St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 29
Plymouth Meeting, Pa. (Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Villanova
St. John’s Travels to Villanova for Three-Game BIG EAST Series
4/28/2022 2:49:00 PM | Baseball
Red Storm will look to extend its four-game win streak
QUEENS, N.Y.- After closing out an eight-game homestand with an 8-3 win over Iona on Wednesday, the St. John's baseball team will hit the road and travel to Pennsylvania to take on BIG EAST foe Villanova. Friday's first pitch from Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday's game two will get underway at 1 p.m., and the series finale will start at noon on Sunday.
All three matchups will be live streamed on FloSports, and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.com.
Joe Joe Rodriguez will get the start on the mound in Friday's series opener. Brandon Backman will take the ball on Saturday, and Sunday's starter is to-be-determined. Last time out, Rodriguez picked up his second win of the year against Butler, scattering four hits across 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and zero earned runs allowed.
The team's new leader in batting average, Tate Ballestero is hitting at a .340 clip with a squad-best .424 on-base percentage. The redshirt sophomore paces the Johnnies with 17 multi-hit games and 12 doubles. The Morristown, N.J., native is one of four Johnnies with 25 or more RBIs with 26. In Wednesday's win over Iona, Ballestero tallied his fifth game with multiple RBIs, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week David Glancy continues to swing a hot bat, entering this weekend's series with a five-game hit streak and a 12-game on-base streak. The redshirt sophomore is tied for the team lead in slugging percentage (.559) and paces the Johnnies in OPS (.972). Glancy boasts a squad-best 40 runs scored, nine more than the next closest position player and good for sixth in the conference. Glancy has 18 extra-base hits this season, including a team-high nine home runs.
Kevin Michaels leads the Red Storm with 37 RBIs in 36 starts. The redshirt sophomore has tallied two or more RBIs in 11 games and produces an average of 1.03 runs per contest to rank fourth in the BIG EAST. The redshirt sophomore ranks second on the roster with a .338 batting average and a .960 OPS. Michaels is tied with Glancy for the team lead among qualified hitters with a slugging percentage of .559.
A new source of offense for the Red Storm, Paul Orbon hit his first career home run against Iona on Wednesday and is currently batting .323. The redshirt sophomore is hitting .400 in seven BIG EAST games with an on-base percentage of .526. The New Hyde Park, N.Y., native has reached base in six straight contests and has scored at least one run in each of his last six games.
Villanova enters this weekend's series with a record of 15-20-1, including a win over then-No. 15 Connecticut on the road. The Wildcats boast a mark of 6-2 record at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.
Friday's contest will mark the first home game for Villanova in over two weeks, last facing off with Bucknell on April 12.
Joey Castellanos and Chris Rotondo lead the way for the Wildcats at the plate, both hitting at a .345 clip. Rotondo paces Villanova with 32 RBIs and nine home runs while Castellanos boasts a team-high 50 base hits, including seven doubles and four round trippers.
Friday starter Cole Patten owns a 3.82 ERA in 10 starts for Villanova. The senior righthander has thrown five innings or more in each start this season. Cameron Mathes leads the Wildcats with 2.25 ERA in 12 appearances and has tallied two saves to tied for the squad lead.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Villanova, 59-31, with both teams splitting the last six matchups.
The two conference rivals have not met in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., since 2018 when the Red Storm swept the Wildcats in three games.
Five of the last six contests between the two teams have been decided by five runs or less.
All three matchups will be live streamed on FloSports, and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.com.
Joe Joe Rodriguez will get the start on the mound in Friday's series opener. Brandon Backman will take the ball on Saturday, and Sunday's starter is to-be-determined. Last time out, Rodriguez picked up his second win of the year against Butler, scattering four hits across 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and zero earned runs allowed.
The team's new leader in batting average, Tate Ballestero is hitting at a .340 clip with a squad-best .424 on-base percentage. The redshirt sophomore paces the Johnnies with 17 multi-hit games and 12 doubles. The Morristown, N.J., native is one of four Johnnies with 25 or more RBIs with 26. In Wednesday's win over Iona, Ballestero tallied his fifth game with multiple RBIs, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week David Glancy continues to swing a hot bat, entering this weekend's series with a five-game hit streak and a 12-game on-base streak. The redshirt sophomore is tied for the team lead in slugging percentage (.559) and paces the Johnnies in OPS (.972). Glancy boasts a squad-best 40 runs scored, nine more than the next closest position player and good for sixth in the conference. Glancy has 18 extra-base hits this season, including a team-high nine home runs.
Kevin Michaels leads the Red Storm with 37 RBIs in 36 starts. The redshirt sophomore has tallied two or more RBIs in 11 games and produces an average of 1.03 runs per contest to rank fourth in the BIG EAST. The redshirt sophomore ranks second on the roster with a .338 batting average and a .960 OPS. Michaels is tied with Glancy for the team lead among qualified hitters with a slugging percentage of .559.
A new source of offense for the Red Storm, Paul Orbon hit his first career home run against Iona on Wednesday and is currently batting .323. The redshirt sophomore is hitting .400 in seven BIG EAST games with an on-base percentage of .526. The New Hyde Park, N.Y., native has reached base in six straight contests and has scored at least one run in each of his last six games.
Villanova enters this weekend's series with a record of 15-20-1, including a win over then-No. 15 Connecticut on the road. The Wildcats boast a mark of 6-2 record at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.
Friday's contest will mark the first home game for Villanova in over two weeks, last facing off with Bucknell on April 12.
Joey Castellanos and Chris Rotondo lead the way for the Wildcats at the plate, both hitting at a .345 clip. Rotondo paces Villanova with 32 RBIs and nine home runs while Castellanos boasts a team-high 50 base hits, including seven doubles and four round trippers.
Friday starter Cole Patten owns a 3.82 ERA in 10 starts for Villanova. The senior righthander has thrown five innings or more in each start this season. Cameron Mathes leads the Wildcats with 2.25 ERA in 12 appearances and has tallied two saves to tied for the squad lead.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Villanova, 59-31, with both teams splitting the last six matchups.
The two conference rivals have not met in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., since 2018 when the Red Storm swept the Wildcats in three games.
Five of the last six contests between the two teams have been decided by five runs or less.
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