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SJU sputters in Big East tourney

By Dylan Butler

The Red Storm left Commerce Bank Park Friday afternoon, though, praying for an at-large bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament after being eliminated by No. 2 Boston College, 7-5.”I have faith in the committee,” St. John's coach Ed Blankmeyer said Friday. “I hope and pray they give this club a chance to redeem itself.”St. John's, which also lost to No. 4 Pittsburgh, 4-1, last Thursday afternoon, became the first No. 1 seed to lose both of its games since Villanova in 1996. It was their first back-to-back losses since March 12-13.Yes, it was the worst time for the Johnnies to play their worst baseball of the year.”The last time I think we played this bad was in the series in the Metrodome, and we didn't really play bad, we didn't hit,” St. John's coach Ed Blankmeyer said, referring to the Storm's early season losses to Minnesota, Harvard and Louisiana-Lafayette. “Today and yesterday we did some things we ordinarily don't do.”While they're not hosting a regional, St. John's did earn their second straight at-large bid, it was announced Monday. The Red Storm, seeded No. 3 in the Corvallis Regional, hosted by the University of Oregon, will play second-seeded Virginia in the opener of the double-elimination tournament Thursday at 4:05 p.m.St. John's (39-16) didn't play fundamentally sound baseball, which has been its trademark through the winningest regular season in program history. They stranded 19 runners in the two losses and had two runners picked off against Boston College.Red Storm pitchers Anthony Sullivan, Craig Hansen and James Lally combined to allow five walks, including leadoff free passes by Hansen in the fourth and sixth innings.Hansen, who should be one of the top players selected in next week's Major League Draft and who is considered one of the premier closers in the college game, was brought in with one out and one on in the third inning.He promptly gave up an RBI-single to Jason Delaney, hit Shawn McGill and walked Mike Flynn to load the bases. But he fanned Marco Albano and Ryne Reynoso to get out of the jam.In the fourth inning Delaney again got the best of Hansen, driving in a run with a single to center. In the sixth inning Hansen drilled Delaney, drawing the ire of the BC players.”What kills me is leadoff walks, especially to a No. 9 batter,” Hansen said. “Those kill you, those come back and bite you in the (behind) by scoring. That's what happened today.”With a pair of squeeze bunts, stolen bases and hit and runs, Boston College (37-19) beat St. John's at a game they mastered for much of the season.”They played good little ball, Blankmeyer said. “We gave them runners and we gave them some freebies and they stole some bags and utilized the bunt to plate some runs. I like that type of baseball.”Added BC coach Pete Hughes: “We took some chances and we're going to be extra aggressive and risk takers on the bases once we saw (Hansen).”The tournament started on an ominous tone for the Red Storm when it was learned Anthony Varvaro, the ace of the staff, couldn't pitch because of a “tired arm.”Jim Wladyka was pushed up to pitch against Pittsburgh and was solid through six innings before giving up three earned runs in the seventh.”In my opinion, it probably affected the team emotionally more than anything else,” Blankmeyer said of losing Varvaro, who could be drafted as high as the first round next week. “Because when you have a guy of that magnitude and that ability, you have a lot of confidence.”Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.