May 19, 2008

C:EARWATER, Fla. - Head coach Ed Blankmeyer was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second straight season, senior pitcher George Brown was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and a school record-tying eight players earned All-BIG EAST honors the conference announced Monday before the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

Both George Brown and junior pitcher Scott Barnes earned All-BIG EAST first team honors. Juniors Colin Lynch and Daniel Benedetti, senior Chris Anninos and freshman Paul Karmas were all named to the second team. Senior Jeff Grantham and junior Carlos Del Rosario earned third team honors.

Blankmeyer takes home BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors for the third time in four seasons and the fourth time overall (1996, 2005, 2007, 2008). This season Blankmeyer led the Red Storm to its second straight regular season title and its third in the past four seasons. With a 4-3 win over Winthrop on Feb. 24, the skipper earned his 400th career victory. St. John's also won its first six games in 2008, the best start under Blankmeyer and the best start for the squad since 1981 when the team opened 14-0.

Brown becomes the fourth St. John's pitcher to earn BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honors. The lefty posted a 9-0 record and a 2.73 ERA in a career-high 85.2 innings. The southpaw also struck out a career-high 58, walked just nine batters and held opponents to a .245 batting average. Brown led the conference in wins, ranked third in both ERA and innings pitched and ranked sixth in opponent batting average. This season, the senior earned back-to-back BIG EAST Pitcher of Week honors and was named to the honor roll once. Brown's nine wins rank tied for fifth all-time in a season, while is 22 career victories rank tenth.

Barnes was named to the first team for the second straight season. The lefty was 7-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 76.1 innings of work. Barnes led the BIG EAST with 80 strikeouts and ranked second in the conference with a .207 opponent batting average. The southpaw also tied for fourth in innings pitched and wins.

Lynch, meanwhile, posted a 3-1 record with a 2.77 ERA in a team-high 22 appearances. The junior reliever led the BIG EAST with 13 saves and also combined on two shutouts. Lynch ranks second all-time at St. John's with 24 career saves, while his 13 saves in 2008 rank him second in a single season.

Benedetti led the team with a .369 batting average and threw out 50.0 percent (17-of-34) of base runners attempting to steal. The junior had 13 doubles, 35 runs scored and 19 RBI. In conference games only, Benedetti ranked tenth with a .371 batting average.

Anninos led St. John's with 12 home runs and 46 runs scored. The only player to start all 53 games, Anninos batted .279 with a .532 slugging percentage. The senior tied for six in the conference in home runs and led the BIG EAST with 10 home runs in conference play only. Anninos also ranked third with 30 runs scored and second with a .636 slugging percentage in conference games.

Karmas batted .318 with a team-high 63 hits and 44 RBI. The DH added 16 doubles to lead the team and place him tied for tenth all-time at St. John's in a single season. The freshman added three home runs on the year and had a .444 slugging percentage. Karmas tied for ninth in the conference in doubles.

Grantham batted a career-high .352 and led the team with a .481 on-base percentage. The captain had two home runs, including a walk off blast, 30 runs scored and 26 RBI. Grantham was also second in the BIG EAST in on-base percentage.

Del Rosario led the team with six triples and a .567 slugging percentage. The outfielder batted .351 with 13 doubles and four home runs. Del Rosario ranked second on the team with 60 hits and 37 RBI. The junior ranked eighth in the conference in slugging and tied for third in triples.

Top seeded St. John's opens play in the BIG EAST Tournament against eighth seeded Villanova at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20.