“Challenging,” he said.
Yes, this will be the most challenging year for Blankmeyer in his five years as Red Storm head coach.
In…
By Dylan Butler
St. John’s baseball coach Ed Blankmeyer searched for the word to best describe the 2001 season. And then it came to him.
“Challenging,” he said.
Yes, this will be the most challenging year for Blankmeyer in his five years as Red Storm head coach.
In each of his prior four seasons, Blankmeyer had a solid pitching staff full of professional prospects as well as a strong group of returning players.
That is not the case, however, this season. St. John’s was hit hard both by graduation and by the Major League Baseball draft. This year’s staff is depleted as last year’s starters Kevin McGerry and Keith Stamler were both drafted and a third Big East starter, John Niebling, graduated.
Also gone is the last year’s middle infield as both Matt Galante and Anthony Sutter signed professional contracts. Starting rightfielder Pete Graham is now in the Chicago Cubs’ farm system.
To make matters worse for the Red Storm, the addition of Virginia Tech to nationally ranked teams like Notre Dame, Rutgers and the always dangerous Seton Hall, the Big East conference makes the conference that much tougher.
“We’ve been stung by the draft before and we lost an abundance of seniors,” Blankmeyer said. “This is a new and different team and we have to tackle a real tough conference schedule. They are still trying to find themselves.”
St. John’s, which was picked to finish seventh in the conference in the league’s preseason poll, opens its Big East season Saturday in a three-game set with Connecticut. Saturday’s doubleheader at The Ballpark at St. John’s is slated to begin at noon and Sunday’s game is also at noon. The Red Storm enter the game with a 4-7 non-conference record. Of the seven losses, three have been by one run and another was in extra innings.
After playing the 2000 season away from home, Blankmeyer and his team are pleased to return to campus to play their home games.
“I feel very lucky, the stadium is unbelievable,” said Eric Potts, who joins Chris Fallon as the only two seniors on the team. “It’s as good as any college field I’ve ever played on. I’m definitely pumped to start playing on it.”
Blankmeyer said Potts, who will move from left field to catcher, and Fallon, the starting first baseman, will have to shoulder a lion’s share of the leadership.
“This year we’ve made a conscious attempt to build. We have juniors who have been in the program for three years and they now have to step it up,” Blankmeyer said. “Our two seniors have the ability to contribute and lead. They will determine how good a club we can be.”
Leading a group of mostly unproven pitchers is junior transfer Marc Goldberg who was used primarily as a reliever at South Florida. The Staten Island native who won two PSAL championships at Tottenville, is 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 24.2 innings and will be the team’s ace.
“At South Florida they wanted me to be the closer,” he said. “I didn’t want that. I only pitched 34 innings last year. I just want to pitch as much as possible.”
The team’s number two starter should be righty Geno Orsogna, who was 2-1 with a 7.03 ERA in 24.1 innings last year for the Red Storm. Tom Klemm, a hard-throwing southpaw, was used mostly in relief for St. John’s and is expected to be one of the top starters, but he has struggled in the team’s non-conference games. But after the starters, Blankmeyer said, is where the Red Storm may struggle.
“What happens after the sixth inning,” Blankmeyer said. “We might not have the bullpen to hold us in. And we don’t know if we have the bats to slug it out.”
Offense is also a major concern for Blankmeyer. After 11 games, the Red Storm is hitting just .234 as a team. While they have never been known as a power hitting team, Fallon is the lone guy on the team as a long ball threat. But at The Ballpark at St. John’s with its deep gaps, the Red Storm’s team speed may make up for its lack of power.
“We have more speed than power,” Potts said. “Guys can steal, hit doubles and bunt. It’s not always power that wins.”
Most of that team speed is located in the outfield. Charlie Bilezikjian is the lone returning starter in centerfield. Newcomer Billy Grasier from Briarcliff Junior College will start in rightfielder while freshman Anthony DeRosa is expected to see time in left.
Around the horn, junior Jason Kane should start at the hot corner while junior Jason Fischette will see some time at shortstop as will freshman Mike Rozema. Flushing native John-Paul Cirigliano out of St. Francis Prep and Chad Cambra will share time at second base while Fallon starts at first and Potts will catch.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
