By Joseph Staszewski
St. John’s Coach Ed Blankmeyer wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
His Red Storm baseball team was holding on to a two-run lead with two men on and no outs in the top of the eighth inning. After reliever Matt Clancy threw two balls to Xavier’s Joe Glenbeck, Blankmeyer summoned closer Thomas Hackimer for his second multi-inning save of the weekend. The Red Storm needed the win to clinch the outright conference title.
“When you got a hammer out there, you might as well go to it when you need it, not necessarily in the ninth inning,” Blankmeyer said.
Hackimer balked the runners over to second and third to make things more difficult before retiring the next three batters in order. He allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work, stranding the tying runs on base in the ninth to seal the Red Storm’s 8-6 victory over Xavier at Jack Kaiser Stadium on May 10, capping off a series sweep. Hackimer, who has 12 saves on the season, also tossed two innings of scoreless relief in the series opener.
“I understand there is a real fine margin with what I have to do,” Hackimer said. “Mostly I just go out there and try to pound the [strike] zone and I think everything will really work itself out.”
The win gives St. John’s its first outright Big East title since 2008 and first overall since 2012. The Red Storm clinched at least a share of the crown behind a complete-game shutout by Ryan McCormick in the middle game, but are now assured of the top seed when the Big East tournament begins May 21 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. St. John’s has won 14 of its last 16 games including seven straight.
“It’s a huge honor,” senior right fielder Zach Lauricella said. “It just shows every weekend we come and we compete. It’s a huge honor to be regular season champs.”
The title didn’t come easy.
The Red Storm (31-14, 14-3) needed production up and down its lineup to hold off Xavier (13-36, 2-13), which led 5-4 going into the bottom of the fourth. Tyler Sanchez launched a solo homer to left to lead off the frame and Lauricella delivered a two-out RBI double to put St. John’s ahead for good at 6-5. It was part of a two-hit, three-RBI day that also included a third inning home run for Lauricella.
“I knew full count he was going to come with a fastball,” Lauricella said of the go-ahead RBI double. “He got it in on me and I just got the head out and pulled it down the line for a double. That was a big inning for us.”
St. John’s added a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Robert Wayman and another in the eighth on a Jesse Berardi sac fly. Sanchez chipped in two hits and two RBI. Blankmeyer said he has found a regular batting order over the last month after having a number of starting spots in the infield up for grabs early in the season.
“We found the guys who gave us the best chance to win,” he said.
The group wants to add a Big East tournament title and an NCAA tournament bid to its accomplishments. It is finding its groove at the best time to do that.
“We started a little bit slow this year,” Lauricella said. “Right now we are catching hot. All phases of our game are playing really well.”
