St. Johns 1980 College World Series team thrilled about current groups tourney run

The text message chat began heating up a few weeks ago, entering the Big East Tournament.It was more active leading up to the NCAA Tournament.Lately, it has increased in volume significantly.Members of the 1980 St.John’s baseball team — the last group of Johnnies to reach the College World Series — are loving every minute of the Red Storm’s run to the NCAA Tournament’s Super Regionals.“The best thing that you can say is that watching them, especially in the [Tallahassee] Regional this past weekend, it reminded me of olden baseball and the fact that they play together as a team.

They support each other,” Frank Viola, the former Major League All-Star and ace left-hander on the 1980 team, said in a phone interview with The Post.“The interview [catcher Adam] Agresti gave afterward about doing this for the alumni, for the students and for everybody, that goes a long way for us old folk to have them say nice things about all of us.

It’s a pleasure watching northeastern boys — no expectations from anybody — surprise people.That was us way back when.

Nobody knew who the hell we were.We went out there, we competed and that’s what they’re doing.”“Now,” he added, “they’re two victories away from getting back to Omaha, which would be a helluva story after 46 years.”Last weekend, St.

John’s won the Tallahassee Regional, upsetting No.10 Florida State twice to advance.They will face national No.

7 seed Alabama this weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the winner of the three-game series booking a trip to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series.It has elicited pride in a baseball program that has been mostly dormant in recent years.But St.

John’s has a proud history, counting Viola, John Franco, C.J.Nitkowski, Joe Panik, Rich Aurilia and Craig Hansen among its most famous alums.“Years from now, St.

John’s fans are going to remember beating Florida State in Tallahassee the same way we remember some of the great moments in program h...