When Mike Hampton picked up his telephone, there have been over 1,000 congratulatory textual content messages.
Associates, relations and a litany of legendary former St. John’s gamers had reached out, from John Franco and Wealthy Aurilia to Joe Panik and C.J. Nitkowski after St. John’s gained the Huge East Event.
It was a reminder of what this program means to so many, and Hampton was thrilled to be the chief of the group that had restored the delight.
“You play for your program, you play for the history that you’ve had in the program,” the coach stated Monday, after his staff was despatched to the Charlottesville Regional, the place third-seeded St. John’s will meet No. 2 Mississippi State in its first NCAA Event sport since 2018 on Friday night time. “It means a lot for this group, it means a lot for me to bring the program back to where I feel it needs to be.”
It has been a memorable yr for Hampton.
After 19 seasons as Ed Blankmeyer’s assistant, he took over in 2020 when Blankmeyer took a job with the Mets. However 14 video games in, his first season was over. COVID-19 hit. The subsequent few years have been troublesome, the Johnnies going a mixed 25-40-1 in league play. Accidents ruined promising springs, a complete of 13 totally different gamers needing Tommy John surgical procedure.
Even this yr’s staff hasn’t been immune. Catcher Adam Agresti, who was anticipated to be one in all St. John’s prime hitters, and No. 2 starter Joe Mascio suffered season-ending accidents early on.
However in comparison with the latest previous, Hampton’s staff has been comparatively wholesome. The outcomes have been there. It began with a season-opening win over SEC powerhouse Florida that set the tone for a 37-win common season, this system’s most since 2018. That was additionally the final yr it reached the NCAA Event.
Sophomore Jimmy Keenan emerged as one of many prime energy hitters within the Huge East, Mario Pesca grew to become a stalwart atop the pitching employees and outfielder Garrett Scavelli was an important discover within the switch portal, a .330 hitter coming from Division II Molloy School. The pitching employees is deep, which was clear in St. John’s 3-0 efficiency within the Huge East Event.
“I go back to that first dinner we had back in January in Long Island City,” athletic director Mike Cragg recalled, referring to the annual Bullpen Winter Banquet fundraiser. “The vibe in the room, the energy in the room, you could feel a different tone they had set during the fall. They were healthy. I felt there was something different about this team. It turned out to be true.”
Because the losses piled up in latest seasons, there had begun to be grumbling among the many program’s proud alumni base, questioning if Hampton was as much as the job. There have been different robust coaches within the space he may’ve pursued, however Cragg believed in Hampton and felt it was only a matter of improved well being and the Johnnies’ latest dangerous luck to show for successful to observe.
The coach didn’t fear in regards to the noise. He didn’t enter the yr feeling prefer it was a make-or-break season. That was out of his management. He had spent his life successful baseball video games — first as a participant and later as a coach.
“If you think about that, it’s going to drive you crazy,” Hampton stated. “I knew that we would have liked to be higher. There have been causes for us not having the success we had previously.
He added: “It was very hard. I was hired because I’ve always been a winner. That’s something that I expect.”
It lastly occurred this yr for Hampton and St. John’s. However the Crimson Storm (37-16-1) isn’t completed. They imagine they’re able to carrying out much more, beginning Friday night time in Charlottesville within the double-elimination four-team regional that features host Virginia, the Twelfth-overall seed within the match.
“For myself and other guys, we came here because of the St. John’s program’s winning tradition and what we’ve done in the past,” stated Keenan, a White Plains native and All-Huge East first-team choice. “To be part of a team that brought the program back is definitely a really special thing.”
“We have the confidence,” he added, “to beat anyone in the country.”
LIU was the opposite native staff chosen to the NCAA Event. The Sharks acquired an computerized bid after successful the NEC Event. They’ll face total No. 4 seed North Carolina within the Chapel Hill Regional on Friday at 6 p.m. LSU and Wofford are the opposite two groups within the regional.
