Sports

Blankmeyer becomes St. John’s all-time wins leader

Ed Blankmeyer has developed the St. John’s baseball program into one of the northeast’s best.

He’s now the school’s all-time wins leader after the Red Storm’s 4-3 win Thursday over Seton Hall — his alma mater — his 612th all-time against just 381 losses in 18 seasons.

“It’s nice, it’s a product of being around for a long time,” he said. “With the legacy of St. John’s baseball we have here, it’s nice to be on top.”

Blankmeyer has led the Johnnies to the NCAA Tournament eight times, to three Big East regular-season crowns and three Big East Tournament titles, producing 57 professional players and four major leaguers. The Red Storm, coming off run to the Super Regionals last spring, are having a down year, and are in sixth place in the Big East. But they did qualify for next week’s Big East Tournament.

“It’s neat,” the coach said. “I’m proud of the fact that the program is strong, we’ve gotten some very good kids. It’s not about me, it’s about the coaches who put in the time, it’s about the kids. You don’t win ballgames unless you have good players.”