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No. 28 St. John's Opens NCAA Play Against No. 19 Texas

Red Storm meets Longhorns for first time since 1966 CWS.

May 28, 2008

NCAA Regional Central

QUEENS, N.Y. - The No. 28 St. John's baseball team opens play in the Houston Regional of the 2008 NCAA Tournament against No. 19 Texas on Friday, May 30. St. John's (41-14) is the No. 3 seed in the bracket, while Texas (37-20) is the No. 2 seed. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (CT) from Reckling Park on the campus of Rice University. No. 1 seed Rice (42-13) will host No. 4 seed Sam Houston St. (37-23) at 6 p.m. to conclude the first day of action.

St. John's In The NCAA Tournament
St. John's is making its 31st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the team holds a 56-55 all-time record in tournament play. This is the Red Storm's second straight tournament appearance and its fourth in the past five seasons. St. John's has reached the College World Series six times.

STORMTRACKER
Grantham And Brown Earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Honors
Senior captain Jeff Grantham was named a CoSIDA first team Academic All-American for the second straight year. A third team All-BIG EAST selection, Grantham is batting .354 this year with a team-best .479 on-base percentage. The shortstop has seven doubles, two home runs and 27 RBI. Grantham boasts a 3.97 GPA in physics.

George Brown, meanwhile, was named a second team Academic All-American. The senior lefty was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and earned All-BIG EAST first team honors. Brown is 9-0 with a 2.73 ERA and a career-high 58 strikeouts in 85.2 innings. Brown holds a 3.47 GPA in accounting.

Statistical Tidbits

Paul Karmas and Carlos Del Rosario lead the team with 19 multi-hit games, while Karmas also leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games.

Del Rosario enters regional play riding a career-high 19-game hitting streak.

St. John's is 32-0 when out-hitting the opponent.

St. John's is 32-3 when scoring first.

St. John's is 29-3 when scoring at least six runs.

St. John's has outscored the opponent 125-51 over the first three innings.

Against The Regional Teams
St. John's and Texas have met twice in an all-time series that began in 1960. The series is tied 1-1 and both games took place at the College World Series. In 1960, in the first-ever meeting between the schools, Texas defeated St. John's 7-1. St. John's evened the series with a 2-0 win over Texas in the 1966 CWS.

St. John's and Rice have met twice in a series that began in 2006. The series is tied at 1-1. Ranked No. 2 at the time, Rice took the initial meeting, 14-7, on Feb. 24, 2006. Just over a year later, St. John's defeated then-No. 8 Rice, 7-6, on March 6, 2007.

St. John's has met Sam Houston St. just once and leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Red Storm defeated the Bearkats, 9-6, on Mar. 2, 2004.

A Look At The Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns enter the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 19 by Baseball America. Texas (37-20, 15-12) won the Big 12 Championship to earn an automatic bid into the tournament. The Longhorns are making their 52 nd appearance in the tournament and have a 204-100 record all-time. The squad has reached the CWS 32 times and has won the CWS Championship six times.

Brandon Belt paces the squad with a .332 batting average, 18 doubles and a team best 64 RBI. Kyle Russell bats .297 and leads the team with 15 home runs and a .627 slugging percentage. On the mound, Chance Ruffin leads the staff with a 7-3 record and a 2.04 ERA. Ruffin has 72 strikeouts in 70.2 innings and allows just a .186 batting average. Kenn Kasparek is 4-3 with a 3.95 ERA in 14 starts. Kasparek has one complete game shutout and has 72 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.

A Look At The Rice Owls
Rice is ranked No. 9 by Baseball America and enters the tournament as an at-large bid from Conference-USA. The Owls (42-13, 21-3) won the C-USA regular season title. Rice is making its 14 th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is 61-31 all-time. The squad has made six CWS appearances and won the national championship in 2003.

Diego Seastrunk leads Rice with a .374 average, 85 hits, 19 doubles and 54 RBI. Adam Zornes bats .309, has 50 RBI and leads the team with 11 home runs. Ryan Berry leads the pitching staff with a 7-4 record and a 3.10 ERA. Cole St. Clair leads the charge out of the bullpen with an 8-2 record, a 2.88 ERA and five saves.

A Look At The Sam Houston St. Bearkats
The Bearkats enter the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the Southland Conference Championship. Sam Houston St. (37-23, 18-12) is making its fifth appearance in the tournament and is 5-8 all-time.

Seth Hammock leads the Bearkats with a .381 average and adds 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 55 RBI. Todd Sebek leads the team with 98 hits and 25 doubles, while Bobby Verbick has a team-high 14 home runs. Guillaume Duguay is 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA, while Dallas Gallant has a 9-3 record, including two complete games, and a 5.15 ERA.