74 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 3, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com sports Red Storm succumbs in extras over Roadrunners BY ALAN BURTON editorial@queenscourier.com After 11 innings, CSU Bakersfield’s Roadrunners prevailed over St. John’s University’s Red Storm this past Sunday with a 4-3 victory on a two-out, walk-off single. For St. John’s, Aidan McDermott went two for four with one run scored, while Michael Donadio was one for four with an RBI. Also netting an RBI each for the Red Storm were Alex Caruso and Gui Gringas. Joe Napolitano took the loss after surrendering one run in 0.2 innings of work. David Metzgar’s three RBI, including the game-winning single, lead CSU Bakersfi eld (4-2) to the victory. Jake Ortega went two for four with two runs and Chance Gusbeth (1-0) earned the win with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. The Roadrunners left runners stranded on fi rst and second base in the fi rst inning and another at third in the second frame before breaking through with a run in the third. Dustin Frailey set the table with a leadoff double and took third on a fl y-out before Metzgar made it 1-0 with a sacrifi ce fl y. Meanwhile, AJ Monarrez retired 13-straight to open the ballgame before McDermott singled up the middle with one out in the fi fth. McDermott, however, was picked off before Troy Dixon restarted things with a single. But a groundout ended the frame. St. John’s chased Monarrez and tied the game with a run in the sixth. Mark Venice started things with a one-out single before John Valente doubled. The Red Storm took its fi rst lead with a pair of runs in the seventh. Donadio gave St. John’s the lead with an RBI before Gringas came through with a sacrifi ce fl y, making it a 3-1 ballgame. CSU immediately answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. CSU stole the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. Joe Napolitano took the mound and retired the leadoff man before Ortega singled. Frailey then walked before Napolitano induced a fl y-out. But Metzgar ended the game with a walkoff single up the middle that drove Frailey home. St. John’s will return to action with a 6 p.m. game on March 4 at Florida State, the fi rst of three against the Seminoles. FAULK HELPING HOFSTRA WOMEN REACH FIRST NCAA TOURNEY Darius Faulk can tell you that succeeding in life often is all about being able to adapt. Faulk, the starting point guard on Hofstra’s women’s basketball team, which might make history by gaining its fi rst-ever NCAA Tournament berth, has shown a remarkable ability to adapt. It has helped mold her into a resilient leader, one who is playing her best basketball at the most important point of the season in the most memorable days of her college career. The senior from Hempstead recently posted her fi rst career double-double, scoring 12 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out six assists and making fi ve steals in a 66-54 win over the College of Charleston that lifted The Pride’s record to 21-7 overall and 12-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. “I’m still learning how to be a leader,” Faulk said. “I’m really proud of my teammates. They have been so positive all season. I’m just trying to adjust.” By the time she was 12 years old, Faulk knew she wanted to play college basketball at an elite Division I program. It meant enrolling in St. Michael Academy in Manhattan. Each day she would take the train by herself from Long Island. “At fi rst, I had my concerns,” said Daren Faulk, Darius’ father. “My little girl taking the train into the concrete jungle. But Darius has always been very driven and very stubborn. She knew what she wanted.” Faulk, who already plans on playing professionally in Europe, continued to seek out greater challenges. She enrolled in Nazareth Regional High School in Brooklyn, which meant waking up at 5:45 each morning and not getting home until about 7:30 p.m. In between there were study halls and basketball practices, in addition to classes. Her father would drive her to Queens where Darius would meet a teammate and continue on to Brooklyn. She gained McDonald’s All American consideration and all the hard work and sacrifi ce paid off with a scholarship offer to West Virginia, which presented the hardest adjustment of all. Faulk became pregnant while at West Virginia, giving birth to a baby boy, Kai, now 2 years old. It made more sense to be closer to home where her father, brother, Daren Jr., grandmother, Doris, and stepmother, Nikole, all provided a dedicated support structure. Hofstra was “a no-brainer,” said Daren Faulk. “Darius went to the NCAA Tournament twice at West Virginia,” he said. “We talked about what an amazing accomplishment it would be to get Hofstra to its fi rst tournament.” “I think about it every day, every day,” Darius said. “We lost in the CAA championship game by six points. Every day our assistant coaches say, ‘Six points. Six points.’ I can imagine climbing the ladder and cutting down the nets.” From Hempstead to Manhattan to Brooklyn to Morgantown, West Virginia and back to Hempstead, Faulk, who is majoring in sociology but has a masters in adjusting, says she plans on coaching. “I’ve had great coaches and I play the point which is like being a coach on the court,” Faulk said. “I’ve been around basketball my whole life. I watch basketball on TV all the time. When I’m watching, I watch like a coach: ‘What adjustments would I make?’” Of course she does. ing tices,ROBBINS’ NEST by Lenn Robbins
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