St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 22
Queens, N.Y. (Jack Kaiser Stadium)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Butler
St. John’s Gears Up for Three-Game Set with Butler
4/21/2022 2:20:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm and Bulldogs to meet in Queens for the first time in four years
QUEENS, N.Y.- After cruising past Fairleigh Dickinson, 15-2, on Wednesday, the St. John's baseball team will host BIG EAST opponent Butler for a three-game weekend series. Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch while Saturday and Sunday's contests will commence at 1 p.m.
All three matchups will be live streamed on ESPN3, and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
Joe Joe Rodriguez will get the ball on Friday, and Brandon Backman will take the mound for Saturday's game two. The starter for Sunday's series finale is to-be-determined. Last time out against Creighton, Rodriguez tossed 7.0 solid innings, striking out eight Bluejays and only allowing two runs.
The consummate clean-up hitter, Kevin Michaels paces the Red Storm with 36 RBIs and has tallied two runs-batted-in in three of his last four starts. With his two RBIs against Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, Michaels has accounted for multiple RBIs in 11 games, four more than any other St. John's batter. The Encinitas, Calif., native also boasts the highest batting average on the roster, hitting at a .350 clip, and owns a squad-high OPS of .978. The Palomar transfer now leads the team in doubles with 10 and is tied for the high watermark in extra-base hits with 16.
Another outstanding newcomer, Tate Ballestero sits just behind Michaels with a batting average of .345 and paces the Johnnies in on-base percentage (.436), base hits (48), and multi-hit games (15). The Morristown, N.J., native is one of two position players to start all 37 games for the Red Storm this season.
Carlos Hidalgo and David Williams both enjoyed career days against FDU on Wednesday, tallying three RBIs apiece. Williams hit his first home run of the 2022 campaign while Hidalgo recorded two run-scoring doubles in the rout of the Knights.
Joe Mascio picked up his third win of the season on Wednesday, shutting out Fairleigh Dickinson over a career-high five innings with five strikeouts. The freshman lefthander has allowed two runs or less in each of his last three appearances, including two midweek starts.
Going 2-for-3 on Wednesday, David Glancy is the leader in the clubhouse with 33 runs scored and 78 total bases. The redshirt sophomore also paces the Red Storm with eight home runs and is hitting at a .313 clip to rank third among primary starters behind Michaels and Ballestero. The Neptune, N.J., native joins Ballestero as the only other hitter to start every game for St. John's this season.
Paul Orbon has provided a lift off the bench, going 2-for-5 on Wednesday with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Orbon sits just behind his younger brother Luke in batting average among bats off the bench, hitting .313.
Butler enters this weekend's series with a record of 18-20 and a BIG EAST mark of 2-4. The Bulldogs tallied victories in both of their midweek matchups against Northern Kentucky and Dayton, respectively.
At the plate, Aaron Steinhart leads Butler with a batting average of .293 with eight doubles and a team-best seven home runs. Travis Holt and Ryan O'Halloran are just behind Steinhart with averages of .282 and .279, respectively.
On the mound, Derek Drees will make his first start of the season on Friday. Drees boasts a 0.74 ERA in 24.1 innings. The redshirt righthander owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.53. Southpaws Cory Besecker and Nick Eaton will take the mound on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Butler, 19-4, winning four of the last five meetings.
In 2021, the Red Storm took three out of four games from the Bulldogs in Indianapolis, including two shutout wins.
This weekend's series will mark the first games played in Queens since 2018.
All three matchups will be live streamed on ESPN3, and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
Joe Joe Rodriguez will get the ball on Friday, and Brandon Backman will take the mound for Saturday's game two. The starter for Sunday's series finale is to-be-determined. Last time out against Creighton, Rodriguez tossed 7.0 solid innings, striking out eight Bluejays and only allowing two runs.
The consummate clean-up hitter, Kevin Michaels paces the Red Storm with 36 RBIs and has tallied two runs-batted-in in three of his last four starts. With his two RBIs against Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, Michaels has accounted for multiple RBIs in 11 games, four more than any other St. John's batter. The Encinitas, Calif., native also boasts the highest batting average on the roster, hitting at a .350 clip, and owns a squad-high OPS of .978. The Palomar transfer now leads the team in doubles with 10 and is tied for the high watermark in extra-base hits with 16.
Another outstanding newcomer, Tate Ballestero sits just behind Michaels with a batting average of .345 and paces the Johnnies in on-base percentage (.436), base hits (48), and multi-hit games (15). The Morristown, N.J., native is one of two position players to start all 37 games for the Red Storm this season.
Carlos Hidalgo and David Williams both enjoyed career days against FDU on Wednesday, tallying three RBIs apiece. Williams hit his first home run of the 2022 campaign while Hidalgo recorded two run-scoring doubles in the rout of the Knights.
Joe Mascio picked up his third win of the season on Wednesday, shutting out Fairleigh Dickinson over a career-high five innings with five strikeouts. The freshman lefthander has allowed two runs or less in each of his last three appearances, including two midweek starts.
Going 2-for-3 on Wednesday, David Glancy is the leader in the clubhouse with 33 runs scored and 78 total bases. The redshirt sophomore also paces the Red Storm with eight home runs and is hitting at a .313 clip to rank third among primary starters behind Michaels and Ballestero. The Neptune, N.J., native joins Ballestero as the only other hitter to start every game for St. John's this season.
Paul Orbon has provided a lift off the bench, going 2-for-5 on Wednesday with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Orbon sits just behind his younger brother Luke in batting average among bats off the bench, hitting .313.
Butler enters this weekend's series with a record of 18-20 and a BIG EAST mark of 2-4. The Bulldogs tallied victories in both of their midweek matchups against Northern Kentucky and Dayton, respectively.
At the plate, Aaron Steinhart leads Butler with a batting average of .293 with eight doubles and a team-best seven home runs. Travis Holt and Ryan O'Halloran are just behind Steinhart with averages of .282 and .279, respectively.
On the mound, Derek Drees will make his first start of the season on Friday. Drees boasts a 0.74 ERA in 24.1 innings. The redshirt righthander owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.53. Southpaws Cory Besecker and Nick Eaton will take the mound on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Butler, 19-4, winning four of the last five meetings.
In 2021, the Red Storm took three out of four games from the Bulldogs in Indianapolis, including two shutout wins.
This weekend's series will mark the first games played in Queens since 2018.
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