St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, March 15
Brookville, N.Y. (LIU Baseball Stadium)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
at
LIU
St. John’s Heads to LIU on Wednesday
3/14/2023 2:20:00 PM | Baseball
The Johnnies have won four of its last five games
QUEENS, N.Y. (March 14, 2023) – Having won four of its last five games, the St. John's baseball team will look to reach the 10-win threshold this season in a midweek matchup at LIU on Wednesday afternoon in Brookville, N.Y.
Wednesday's contest will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row with Daniel Multz on the call. Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm are coming off a 2-1 weekend against UAlbany, taking the final two games of the series with an 11-2 victory on Saturday and an 8-7 walk-off win on Sunday. The series win marked the third straight of its kind and first at home this season. Freshman Jimmy Keenan dazzled in the final game of the series, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and the game-winning base knock in the bottom of the ninth.
In a 3-1 week against Hofstra and UAlbany, five Johnnies with three or more starts factored a batting average of .400 or better. Tate Ballestero (.556), Paul Orbon and Marty Higgins (.529) all found themselves about the .500 threshold combining for seven of the team's 11 extra-base hits across four games.
Nick Cirelli picked up his second-straight BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection after appearing in three of four games last week and stifling the opposition with eight strikeouts and a .063 batting average against across five innings of work. Ballestero picked up his second career BIG EAST Honor Roll selection after slashing .556/.600/1.000 and going 10-for-18 against Hofstra and UAlbany. The Morristown, N.J., native racked up four RBIs and five runs scored last week.
Through 15 games, the Johnnies pace the BIG EAST with 34 doubles, good for 48th in the nation. Eleven of the 16 Johnnies to see offensive action have tallied at least one double while eight have smacked three or more. St. John's is also tied for the conference lead with UConn at 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings while its 1.46 WHIP is good for third. Cirelli has also found himself in the national conversation with his conference-leading 0.57 WHIP, sitting seventh in Division I.
With a win on Wednesday, the Johnnies will reach the 10-win mark in 15 games for the second time (2021) in four seasons under Head Coach Mike Hampton.
The Johnnies will also look to even the all-time series at one apiece against LIU after their 4-2 setback on March 15 last year. Jackson Tucker smacked his first career home run against the Sharks in that meeting.
LIU is coming off its first win of the season with an 8-5 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. Jake Mastillo hit two of his seven home runs in the contest, part of a four-RBI day for the Lock Haven transfer. The Sharks' outfielder ranks 18th in the nation with his seven round-trippers while pacing the NEC with 19 RBIs and second in stolen bases with six.
Sharks Head Coach Dan Pirillo is in his seventh season with LIU baseball, leading the Sharks to its first outright NEC Title in over 30 years with its 2022 championship. The 2008 graduate guided last year's team to a 37-22 record, the most wins in program history at the Division I level.
On the bump, the Sharks pitching staff has struggled to find its footing, allowing 15.5 hits and surrendering 11.9 runs per game with a .379 batting average
The Red Storm will take on Quinnipiac this weekend in a home-and-home three-game set beginning on Friday, March 17 at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Wednesday's contest will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row with Daniel Multz on the call. Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm are coming off a 2-1 weekend against UAlbany, taking the final two games of the series with an 11-2 victory on Saturday and an 8-7 walk-off win on Sunday. The series win marked the third straight of its kind and first at home this season. Freshman Jimmy Keenan dazzled in the final game of the series, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and the game-winning base knock in the bottom of the ninth.
In a 3-1 week against Hofstra and UAlbany, five Johnnies with three or more starts factored a batting average of .400 or better. Tate Ballestero (.556), Paul Orbon and Marty Higgins (.529) all found themselves about the .500 threshold combining for seven of the team's 11 extra-base hits across four games.
Nick Cirelli picked up his second-straight BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection after appearing in three of four games last week and stifling the opposition with eight strikeouts and a .063 batting average against across five innings of work. Ballestero picked up his second career BIG EAST Honor Roll selection after slashing .556/.600/1.000 and going 10-for-18 against Hofstra and UAlbany. The Morristown, N.J., native racked up four RBIs and five runs scored last week.
Through 15 games, the Johnnies pace the BIG EAST with 34 doubles, good for 48th in the nation. Eleven of the 16 Johnnies to see offensive action have tallied at least one double while eight have smacked three or more. St. John's is also tied for the conference lead with UConn at 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings while its 1.46 WHIP is good for third. Cirelli has also found himself in the national conversation with his conference-leading 0.57 WHIP, sitting seventh in Division I.
With a win on Wednesday, the Johnnies will reach the 10-win mark in 15 games for the second time (2021) in four seasons under Head Coach Mike Hampton.
The Johnnies will also look to even the all-time series at one apiece against LIU after their 4-2 setback on March 15 last year. Jackson Tucker smacked his first career home run against the Sharks in that meeting.
LIU is coming off its first win of the season with an 8-5 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. Jake Mastillo hit two of his seven home runs in the contest, part of a four-RBI day for the Lock Haven transfer. The Sharks' outfielder ranks 18th in the nation with his seven round-trippers while pacing the NEC with 19 RBIs and second in stolen bases with six.
Sharks Head Coach Dan Pirillo is in his seventh season with LIU baseball, leading the Sharks to its first outright NEC Title in over 30 years with its 2022 championship. The 2008 graduate guided last year's team to a 37-22 record, the most wins in program history at the Division I level.
On the bump, the Sharks pitching staff has struggled to find its footing, allowing 15.5 hits and surrendering 11.9 runs per game with a .379 batting average
The Red Storm will take on Quinnipiac this weekend in a home-and-home three-game set beginning on Friday, March 17 at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
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