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College Round-up: St. John’s drops key BE game to UConn, 5-1

By Dylan Butler

With upsets abounding in the Big East Sunday, the St. John’s baseball team had a chance to break away from the pack into the upper portion of the conference standings. Instead, the Red Storm found themselves alone in sixth place after falling to the University of Connecticut, 5-1 at J.O. Christian Field.

Thanks to a doubleheader split Saturday, the Huskies leapfrogged St. John’s (21-17, 9-8) into fifth in the Big East with a 9-7 mark.

Notre Dame, Boston College and Virginia Tech are all tied for first with identical 11-6 records, while Rutgers is a game behind the front-runners at 10-7.

Only the top four teams in the conference qualify for the Big East tournament.

UConn (19-16, 9-7) jumped on Red Storm starter Brian Dorsey early, scoring three runs in the opening two innings, highlighted by Mike McDonough's two-run home run to center field.

St. John’s put runners in scoring position in two of the first four innings, but could not score a run. Finally in the sixth inning, the Red Storm got on the scoreboard as senior Charlie Bilezikjian belted his 11th home run of the year over the left field wall to cut the Red Storm’s deficit to 3-1.

After early troubles, Dorsey (5-2) settled down and allowed only two hits until the sixth inning. The Huskies plated two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on a two-out rally to put the game away.

The Red Storm, who won eight of nine before dropping the final two games of the Connecticut series, return to the road for another huge three-game conference set at Boston College (22-15, 11-6), beginning Saturday at noon with a doubleheader. The series finale is Sunday at noon.

St. John’s 10, UConn 6. Led by Bilezikjian, who was 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Jeremy Winter, who added two RBIs, the Red Storm rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth after the Huskies scored five in the fifth inning for the win in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader. UConn won the nightcap 16-10.

Molloy College 7, Queens College 4. Molloy broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, highlighted by Ryan Schlotter’s three-run home run. Stewart Goodwin went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored and John Aluska was 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Queens (5-21, 5-15 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference).

Molloy College 10, Queens College 2. In a continuation of a game halted by rain Saturday, Molloy (27-11, 13-4) extended its 1-0 lead with three runs in the third, two in the sixth and four in the seventh inning. Aluska was 2-for-3 and Nick Gulotta was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Queens College 14, St. Thomas Aquinas 5. Led by Mike Eddy, who was 4-for-6 with a home run, five RBIs and three runs scored and Mike Medea, who was 3-for-3 with a home run, five RBIs and one run scored, the Knights scored early and often in last Thursday’s home rout. Tom Keane picked up the win for Queens, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Queensborough CC 8, Bronx CC 3. Former Bayside standout Roger Mischel led Queensborough with nine strikeouts, allowing just two hits in six innings and went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Softball

Queens College 4, Philadelphia University 2. Trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh with two outs, Natalie D’Amico tied the game with a two-out single and Queens (19-14, 10-8 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference) scored two runs in the eighth inning on three Philadelphia errors Sunday in Philadelphia. Diana DiGilio pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, to improve to 7-1.

Queens College 4, Philadelphia University 0. DiGilio struck out three, walked two and scattered four hits in the first game of the doubleheader. Crystal Wilson provided all the offense the Lady Knights would need, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.

Bird top pick in WNBA Draft

After achieving just about everything she could on the college level, former Christ the King standout Sue Bird is set to take on the WNBA as the Syosset native was picked first by the Seattle Storm in Friday’s draft in Secaucus, N.J. She becomes the second player from Christ the King to be selected first in the draft, following in the footsteps of Chamique Holdsclaw, who was picked first by the Washington Mystics in 1998.

Bird, who helped lead the University of Connecticut to a perfect 39-0 season, was one of four Huskies picked in the top six, another first for UConn. Swin Cash was selected second by Detroit, Asjha Jones fourth to Washington and Tamika Williams was selected sixth by Minnesota.

Masur to assist United States Under-20 National Team

St. John’s men's soccer coach Dave Masur is in California assisting head coach Thomas Rongen, the former coach of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United and New England Revolution, at the Under-20 National team’s training center in Pomona, Calif.

In 11 years at St. John’s, the men’s soccer team under Masur’s direction has advanced to the NCAA tournament 10 times and won the school’s first national championship in 1996. Last year the Red Storm captured the Big East tournament and advanced to the College Cup semifinals, before falling to Indiana.

SJU finishes third in Big East Golf championships

Led by Andrew Svoboda, who finished tied for second with a 5-over-par 215, the Red Storm took third place at the Big East championships, held at Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Ind. St. John’s shot a combined 46-over 886. Virginia Tech won the title with a 25-over 865. Notre Dame was second (882).

Men’s tennis

Queens College 8, Adelphi 1. Top-seeded Queens (16-5) cruised in the NYCAC semifinals behind Jerod Tucker, who won 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 in third singles and Ben Choi, who took fourth singles, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 and Reggie Breland and Chris Mullins, who won first doubles, 8-3.

Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at [email protected] or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.