28 MAY 3, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
SPORTS
St. John’s powers their way to
big wins over Iona and Xavier
Fresh off the program’s ninthstraight
Big East series win
and the victor in 14 of its last
15 games, the St. John’s baseball
team returned to action on Tuesday
night at Jack Kaiser Stadium,
welcoming Iona for a nighttime
matchup.
The Red Storm walloped Iona 9-1,
improving to 29-11 on the year and
continuing to gather momentum in
their quest for a national championship.
Third baseman and leadoff
hitter John Valente scored three of
the Red Storm’s runs, while Jamie
Galazin drove in three runs.
The Red Storm’s series victory
over Xavier captured more than
a few national headlines, as the
Johnnies’ April 28 effort proved to
be one for the record books.
Trailing 5-0 after two and 6-3 after
three, the Red Storm proceeded
to score 28 unanswered runs over
the next four innings en route to
a 34-7 victory. The outburst broke
the program’s single-game scoring
record of 31 set against New
Orleans in 2010 and was the third
30-plus run scoring output in St.
John’s history; on April 28, 1956,
St. John’s downed Brooklyn by a
score of 30-7.
Three players finished with five
or more RBIs, as Galazin left the
yard twice and knocked in six runs,
while Valente and Jordan Gillerman
brought home five apiece. Josh
Shaw recorded hits in each of his
first five at-bats, becoming the
first St. John’s player since Frank
Schwindel in 2013 to notch five hits
in a single game.
Valente, a finalist for the prestigious
Senior CLASS Award, continued
to swing a hot bat in Cincinnati.
On the year, the New Rochelle native
leads the Big East and ranks
24th nationally with a .390 batting
average. Dating back to last season,
the graduate student owns the
longest reached base streak in the
nation, reaching safely in 54-consecutive
outings.
With two home runs this past
weekend, Valente bumped his
season-long total in that category
to five. Entering 2018, Valente had
only recorded three home runs in
the first three years of his St. John’s
tenure.
With the midway point of the
conference season now in the
rearview mirror, the Red Storm
has a comfortable hold on first
place in the Big East standings. The
Seaton Pirates are the next Big East
opponent to await the Johnnies, as
the two teams are scheduled for a
three-game set on May 11-12.
Photo via Twitter/@stjohnsredstorm
John Valente
Autism Awareness Day at Atlas Park labeled a huge success
Autism Awareness Action
Day, presented by Colorwerx
and hosted by Play4Autism,
brought hundreds of people from the
Glendale area to the Shops at Atlas
Park for fun and games on April 28.
Greg Vasicek, founder of Play4Autism,
said that he was honored to see
so much support from the community
and estimated that between 500
and 700 people stopped by the event
throughout the day. He also extended
his gratitude toward Councilman
Robert Holden, Senator Joseph Addabbo
and Atlas Park property manager
Peter DeLucia, who all came to
experience what the fair had to off er.
Some of the most popular features
included a zipline, Star Wars lightsaber
demonstrations, a car show and
dozens of vendor tables and informational
stations to share information
about autism.