Published: April 13, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y.
The Captain's Corner features insights from each of the St.
John's baseball team's three senior co-captains - second baseman
Sam DeLuca, outfielder
Chris Joachim and catcher
Brendan Monaghan. In the eighth installment of a weekly series
on RedStormSports.com, Joachim blogs about how the team has
overcome a tough start, this weekend's series against Pitt and the
team's standing in the BIG EAST Conference.
Righting The Ship: Starting the
season 0-7 was an eye opening experience for the team. We realized
that we have to come to play everyday and we have to play baseball
the St. Johns way, which is playing hard and always hustling. We
could have very easily quit and packed it in after our start, but
instead the guys took it as a challenge and we have gone 18-4 since
the Lamar Classic … Picking Each Other
Up: Heading into the season I had high expectations for
myself, but I struggled to start the season. It's always tough to
go through a slump, but my teammates and coaches stayed behind me
and never lost confidence. It was the true definition of a team and
a perfect example of how a team picks a player up when he is down …
Pivotal Weekend Action: Everyone on
the team understands how big this series against Pitt is. I feel
like we say that every Thursday heading into a BIG EAST weekend,
but it is something that has to be restated every week. We're
coming in on a nice winning streak and are sitting in a tie for
second place in the conference, but Pitt is right behind us and the
league standings are pretty tight … What To
Expect Against Pitt: Pitt is a team who always has strong
pitching and scraps for runs. Their pitchers are aggressive and if
you don’t compete, they are going to straight up beat you. It is
the type of pitching our team likes to face because it is a battle
and we are a team that thrives off of challenges … Back To The Infield: This past week I played
a couple of games at first base, and it felt good to be back in the
infield with the guys from last year. It’s a lot different than the
outfield because you're closer to the action and more involved in
every play. You feel more in control of the game since you're
closer to the pitcher, and all the action revolves around
him.