Friday, Feb 25:
No. 23 St. John’s Drops First Game of Series at No. 21 Georgia Tech, 13-0
The Red Storm stranded 13 base runners and was held scoreless by the Yellow Jackets, who pushed across ten runs in the first inning. St. John’s starting pitcher, Sean Hagan, did not survive Georgia Tech’s big inning.
After scoring 34 runs in their three games the previous weekend, the Red Storm offense was held in check by Georgia Tech pitching – the first time St. John’s has been shut out in 122 games.
Atlanta, Ga. – Georgia Tech (4-2) sent 15 men to the plate in the first inning and opening Day starter, sophomore Sean Hagan (1-1), was lifted after recording just two outs. Hagan gave up ten runs on nine hits in his 0.2 innings of work and left the game with runners on first and second. St. John’s (2-2) used four relievers the rest of the way in an attempt to limit the damage, but the offense struggled to conjure up a rally, stranding runners in all but one inning. Jimmy Brennan did, however, go 3-for-5. Sean O’Hare and Joe Panik picked up two hits a piece in the losing effort. Eddie Medina inherited Hagan’s base runners and gave up an RBI single to Daniel Palka before recording the third out. Palka was one of five Yellow Jackets to record multiple base hits. Matt Skole went 3-for-6, hit his first home run of the season, and drove in four runs, all of them in the first inning. Mark Pope (2-0) took the hill for Georgia Tech and shut out St. John’s over 6.0 innings, yielding six hits, walking only one, and striking out six. Clay Dalton, Zach Brewster, and Brad Markey pitched an inning of scoreless relief each to extinguish any hopes St. John’s had for a late-inning rally.
The Red Storm appeared ready to grab an early lead when leadoff man, Brennan, singled to start the game and Panik moved him into scoring position with a single of his own. A balk by Pope gave St. John’s second and third with Paul Karmas at the plate. Karmas, however, could not draw first blood for the Red Storm and grounded out to end the inning. This was the first of five innings in which St. John’s stranded runners in scoring position.
Georgia Tech’s offense got going right away with back-to-back singles by Kyle Wren and Jacob Esch. Skole’s subsequent three-run homer to center field gave the Yellow Jackets a 3-to-0 lead. After another set of back-to-back singles, Hagan recorded his first out – a strikeout of Mott Hyde. Hyde was the only Georgia Tech starter to fail to reach base more than once. After Brandon Thomas drew a walk to load the bases with Yellow Jackets, Hagan plunked DeAndre Smelter to give Georgia Tech its fourth run. A two-run single by Chase Butler a sacrifice fly by Kyle Wren increased the Yellow Jackets lead to seven with two outs. Although just one out away from escaping further damage, Hagan could not retire Georgia Tech, giving up three singles in a row to Esch, Skole, and Zeke Evans. With the score 9-to-0, Hagan was relieved by Medina. Palka immediately greeted Medina with an RBI-single, giving the Yellow Jackets a double-digit lead.
Medina gave way to Miguel Valcarcel in the fifth inning, but not before allowing a two-run double to Kyle Wren in the second inning, both of which were earned runs. In 3.1 innings of work, Medina struck out two, walked four, and gave up three hits.
Valcarcel, who made his first appearance since breaking his ankle in March of 2010, tossed 2.0 innings of one-run ball, yielded four hits, didn’t walk a batter, and struck out two Yellow Jackets. Valcarcel’s earned run came when Georgia Tech loaded the bases in the fifth inning with one out. Smelter hit a groundball down the third base line that 3B O’Hare snared and attempted to turn an inning-ending double play by stepping on third for the force out and then firing over to first. Smelter, however, beat out the throw and picked up an RBI.
Freshman Jake Woodward made his collegiate debut when he was brought in to pitch the seventh inning. Woodward recorded two strikeouts, walked one, gave up one hit, and was the first St. John’s pitcher to hold Georgia Tech scoreless.
Anthony Cervone, bouncing back from a rough outing last weekend, was the only other pitcher to blank the Yellow Jackets. Cervone walked one batter, didn’t give up a hit, and struck
out two.
St. John’s takes on Georgia Tech in game two of the three-game set at 2 pm tomorrow Feb 26, at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
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| Sean O'Hare, aka "Heezy", takes dry hacks in the dugout before Friday's game. |
Saturday, Feb 26:
No. 23 St. John’s is blanked by No. 21 Georgia Tech for Second Consecutive Game, loses 5-0
The Red Storm has been held scoreless in their last 26 innings.
Atlanta, Ga. – Sophomore Kyle Hansen, an All-Big East selection, struck out six batters in the first two innings and appeared to be in the midst of a pitching duel with Georgia Tech starter, Jed Bradley, who also recorded six strikeouts in the first and second innings. However, Hansen (0-1) allowed the Yellow Jackets to score in the third and again in the fourth – a deficit in which St. John’s (2-3) could not come back from. Hansen pitched a total of 4.0 innings, struck out seven, gave up one earned run, but was tagged with the loss. Bradley (1-0) earned the win for Georgia Tech (5-2), striking out ten, and no-hitting the Red Storm over 7.0 innings. St. John’s could only put five men on base over the course of the game, two of which were Frankie Schwindel and Joe Witkowski, who broke up the no-hitter in the eighth with singles. Matt Skole had another big game for the Yellow Jackets, going 4-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
Four of Hansen’s seven strikeouts came in the first inning. After Bradley struck out the side in the top of the frame, Hansen answered right back with strikeouts of Kyle Wren and Jacob Esch. After Skole reached on a two-out single, Daniel Palka went down swinging on a slider in the dirt, but was able to take first base by beating out the throw from catcher Joe Witkowski. Zane Evans, the ensuing batter, ended the inning by also going down swinging at a slider, this time not in the dirt, which gave Hansen four strikeouts in one inning.
Hansen struck out two more Yellow Jackets in the second inning, but Georgia Tech was able to draw first blood in the third. After Esch led off with a walk, he was able to advance to third base on Skole’s second single of the game. The following batter, Palka, drove in Esch with a single of his own to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead with men on first and second. Hansen, however, was able to escape trouble with his seventh strikeout and an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Following the Red Storm going down 1-2-3 in the fourth inning, Georgia Tech increased their lead to two runs in the bottom of the frame. After Mott Hyde reached second base on a shallow fly ball that was SS Joe Panik and CF Kyle Richardson had trouble communicating on, Kyle Wren singled up the middle to drive Hyde in.
Hansen did not return to pitch the fifth and instead was replaced by Stephen Rivera. The junior put together a scoreless fifth and sixth innings, but ran into trouble in the seventh when he allowed a leadoff single to Kyle Wren and balked him over to second. After Wren reached third by tagging up on a deep fly ball to center field, Rivera was relieved by Kevin Kilpatrick. Skole immediately doubled down the right field line, scoring Kyle Wren, tagging Rivera with the earned run, and putting the Yellow Jackets on top, 3-0. Rivera’s one earned run came on two hits, one walk, and one strikeout in 2.1 innings of work. A walk drawn by Evans and another double, this time by Brandon Thomas, gave Georgia Tech a 5-0 lead. After retiring the side, Kilpatrick did not return to pitch the eighth inning. He tossed 0.2 innings, yielding two runs on two hits and one walk.
St. John’s went down 1-2-3 again in the seventh inning – their fifth time in nine chances to put a man on base – but were able to break up Georgia Tech’s no-hit bid when Schwindel singled off of Yellow Jackets reliever, Dusty Isaacs. Witkowski’s single a batter later gave St. John’s a runner in scoring position with one out. However, Schwindel was picked off of second with a delayed throw from the catcher to prematurely end a potential St. John’s rally.
With DeAndre Smelter in to pitch the top of the ninth, Matt Wessinger led off the inning with a walk, but was taken off the base paths after an ensuing 4-6-3 double play. With two outs, Jeremy Baltz walked, reaching base for the first time of the game. Looking to plate the Red Storm’s first run in 26 innings, Paul Karmas stepped up to the plate, but grounded out to end the contest.
St. John’s takes on Georgia Tech in the final game of the series at 1 pm tomorrow, Feb 27 at Russ Chandler Field in Atlanta, Ga.
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| Matt Carasiti deep in thought. Probably about who he will prank phone call later. |
Sunday, Feb 27
The Bats Come Alive for No. 23 St. John’s as they Defeat No. 21 Georgia Tech, 13-3
The Red Storm snapped a 26 inning scoreless streak, grabbing the lead in the first inning and holding onto to it for the remainder of the game.
Atlanta, Ga. – St. John’s (3-3) avoided a sweep at the hands of Georgia Tech (5-3) with a solid pitching performance by starter Brendan Lobban and by plating 13 runs on 12 hits, four of which were for extra bases. After being shut out in the first two contests against the Yellow Jackets, the Red Storm offense rebounded in the first inning by scoring the game’s first run, snapping a scoreless streak that dated back to Feb 20 against Ohio State. Joe Panik and Matt Wessinger hit home runs in the same inning and finished the game with a 3-for-5, three RBI effort and a 3-for-5, four RBI effort respectively. Pre-season All-American, Jeremy Baltz, responded to being dropped to sixth in the lineup by reaching base four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Matt Skole had multiple base hits again for the Yellow Jackets, going 2-for-4 with two RBIS. The St. John’s lineup knocked Georgia Tech starting pitcher, Buck Farmer, out of the game after just 4.0 innings. Farmer (0-1) gave up seven runs, four of them earned, on five hits and four walks. Contrarily, Lobban (1-0) tossed 7.2 innings of three-run ball, yielded six hits, walked three, and struck out five. Sophomore Matt Carasiti finished the game, striking out one and giving up one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings of work.
The Red Storm loaded the bases in the first inning when Pat Talbut, Panik, and Sean O’Hare all walked to load the bases. Farmer, struggling to throw strikes, walked Panik and O’Hare on four pitches and walked in Talbut when he threw another four straight balls to Baltz.
Georgia Tech looked to answer back with a run of their own when they loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Lobban, however, was able to induce a groundball to end the threat.
With a 1-0 lead entering the third inning, St. John’s sought to take advantage of an error when Georgia Tech 2B Jacob Esch fielded leadoff man Talbut’s ground ball and threw it into the Red Storm dugout, putting Talbut in scoring position. Panik promptly put St. John’s up, 3-0, by yanking the next pitch over the right field wall. After a single by Baltz, Wessinger launched a two-run homer of his own, this one over the left field wall.
After a four-run third inning by the Red Storm, the Yellow Jackets plated a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. Kyle Wren got on base with an infield single to lead off the inning, but was thrown out attempting to steal second by catcher Joe Witkowski. Esch, who was at bat when Wren was caught stealing, tripled, giving Skole an RBI-opportunity. Skole promptly lined the first pitch he saw into right field, giving the Yellow Jackets their first run. Lobban induced a 4-6-3 double play groundball from the following batter to end the Georgia Tech rally.
The Red Storm knocked Farmer out of the game in the fifth inning when Panik singled to lead off the fifth inning and Paul Karmas drove him in with a double. Baltz promptly greeted Yellow Jackets reliever Taylor Wood with a sacrifice fly to score Karmas, giving St. John’s a 7-1 lead.
In the sixth inning, Panik increased the Red Storm’s lead to eight runs by driving in the Witkowski on a single to left field, scoring Witkowski had reached base on a single of his own and was put into scoring position with a base knock by Jimmy Brennan. After tossing 1.2 innings and giving up one earned run on three hits, Wood was lifted in favor of Luke Bard to record the final out of the inning. Bard tossed just 0.2 innings before he was relieved by Devin Stanton.
The Red Storm took advantage of another Yellow Jackets error by scoring another run in the seventh inning. Following a walk drawn by Baltz and a single by Wessinger, Georgia Tech catcher Skole attempted to throw out Wessinger advancing to second on a wild pitch by Stanton, but the throw sailed into the outfield, giving Wessinger third base and allowing Baltz to come around to score.
After Lobban turned in his second consecutive 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh, the St. John’s offense strung four more runs together in the top of the eighth. Jonathan Roberts, who came on in relief for Stanton, got leadoff man Brennan to rollover to first base, but a fielding error by the first baseman allowed Brennan to reach. Following walks drawn by Talbut and Karmas to load the bases, O’Hare drove in Brennan for the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to deep left field. Baltz followed up with a single that plated both Talbut and Karmas, giving St. John’s a 12-1 lead. A double by Wessinger, driving in Karmas, extended the Red Storm’s lead to 12 runs over the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame, knocking Lobban out of the game, but it was too little, too late. Carasiti recorded the final out of the eighth inning and then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end the game.
St. John’s heads back to Georgia on Friday, March 1 to play a three-game set against Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. The first game is to begin at 6 pm.
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