19 straight games. The freshman outfielder has 10 steals in 21 games, more than any Johnnie in a full season in a decade.
After earning a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod on Monday, Chuck Sanzio tallied another scoreless inning in Wednesday's win over Columbia. Starting with his four-inning save against Sacred Heart on March 19, Sanzio has recorded 8.1 scoreless frames with seven punchouts over that span. The sophomore righthander leads all primary relievers with a 2.42 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .169 batting average.
In his first start of the season, Paul Orbon tallied a career-high two RBIs with a run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly against Columbia on Wednesday.
Rider enters this weekend's series on a four-game win streak and with an overall record of 13-10. Interestingly, the upcoming three-game set marks the first weekend at home for the Broncs in 2022.
Rider swept Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y., last weekend before shutting out Lehigh, 3-0, on the road on Tuesday.
The Broncs' leader in batting average is junior infielder John Volpe, hitting at a .293 clip with two doubles, two triples and one home run in 23 games. Junior outfielder Brendan O'Donnell paces the Broncs in RBIs (20) and homers (7).
On the pitching side, Sunday's starter Vinny Vitacco boasts a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings. Vitacco has one win and one save in 2022 with 19 punchouts.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Rider, 26-11, with the Red Storm winning five of the last six meetings.
In their last series in 2015, the Johnnies outscored the Broncs, 20-10, on the way to a series win.
Saturday's game will get underway at 1 p.m. while the Sunday finale is scheduled for a noon start.
Live stats for all three weekend contests are available on GoBroncs.com.
The Red Storm closed out the first portion of its home slate with a record of 9-4, winning eight of its last nine games. The Johnnies have scored five or more runs in each of their last nine outings.
Joe Joe Rodriguez is scheduled to start Friday's opener with Brandon Backman and Sonny Fauci taking the ball on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Last time out against Quinnipiac, Rodriguez picked up his first win of the 2022 campaign, throwing 7.0 strong innings with four strikeouts and allowing no earned runs. Backman has been solid in all three of his starts this season, fanning at least three batters and giving up two runs of fewer in every appearance. Fauci leads all active pitchers with a 1.80 ERA, allowing one run in his 5.0 frames of work this season.
The team's leader in several offensive categories, Tate Ballestero is batting .389 and reaching base at a .481 clip. The Morristown, N.J., native also paces the Johnnies with 35 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and two home runs. Ballestero boasts a team-high 1.059 OPS and is one of two position players to start every game for the Red Storm this season.
Despite having his 12-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday, David Glancy continues to be a major contributor at the plate. Glancy leads the team in runs scored with 22 runs and has crossed the plate at least once in eight of his last nine games. The Neptune, N.J., native is one of five Johnnies with an on-base streak of 10 or more games, reaching safely in 15 straight contests. The redshirt sophomore also owns a team-high 12 extra-base hits (five doubles, one triple and six homers).
A steady presence at the top of the lineup, Jackson Tucker paces the Johnnies in walks with 20 and leads the BIG EAST in walk rate, earning 0.95 free passes per contest. The Staten Island native has reached base in 19 straight games. The freshman outfielder has 10 steals in 21 games, more than any Johnnie in a full season in a decade.
After earning a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod on Monday, Chuck Sanzio tallied another scoreless inning in Wednesday's win over Columbia. Starting with his four-inning save against Sacred Heart on March 19, Sanzio has recorded 8.1 scoreless frames with seven punchouts over that span. The sophomore righthander leads all primary relievers with a 2.42 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .169 batting average.
In his first start of the season, Paul Orbon tallied a career-high two RBIs with a run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly against Columbia on Wednesday.
Rider enters this weekend's series on a four-game win streak and with an overall record of 13-10. Interestingly, the upcoming three-game set marks the first weekend at home for the Broncs in 2022.
Rider swept Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y., last weekend before shutting out Lehigh, 3-0, on the road on Tuesday.
The Broncs' leader in batting average is junior infielder John Volpe, hitting at a .293 clip with two doubles, two triples and one home run in 23 games. Junior outfielder Brendan O'Donnell paces the Broncs in RBIs (20) and homers (7).
On the pitching side, Sunday's starter Vinny Vitacco boasts a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings. Vitacco has one win and one save in 2022 with 19 punchouts.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Rider, 26-11, with the Red Storm winning five of the last six meetings.
In their last series in 2015, the Johnnies outscored the Broncs, 20-10, on the way to a series win.
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