May 28, 2004

Box Score

Bridgewater, N.J. - Boston College scored three runs in the fourth inning and added two more in the fifth, and reliever Jake Marsello worked out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, leading the Eagles to a 6-3 win over St. John's in an elimination game of the BIG EAST Tournament at Commerce Bank Ballpark Friday night.

The Eagles took a 3-1 lead with three runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two walks and an error. Garrett Greer hit a leadoff single and moved to second when St. John's senior starter Joe Reid (Rutherford, N.J.) walked. A wild pitch moved the runners up and Dave Preziosi laced a single down the left field line, scoring both runners and giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Reid was relieved after walking Drew Locke to put runners on first and second, and Justin Muir (Plainsboro, N.J.) appeared to get the Red Storm out of the inning, but Ryan Leahy's ground ball to first took a short hop and bounced underneath the glove of Chris Joachim (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), allowing Preziosi to score with the third run of the inning.

Trailing 5-1 in the sixth, the Red Storm cut into the Eagles lead with a pair of runs. Senior Anthony DeRosa (Salem, N.H.) hit a leadoff double and scored when junior P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, N.Y.) singled down the left field line. Antoniato moved to third when senior Mike Rozema (Fair Lawn, N.J.) singled up the middle and scored when sophomore Greg Thomson (Levittown, N.Y.) singled to right.

St. John's had a great chance to tie the game or take the lead in the seventh, loading the bases with none out, but Marsello got Antoniato to pop up to short and Rozema to ground out to the mound, ending the tjhreat.

The Red Storm had another chance, putting runners on the corners with two out in the eighth, but Marsello induced a ground ball out from sophomore Eddie Schultz (Flemington, N.J.), ending the threat.

St. John's had jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first when Rozema singled home junior Jim Martin (Norwood, Mass.), who had hit a leadoff double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Antoniato.

The Eagles had a chance to break open the game in the first inning, but some timely defense helped out Reid. After striking out the leadoff batter, Reid walked Locke and Leahy followed with a blast to the wall in center. Jason Delaney and Ryan Morgan were hit by pitches, but the inning ended when Garrett Greer chopped a ground ball in front of the plate and Burke was able to grab the ball and tag the plate, ending the threat.

St. John's, winners of six of 11 road games against conference teams that qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament and 5-3 against nationally-ranked teams, now stands at 36-21 overall. The Red Storm will await the NCAA Regional selections, which will be announced on Monday, May 31 from 11-11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.