May 29, 2018
After decisively dropping the first of two potential title-clinching games on Sunday against Seton Hall, the St. John's baseball team entered the latter contest with all the momentum in the world swinging against it. Jeff Belge toed the rubber and quickly turned fortune in the Johnnies' favor, tossing eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball to defeat the Pirates, 7-0, and secure the BIG EAST Championship.
The sophomore left hander etched his name in St. John's lore by registering a career-high nine strikeouts in those eight shutout frames, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning and anchoring the Johnnies (39-15) to their second BIG EAST title in the last four years.
"It means a lot, especially after a tough loss," said Belge when asked what it meant to get the ball in the winner-take-all affair. "We'd been playing well, so I trusted my fielders behind me. It's easy to pitch when you have a team like that behind you and guys that can hit like they can."
"I have never been a part of a championship situation where you get blasted in the first game and become that resilient, hang in there, and get a shutout, "said Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer, who claimed his fifth BIG EAST title as the head coach of the Red Storm. "It's probably the best game I've been involved with. I'm just proud of these guys."
Overall, St. John's has now won nine BIG EAST crowns, far and away the most in league history. No current member of the conference has claimed more than three.
The Red Storm clinched its 37th NCAA Tournament berth, tied for the eighth-highest total in the history of collegiate baseball. The Johnnies will learn their destination for next weekend's regional round tomorrow afternoon; the selection show will air live on ESPNU beginning at noon.
All seven of the Red Storm's runs came with two outs, highlighted by a sixth-inning grand slam off the bat of Josh Shaw. Shaw went 3-for-3, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice in the contest.
Wyatt Mascarella also tallied three hits in the game, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored.
John Valente logged a 2-for-5 effort, knocking in the game-winning run in the bottom of the second. Anthony Brocato also provided some timely hitting, ripping a two-run double to give the Red Storm a three-run cushion in the fifth.
Gavin Hollowell worked a scoreless ninth to close the door and seal the conference championship.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the first from Belge, St. John's loaded the bases with one out in the home half. A hard-hit ground ball off the bat of Brocato ended the inning without a run; however, as a 6-4-3 double play kept the contest scoreless after one.
After retiring all three Pirates he faced in the top of the second, Belge saw the Johnnies jump ahead and grab a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Following a one-out Mascarella double, his third of the tournament, Valente brought home the junior backstop with an RBI base knock to left.
Seton Hall runners reached base for the first time in the top of the third, as a pair of walks and a fielding error loaded the bags with one out. Belge promptly fanned the next batter before working a fly ball to center, stranding three Pirates and preserving the St. John's lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, the Red Storm began a rally to extend its lead. Shaw kicked things off by blooping a base knock to center before a Luke Stampfl infield single put runners on first and second for Brocato. The senior took a 3-1 fastball the other way, smashing a bases-clearing double off the wall and pushing the Johnnies' advantage to 3-0 after five.
Following another 1-2-3 frame from Belge in the top of the sixth, the Red Storm broke the contest open in the home half. A pair of singles to lead off the inning gave the Johnnies runners on the corners with no outs, but back-to-back strikeouts made it appear that Seton Hall may escape the jam. After a Galazin walk to load the bases, Shaw launched a no-doubter over the left field wall, driving home four more runs with his first career grand slam.
Four members of the Red Storm were named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team: Belge, Shaw, Stampfl and Jamie Galazin. Belge also took home the Jack Kaiser Award as the most outstanding player of the tournament.