St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, February 18
Norfolk, Va. (Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium)
2 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Old Dominion
St. John’s to Open 2023 Season at Old Dominion
2/16/2023 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats (Game 1)Live Stats (Game 2)Live Stats (Game 3)2023 Baseball Record Book (PDF)
The Red Storm returns 21 players from last season and brought in 16 new faces
QUEENS, N.Y. (Feb. 16, 2023) – The St. John's baseball team is back and ready to begin its 2023 campaign with a three-game non-conference showdown in Norfolk, Va., against Old Dominion, at Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium. The Johnnies open the season at 3 p.m. on Friday before a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday and a noon slate on Sunday. Live stats for each game will be available on StatBroadcast.com.
After a tough 2022 season that saw a plethora of injuries and a 22-32-1 overall record, the St. John's baseball team will look to reclaim its spot among BIG EAST's best with a healthy squad that features 21 returners and 16 new faces.
Picked sixth in the conference preseason coaches' poll, the Red Storm will lean on experienced upperclassmen in its quest for a 10th conference title. Among those returners are 2021 All-BIG EAST First Team selection Marty Higgins, 2022 first team pick Kevin Michaels, 2022 second team honoree Tate Ballestero and 2023 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team selection David Glancy.
Higgins will look to regain form in 2023 after catching the injury bug for all but seven games last year. The New Jersey native produced a stellar second season with the Red Storm in 2021, slashing .333/.404/.409 with 20 runs scored and 31 hits in 33 games played.
Ballestero, Michaels and Glancy were the team's top three hitters a year ago, all smashing above .290 with more than 60 hits apiece. Ballestero led the way with a .333 batting average while Michaels paced the team with 46 RBIs and Glancy with 11 homers.
The trio will be complemented by a mixed crop of youth and transfers, including returning arm Chuck Sanzio and graduate transfer Aaron Mann. Sanzio, who tallied seven saves and a 3.70 ERA last season, blanked Villanova, Seton Hall and Georgetown twice, to end his 2022 campaign. Mann, who spent the better part of four seasons with Division II Drury, slashed .369/.458/.594 and racked up 169 RBIs and 156 runs scored in 158 games with the Panthers.
Sonny Fauci will take the bump on Opening Day against the Monarchs. Coming off Tommy John surgery last year, the right-hander posted a 2-2 record in eight appearances, registering nearly a strikeout per inning with 16 punchouts in 16.2 innings of work.
Sophomore Joe Mascio is projected for game two on Saturday, looking to build off a successful freshman season with the Red Storm. The lefty managed a 4-1 record in 21 outings, retiring 28 batters on strikes across 40.0 frames of action.
Highly-touted freshman Mario Pesca is Sunday's probable starter, looking to make an immediate impact for St. John's. The ninth-ranked right-hander in the state of New York and Preseason All-American in 2022, according to Perfect Game, the Bronx native is coming off an All-Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) First Team selection in 2022 with Cardinal Spellman.
Old Dominion owned a 41-17 record last season, making it to the Conference-USA semifinal game before falling in the final inning to eventual champions Louisiana Tech and getting robbed of an at-large bid into the NCAA Regionals. ODU made the jump to the Sun Belt Conference this season, selected to finish seventh in the 14-team field by the league's coaches.
The new-look Monarchs will try to reciprocate their back-to-back 40-win seasons without a pair of All-Americans in Matt Coutney and Andy Garriola, both of whom were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. However, Head Coach Chris Finwood will rely on senior Tyler Wheeler and junior Josh Trujillo for offensive firepower, a duo that combined for 84 hits, 14 homers, 84 runs scored and 52 RBIs last season.
ODU will also return sophomore Blake Morgan, who was named a Freshman All-American across four major organizations in 2022, including Baseball America and D1Baseball.com. Ranked sixth in the nation with a 1.69 ERA and 11th in WHIP at 0.84 last season, Morgan went undefeated with an 8-0 record in 16 appearances and will oppose Fauci on Friday afternoon.
After a tough 2022 season that saw a plethora of injuries and a 22-32-1 overall record, the St. John's baseball team will look to reclaim its spot among BIG EAST's best with a healthy squad that features 21 returners and 16 new faces.
Picked sixth in the conference preseason coaches' poll, the Red Storm will lean on experienced upperclassmen in its quest for a 10th conference title. Among those returners are 2021 All-BIG EAST First Team selection Marty Higgins, 2022 first team pick Kevin Michaels, 2022 second team honoree Tate Ballestero and 2023 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team selection David Glancy.
Higgins will look to regain form in 2023 after catching the injury bug for all but seven games last year. The New Jersey native produced a stellar second season with the Red Storm in 2021, slashing .333/.404/.409 with 20 runs scored and 31 hits in 33 games played.
Ballestero, Michaels and Glancy were the team's top three hitters a year ago, all smashing above .290 with more than 60 hits apiece. Ballestero led the way with a .333 batting average while Michaels paced the team with 46 RBIs and Glancy with 11 homers.
The trio will be complemented by a mixed crop of youth and transfers, including returning arm Chuck Sanzio and graduate transfer Aaron Mann. Sanzio, who tallied seven saves and a 3.70 ERA last season, blanked Villanova, Seton Hall and Georgetown twice, to end his 2022 campaign. Mann, who spent the better part of four seasons with Division II Drury, slashed .369/.458/.594 and racked up 169 RBIs and 156 runs scored in 158 games with the Panthers.
Sonny Fauci will take the bump on Opening Day against the Monarchs. Coming off Tommy John surgery last year, the right-hander posted a 2-2 record in eight appearances, registering nearly a strikeout per inning with 16 punchouts in 16.2 innings of work.
Sophomore Joe Mascio is projected for game two on Saturday, looking to build off a successful freshman season with the Red Storm. The lefty managed a 4-1 record in 21 outings, retiring 28 batters on strikes across 40.0 frames of action.
Highly-touted freshman Mario Pesca is Sunday's probable starter, looking to make an immediate impact for St. John's. The ninth-ranked right-hander in the state of New York and Preseason All-American in 2022, according to Perfect Game, the Bronx native is coming off an All-Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) First Team selection in 2022 with Cardinal Spellman.
Old Dominion owned a 41-17 record last season, making it to the Conference-USA semifinal game before falling in the final inning to eventual champions Louisiana Tech and getting robbed of an at-large bid into the NCAA Regionals. ODU made the jump to the Sun Belt Conference this season, selected to finish seventh in the 14-team field by the league's coaches.
The new-look Monarchs will try to reciprocate their back-to-back 40-win seasons without a pair of All-Americans in Matt Coutney and Andy Garriola, both of whom were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. However, Head Coach Chris Finwood will rely on senior Tyler Wheeler and junior Josh Trujillo for offensive firepower, a duo that combined for 84 hits, 14 homers, 84 runs scored and 52 RBIs last season.
ODU will also return sophomore Blake Morgan, who was named a Freshman All-American across four major organizations in 2022, including Baseball America and D1Baseball.com. Ranked sixth in the nation with a 1.69 ERA and 11th in WHIP at 0.84 last season, Morgan went undefeated with an 8-0 record in 16 appearances and will oppose Fauci on Friday afternoon.
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ BaseballSt. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.11.25
Sunday, May 11
St. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.10.25
Saturday, May 10
St. John's Baseball vs Iona Highlights 4.29.2025
Tuesday, April 29
St. John's Baseball vs Rutgers Highlights 4.22.2025
Tuesday, April 22