by Troy Mauriello
If the St. John’s Red Storm weren’t on the national radar after a 7-0 start to their season, they certainly are now.
The No. 16 ranked Johnnies came from behind yesterday to knock off No. 7 North Carolina on the road, giving them their best start since 1981, the days of John Franco and Frank Viola.
Yesterday’s victory was anything but easy for St. John’s. After outscoring their opponents 63-16 through their first seven wins this season, the Red Storm actually trailed 4-2 heading into the seventh inning in Chapel Hill.
It appeared as though the perfect start and upset bid were falling apart before the Johnnies got a jolt of offense thanks to the long ball. In that seventh, after John Valente walked to lead off the inning, Jesse Berardi smashed a two-run, game-tying home run to right.
With the game still tied heading into the eighth, senior Michael Donadio provided arguably the most important of his 200 hits in his St. John’s career. Donadio drove an 0-2 fastball well out of the park in right center to give the Red Storm a 5-4 lead that they would not surrender.
A big part of the 5-4 win was the effort of the St. John’s bullpen. Red Storm starter Jeff Belge allowed two runs in two innings before exiting, leaving the final seven innings up to the St. John’s bullpen.
But the Red Storm pitching staff was up to the task. Relievers Sean Mooney and Joe LaSorsa combined to pitch seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out eight.
LaSorsa was particularly masterful, as he did not allow a base runner through the final three innings to help propel the Red Storm to a victory. The freshman struck out four in what will easily go down as the most important moment of his young St. John’s career.
Leading up to LaSorsa’s heroics, St. John’s fell behind 1-0 in the first, 2-1 in the second, and 4-2 in the third. They were able to tie the game up in the second and third with RBI’s from Jamie Galazin and Josh Shaw.
Although the five runs for the Red Storm offense was their lowest output of the year, the Johnnies pitching staff got the job done. A staff that struggled last season has allowed just 20 runs in eight games so far this season.
Now at 8-0 St. John’s will have a chance to keep the good times rolling as they stay in North Carolina for the LeClair Classic. After a matchup against Appalachian State on Friday, the Red Storm will have a chance to pick up their third top-10 win of the season when they face ninth-ranked East Carolina on Saturday.
The Tournament will conclude on Sunday when the Johnnies take on Western Carolina.
