May 5, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Following an impressive BIG EAST series sweep against West Virginia, the No. 21 St. John's baseball team will host Iona for a doubleheader on Senior Day. Senior Day ceremonies will take place prior to the 5 p.m. first pitch of the opening game.
Inside The Series
St. John's and Iona have met 51 times in a series that began in 1956 and St. John's leads the all-time series, 42-9. The Red Storm boasts a 24-2 record in games played in Queens. St. John's has won seven in a row and nine of the past ten against the Gaels.
Stat of the Week
105-43: St. John's has outscored the opponent 105-43 over the first three innings of play.
Today's Storyline
Today marks the St. John's baseball team's Senior Day. The team will honor and thank seven players for their contributions to the program. Michael Aicardi, Chris Anninos, George Brown, Jeff Grantham, Luis Monell, Matt Tosoni and Gil Zayas will all be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
STORMTRACKER
Climbing In The Polls
St. John's has climbed to No. 21 in the Baseball America poll. This marks the highest ranking for the Red Storm in the Baseball America poll since May of 1981 when the squad ranked No. 14.
The Red Storm is also ranked No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 24 by Rivals.com and No. 20 by Ping! Baseball.
Anninos Nabs BIG EAST Honor Roll Nod
Chris Anninos was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after batting 5-for-16 (.313) with five runs scored and six RBI.
Anninos singled to lead of the bottom of the tenth and eventually scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly to lift St. John's to a 2-1 victory over West Virginia.
The senior also blasted a game-tying three run home run in the bottom of the ninth as St. John's eventually swept West Virginia with a walk off home run two batters later.
Anninos moved into a tie for fifth place all-time with 23 career home runs and also surpassed the 100 career RBI mark.
Offensive Trends
St. John's is 16-1 when scoring in the first inning and is 27-2 when scoring first.
St. John's is 26-0 when out-hitting the opponent.
Statistical Tidbits
Paul Karmas leads the team with 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
Carlos Del Rosario is riding a nine-game hitting streak, while Gino Matias has an eight-game hitting streak.
Scouting The Iona Gaels
Iona comes to Queens with a 4-37 overall record and a 1-25 mark in road games.
The Gaels are 1-10 against seven common opponents. The Gaels were swept by West Virginia and lost single games to Hofstra, NYIT, FDU, Rutgers, and Wagner. Iona took one game in a three-game set against Fairfield.
Iona most recently took two of three from Niagara.
Andre Passerelle leads the team with 21 RBI and is tied for the lead with two home runs and 18 runs scored.
Allie Abbatiello has 15 RBI to go with two home runs and Paul Salerno has two home runs and 10 RBI.
Joe Lorenzo ranks second on the team with a .283 batting average, has 13 RBI and a team best 12 doubles.
On the mound, Shane Sveda has a 1-6 record despite a 2.94 ERA. Sveda has tossed two complete games and allows just a .241 opponent batting average.
Bobby DiNuzzo is 2-6 with a 4.44 ERA and a .247 opponent batting average.
