Kyle Richardson drove in the go-ahead run for St. Johns University in the Big East Conference championship game Sunday and the former Mohawk Valley DiamondDawg heads south to North Carolina with his Red Storm teammates next as the third seed at the Chapel Hill Regional to begin the NCAA Tournament.

St. Johns (37-21) won its conference-record seventh Big East championship with a 7-3 victory over the University of South Florida in Clearwater, Fla., Saturday. The Red Storm trailed entering the sixth inning but tied the game when a batter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded then took a 4-3 lead on Richardsons sacrifice fly.

The center fielder and leadoff hitter from Rome has played 43 games this spring, starting 29. Richardson carries a .299 batting average with 11 runs batted in, 22 runs scored and seven stolen bases in eight attempts.

Richardson, who had played at Mohawk Valley Community College prior to his summer in Little Falls and transferring to St. Johns, was the runner-up to DiamondDawgs teammate Jason Simone in the 2010 New York Collegiate Baseball League batting race.

The Red Storm begins its 34th NCAA Tournament with a game Friday against East Carolina, the No. 2 seed. Host North Carolina is the regions No. 1 seed and opens regional play against Cornell University at Boshamer Stadium.

Two more former DiamondDawgs are tournament bound, Tyler Dunaway at the University of Kentucky and Michael Gunn at the University of Arkansas. Both schools are No. 2 seeds, Kentucky in Gary, Ind., and , Arkansas in Houston.

Dunaway has pitched two innings in two appearances out of the bullpen for Kentucky (43-16) which heads to the tournament for the seventh time. Dunaway struck out three batters and allowed two earned runs. Catcher Luke Maile, a Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League all-star while playing for the Amsterdam Mohawks last summer, was a second-team all-Southeastern Conference honoree after batting .313 with 12 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

The Wildcats open play against Kent State at a regional that also includes Purdue and Valparaiso. Oriskanys Mike Gaglianese, a 2011 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Utica, has made three mound appearances, including one start, for Purdue, allowing five runs on five hits in five innings.

Because Purdue does not have a home field which meets NCAA standards for a host site, regional games will be played at U.S. Steel Yard, home of the independent Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association.

Arkansas takes on Sam Houston State Friday at the regional hosted by Rice which meets Prairie View A&M in its first-round game. Gunn, a freshman first baseman, outfielder and pitcher, has appeared in 14 games this spring, delivering six hits and five runs batted in at the plate in 24 at-bats while striking out 19 batters in 14 innings as a hard-throwing left-handed reliever. Gunn won his only decision on the mound and limited opponents to a .125 batting average while walking 10 batters.

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COLLEGE BASEBALL: Richardson helps St. John’s win Big East championship