NEW YORK (AP) — St. John’s is surging deep into the NCAA tournament with the first super regional appearance in school history.
The Red Storm (40-21) are two wins away from their first trip to the College World Series since the 1980 team that featured John Franco and Frank Viola. They went undefeated in the regional round and knocked off host and No. 6 national seed North Carolina.
Next up: the slugging Arizona Wildcats in a best-of-three series starting Friday in Tucson with a trip to Omaha on the line.
Since the NCAA expanded its tournament to 64 teams and added the super regional round in 1999, St. John’s has never gotten this far. The Red Storm have gotten close, though, having been to the regionals eight times in coach Ed Blankmeyer’s 17 seasons.
