By Joseph Staszewski
After winning the opener, 2-0 Sunday, the Red Storm took Monday's doubleheader, 3-2 and 4-2. “We got the sweep,” said closer Craig Hansen who said the broom was senior Blake Hershelman's idea. “Might as well.”Hansen got his first win of the season in the first game Monday afternoon at The Ballpark at St. John's, but probably not the way he envisioned it. The 6-foot-5 hard throwing righty closer was brought on to pitch in the fourth inning with second and third and no one out and the Red Storm leading 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. After striking out the first batter, Hansen would give up a single down the third base line to Jeff Stevens that scored both runners and tied the game at two. “We're thinking of extending him out,” St. John's coach Ed Blankmeyer said. “We thought we had a chance to win, so we went for it. We gambled. It worked.”Blankmeyer's chips were cashed in because in the bottom of the sixth inning Hershelman, a designated hitter who tripled earlier in the game, ripped a single through the hole at short off reliever Andrew Kruss that scored Chris Joachim from second. The liner gave St. John's (13-9, 4-1 Big East) the lead and a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. Hansen, who gave up just 1 hit in 4 innings of work, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the win. With the score knotted at 2 in the seventh inning of the nightcap, St. John's second baseman Sam DeLuca, after making a throwing error in the fifth inning that gave Pittsburgh (13-11, 1-6) a 1-run lead, hit a triple into the corner that scored Will Vogl and give the Red Storm the lead for good.”That (error) made me realize that I had to do something to get this team back into it,” Deluca said. St. John's would get an insurance run off a sac fly from catcher Jarod Hickle to extend their lead to 4-2.Senior starter Jim Wladyka was solid, pitching 7.2 innings giving up two runs on five hits while striking out 6. But, because of Hansen's extended work in the first game, Blankmeyer could not march the Glen Cove native out of the pen to seal the second game. It took the trio of Justin Muir, Anthony Sullivan and James Lally to secure the St. John's win.”Coach said that taking two out of three was our goal in Big East games,” DeLuca said “But as a team we wanted to sweep these guys.” St. John's 2 Pittsburgh 0. Junior starter Anthony Varvaro set a modern-day school record by striking out 17 batters over 8 innings of work Sunday afternoon.”I'm pitching with a great load of confidence,” Varvaro said. “I feel like I can go out there and beat anybody. All my pitches are working great.”The junior, who didn't walk a batter, got all the runs he would need in the first inning. P.J Antoniato singled home Jim Martin, who led off the inning with a double. St. John's added an insurance run in the 6th when and error by Pittsburgh shortstop Dan Williams. Hansen earned his third save of the season.Reach contributing writer Joseph Staszewski by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
