St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, March 8
Queens, N.Y. (Kaiser Stadium)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Hofstra
St. John’s Welcomes Hofstra for 2023 Home Opener
3/7/2023 2:15:00 PM | Baseball
The Johnnies and Pride will square off for the 76th time in history
QUEENS, N.Y. (March 7, 2023) – After concluding its 10-game road trip with a weekend series win over Marshall, the St. John's baseball team will make its 2023 debut at Jack Kaiser Stadium against Hofstra on Wednesday afternoon.
ESPN3 will stream the telecast at 3 p.m. with Joe Vasile and Dexter Henry on the call. Live stats will be made available on RedStormSports.com
St. John's (6-4) took two of three against Marshall in West Virginia, marking its second series win in as many weekends. The Johnnies walloped its way to an 8-4 win in game one on Saturday as Tate Ballestero, Marty Higgins and Paul Orbon tallied a home run and two RBIs in the contest. Nick Cirelli picked up the win and a BIG EAST Honor Roll selection with his 5.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out six.
After falling 4-2 in game two, BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week Joe Mascio cruised to a 5-3 victory behind a 6.0-inning, five-strikeout showing in the finale. The Johnnies' hurler retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced to pick up his first win of the season.
Higgins, also selected to the conference's honor roll, slashed a squad-best .444/.474/.944 with eight hits and five runs scored while chipping in five RBIs last week, good for second on the team. The Nutley, N.J. native also smacked five extra-base hits, tallying three doubles and a pair of home runs. He finished off the series with a 3-for-5 performance at the dish with two tallies and one RBI.
Through 10 games, St. John's paces the BIG EAST with 27 doubles, good for 38th in the nation. Eleven of the 15 Johnnies to see offensive action have tallied at least one double while seven have smacked exactly three. The Red Storm is also ranked second in the conference with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.41 WHIP. Cirelli has also found himself in the national conversation with his conference-leading 0.66 WHIP, sitting 21st in Division I.
Freshman Mario Pesca is slated to make his third start of the season on Wednesday, his first inside the Jack. The Cardinal Spellman graduate, who is in search of his first collegiate win, was ranked the ninth-best right-hander out of high school and 21st overall in New York, according to Perfect Game.
Hofstra (3-7) is coming off of three straight losses at Nevada despite losing two of the three by one run. The Pride has struggled on the road this season, suffering all seven of its losses away from Hempstead while earning a weekend sweep of Albany at University Field.
Former MLB veteran Frank Catalanatto enters his second year at the helm of the Pride after guiding his team to their first CAA Championship and NCAA Regional appearances. His 2022 squad had a flare for the dramatic, posting nine walk-off wins, including three in the conference championship.
Brian Morrell, who played in Queens during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, paces the Pride with a .421/.439/.474 slash line, 16 hits and seven RBIs. The graduate student has been a tough putout at the dish through 10 games, striking out only twice in 37 at-bats, good for 28th in the nation.
Hofstra had five players on the 2023 Preseason All-CAA Baseball Team heading into the season; Kevin Bruggeman, Ryan Morash, Brad Camarda and Michael O'Hanlon. Outfielder Will Kennedy was an honorable mention preseason selection.
The Red Storm and Pride will square off for the 76th time in history with the Johnnies holding a 64-11 advantage. St. John's also boasts a 31-4 mark at the Jack against Hofstra.
The Johnnies will remain at home this weekend as Albany treks down for a three-game series at Jack Kaiser Stadium beginning on Friday at 3 p.m.
ESPN3 will stream the telecast at 3 p.m. with Joe Vasile and Dexter Henry on the call. Live stats will be made available on RedStormSports.com
St. John's (6-4) took two of three against Marshall in West Virginia, marking its second series win in as many weekends. The Johnnies walloped its way to an 8-4 win in game one on Saturday as Tate Ballestero, Marty Higgins and Paul Orbon tallied a home run and two RBIs in the contest. Nick Cirelli picked up the win and a BIG EAST Honor Roll selection with his 5.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out six.
After falling 4-2 in game two, BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week Joe Mascio cruised to a 5-3 victory behind a 6.0-inning, five-strikeout showing in the finale. The Johnnies' hurler retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced to pick up his first win of the season.
Higgins, also selected to the conference's honor roll, slashed a squad-best .444/.474/.944 with eight hits and five runs scored while chipping in five RBIs last week, good for second on the team. The Nutley, N.J. native also smacked five extra-base hits, tallying three doubles and a pair of home runs. He finished off the series with a 3-for-5 performance at the dish with two tallies and one RBI.
Through 10 games, St. John's paces the BIG EAST with 27 doubles, good for 38th in the nation. Eleven of the 15 Johnnies to see offensive action have tallied at least one double while seven have smacked exactly three. The Red Storm is also ranked second in the conference with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.41 WHIP. Cirelli has also found himself in the national conversation with his conference-leading 0.66 WHIP, sitting 21st in Division I.
Freshman Mario Pesca is slated to make his third start of the season on Wednesday, his first inside the Jack. The Cardinal Spellman graduate, who is in search of his first collegiate win, was ranked the ninth-best right-hander out of high school and 21st overall in New York, according to Perfect Game.
Hofstra (3-7) is coming off of three straight losses at Nevada despite losing two of the three by one run. The Pride has struggled on the road this season, suffering all seven of its losses away from Hempstead while earning a weekend sweep of Albany at University Field.
Former MLB veteran Frank Catalanatto enters his second year at the helm of the Pride after guiding his team to their first CAA Championship and NCAA Regional appearances. His 2022 squad had a flare for the dramatic, posting nine walk-off wins, including three in the conference championship.
Brian Morrell, who played in Queens during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, paces the Pride with a .421/.439/.474 slash line, 16 hits and seven RBIs. The graduate student has been a tough putout at the dish through 10 games, striking out only twice in 37 at-bats, good for 28th in the nation.
Hofstra had five players on the 2023 Preseason All-CAA Baseball Team heading into the season; Kevin Bruggeman, Ryan Morash, Brad Camarda and Michael O'Hanlon. Outfielder Will Kennedy was an honorable mention preseason selection.
The Red Storm and Pride will square off for the 76th time in history with the Johnnies holding a 64-11 advantage. St. John's also boasts a 31-4 mark at the Jack against Hofstra.
The Johnnies will remain at home this weekend as Albany treks down for a three-game series at Jack Kaiser Stadium beginning on Friday at 3 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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