"We'll control the things we can control. That was our approach in the Big East tournament and at the regional. We're not going to change. We'll try to play our game and play our style."

That approach hasn't produced numbers that will overwhelm any opponent. The Red Storm rank 85th nationally in hitting, 78th in ERA and 209th in fielding. St. John's does rank in the top 50 in stolen bases (92, 20th), runs (390, 25th), walks (259, 30th), strikeouts per nine innings (7.6, 43rd) and hits (595, 46th).

"We have guys that know their roles," Blankmeyer said. "We are who we are. We're going to Arizona and we'll go about our business. If that's not good enough, well, then that's not good enough."

If it is, though, the Red Storm would find themselves finishing their season in Omaha for the first time since 1980 when future major league All-Stars Frank Viola and John Franco were pitching for St. John's.