May 11, 2013
QUEENS, N.Y. – James Lomangino tossed his first career complete game and struck out a career-best 10 to lead St. John’s past the University of Notre Dame, 4-1, in the opener of a BIG EAST doubleheader at Jack Kaiser Stadium Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame drops to 28-20 and 8-11 in the BIG EAST, while St. John’s improves to 21-30 and 8-11.
Lomangino improved to 2-4 on the season. He limited the Fighting Irish to just five hits and one earned run.
Notre Dame senior RHP Adam Norton did not have his best stuff but still managed to give the Irish 7.0 solid innings of work. He scattered 10 hits and allowed just two earned runs (four runs in all). Norton struck out three and did not issue a walk. He has now tossed at least 7.0 innings in 11 of his 13 starts this season. The outing was his 11th quality start of the year.
Notre Dame appeared to have Lomangino on the ropes in the top of the third inning.
Senior 2B and co-captain Frank Desico and freshman DH Zak Kutsulis collected consecutive singles with one out. Lomangino then walked junior 3B and All-American candidate Eric Jagielo to load the bases for junior 1B and All-American candidate Trey Mancini, but the Red Storm right-handed hurler got Mancini to pop out and then struck out sophomore RF Ryan Bull to end the threat.
Lomangino took control from that point forward. He retired eight straight Notre Dame batters before a walk, but picked up a double play immediately following the free pass. Lomangino sent down the next 10 Irish batters before a two-out double from Bull in the ninth. He would strikeout sophomore PH Mac Hudgins to end the game.
In all, the Irish managed just one hit after the third inning and just three base runners. Lomangino retired 19 of the last 21 batters of the game.
Five different players had a hit for Notre Dame. Mancini went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and extended his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games. Irish 3B and All-American candidate Eric Jagielo went 1-for-2 with a couple walks, double and run scored.
Notre Dame grabbed a first-inning lead thanks to Jagielo and Mancini. The duo roped back-to-back, two-out doubles to give the Irish a 1-0 lead. After missing the last two games with an injury, Jagielo ripped a fastball off the centerfield wall and cruised home on Mancini’s two-bagger to the right centerfield gap.
The momentum changed in favor of the Red Storm after the top of the third inning, also aided by an error in the home half of the inning. Jimmy Brennan lifted a routine fly ball down the left-field line. Sophomore LF Conor Biggio raced over to make the grab, but the ball bounced in and out of his glove.
Brennan ended up on second base, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and cruised home on Pat Talbut’s perfectly placed blooper down the right-field line. Norton got a potential double-play grounder, but the Irish were unable to turn two after the Red Storm started the runner. Zach Lauricella and Frank Schwindel followed with back-to-back singles to give the Red Storm a 2-1 advantage.
St. John’s added two its lead with solo runs in the bottom half of each frame.
Schwindel, Sean O’Hare and Brennan all collected two hits.
— ND —