Historically, the best St. John’s baseball teams have been led by local stars.
From Rich Aurilia, Frank Viola and John Franco to Craig Hansen, Anthony Varvaro and Joe Panik.
The latest Big East champions follow in that tradition as a resilient group led by two-time All-Big East first team selection Jon LeGrande of The Bronx, standout catcher Adam Agresti from Yorktown and first baseman Shaun McMillan from Freeport, L.I.
“It is by design. I do think that Northeast kids have to deal with a little bit more, deal with weather and everything else,” coach Mike Hampton told The Post over the phone as St. John’s prepared to face Florida State on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. “It makes you a little bit tougher.
“There’s something to be said about being a Northeast baseball player.”
They have a chip on their shoulder. There is pride in the aforementioned challenges they face. This group, for instance, spent much of the preseason indoors, getting on the field for a full team workout just once before opening the season in mid-February.
“I’ve been at St. John’s for 25 years, and this past winter was probably one of the worst since I’ve been here as far as the weather,” Hampton said.
When St. John’s (33-24) started slowly, dropping 10 of its first 11 games, it didn’t break the Red Storm. LeGrande pointed to getting swept by Cal Baptist in a three-game series in late March as a turning point. Instead of getting down, St. John’s got tougher. Hampton ratcheted up the intensity of practices. The players became more focused and determined, refusing to let those losses mushroom.
The team responded by reeling off 23 wins over its last 30 games.
“All of us locked in and looked at ourselves in the mirror. We had to find our identity as a team, and that’s exactly what we did right after that sweep,” LeGrande, the Red Storm’s star outfielder, said. “Once we got swept, our eyes kind of opened up a bit, and realized we have to fix this now or our season is going to be over pretty quick. We started being a lot more selfless, the way the Johnnies play baseball.”
It is a loyal group. After St. John’s reached the tournament two years ago, multiple stars entered the transfer portal. St. John’s couldn’t match the money they received. And while Hampton now has more resources at his disposal, it still spoke volumes that he was able to keep the core of last year’s team together after LeGrande, McMillan and third baseman Jayder Raifstanger had strong campaigns.
“There were some kids that had very good seasons last year that probably could’ve gone somewhere, and they decided that they wanted to be part of what we do, and I think that it’s paying off right now,” Hampton said. “I think we do it right, and there’s some loyalty to wanting to be a part of this.”
The Johnnies will enter the showdown against Florida State coming off a 3-0 showing in the Big East Tournament. The level of the opponent will be different. The Seminoles are the No. 10 overall seed. Coastal Carolina, the second seed in the Tallahassee region, is a powerhouse. No. 3 Northern Illinois is no slouch.
But St. John’s, the No. 4 seed in Tallahassee, won’t be intimidated. The Red Storm have been tested plenty, taking on the likes of tournament teams Kentucky and Arizona State in nonconference play. They faced highly regarded MLB pitching prospects such as Arizona State’s Cole Carlon and Kentucky’s Jaxon Jelkin. The Johnnies know they will be doubted, dismissed as an easy out, as one of only seven teams from the Northeast to reach the tournament. They’re ready to show what they’re about.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is tough, gritty guys,” LeGrande said. “The place that we come from, where there is a lot of cold weather, we just want it more and we’re just going to be tough all nine innings. We’re going to give you a lot of trouble, I would say.“I know the guys are ready. I know I’m ready.”
