It took a closer making his first start in two years and a starter throwing the first complete game of his college career for St. John’s to set a single season school record for wins with 41.
That will have to suffice for the 2005 Red Storm that got blown out of the NCAA Tournament last night by an Oregon State team that is proving to be a worthy Pac-10 champ.
The Beavers (44-9) pounded St. John’s for a second straight night, scoring 13 runs in the second inning to post a 19-3 win that ended the Red Storm’s season with a 41-18 record. Oregon State beat St. John’s 11-1 on Saturday night.
Less than 24 hours after that debacle the St. John’s staff got exactly what it needed, a complete-game win from Anthony Sullivan who stifled Ohio State 7-1 yesterday afternoon in Corvallis, Ore.
That win broke the previous St. John’s record of 40 wins set by the 1978 squad that advanced to the College World Series.
“When you get this close, it hurts,” said St. John’s coach Ed Blankmeyer. “But Oregon State is a great ballclub and we have to look at the whole picture, not just the last game. For an eastern team to get this far says a lot about the St. John’s program.”
If nothing else, the Red Storm proved to be a remarkably resilient team.
After winning the Big East regular season crown, St. John’s got swept out of the Big East Tournament.
The Red Storm were without ace Anthony Varvaro and they would learn before their daunting trip to Corvallis that the junior from Staten Island needs Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow.
After a five-hour flight to Los Angeles, a two-hour flight to Portland, and a two-hour bus ride to Corvallis, Blankmeyer opted to start to his closer, Craig Hansen, in the opening against Virginia. Hansen, who is expected to be a top pick in this week’s amateur draft, prevailed 5-3 but it left the bullpen thin.
“We stubbed our toe a couple of times this season but it doesn’t last,” said Blankmeyer. “We’re not the most talented team out there but we’re scrappy.”
Sullivan was tenacious against the Buckeyes. He allowed just six hits, struck out eight and walked one. The one run was unearned. St. John’s sent sophomore Anthony Smith to the mound last night against Oregon State
“We needed that,” Blankmeyer said of Sullivan’s outing. “If they got to Sully early, it would have been an ugly game.”
The nightcap was. Smith didn’t have the stuff or the experience to handle a savvy team such as Oregon State. The Beavers, who had 14 hits against St. John’s pitching on Saturday, got 22 more last night.