The Cincinnati Bearcats have St. John’s baseball licking a few pitching wounds this week, as the Red Storm emerge from a stinging series loss on April 18-20.
St. John’s and Cincinnati – tops in the Big East in 2008, but closer to the middle in 2009 – combined for 56 runs over the course of three games this past weekend. The series started (11-8) and ended (9-4) with victories for the Bearcats; in between, the Red Storm pulled out a 16-8 win that actually should not have been so close.
“We’ve just got to pitch better,” St. John’s head coach Ed Blankmeyer said after that victory. “To be successful, it starts with the guy on the hill. … Right now it’s in kids’ heads. They’re afraid to be aggressive in the [strike] zone.”
The Red Storm jumped out to an 11-1 lead thanks in part to freshman shortstop Joe Panik, who hit two home runs (and doubled his season total) on the day. But by the time junior closer Ryan Cole entered in the top of the seventh, the situation was very different: The bases were loaded, and a home run would have brought the Bearcats to within three runs.
Cole walked the first batter, bringing the score to 14-8. He was lights-out for the rest of the game.
“Any job in the bullpen [means] you’ve got to stop the bleeding,” he said.
Even after the Game Two victory, Blankmeyer was not pleased. His starter, junior Bruce Kern, who had looked unhittable at times, had spoiled a strong first four innings by giving up four in the fifth. Junior reliever Miguel Valcarcel, the next St. John’s pitcher to appear, had conceded three more runs in less than an inning of work.
A day before, senior Nick Luisi and freshman Eddie Media had combined to give up 11 earned runs. In Game Three, freshman starter Kevin Kilpatrick would continue the trend, giving up six runs in less than four innings and taking St. John’s out of the game and the series.
The Red Storm are likely to be disappointed by their showing against Cincinnati, who sport a 7-8 Big East record while St. John’s sits in fourth at 9-6. The Jamaica team continues its bid for a repeat division title with a weekend series at Connecticut from April 24 to April 26.
