The Saint John's baseball team travels to Chandler, Ariz., for its annual spring break trip March 1-7. The Johnnies will play four games (a total of 36 innings) in the first three days against the Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) and nine-inning games against Rockford (Ill.) and the College of New Jersey next weekend. SJU ends the trip with a doubleheader against Wartburg (Iowa) on Sunday, March 7.
Preview Video:
-Head Coach Jerry Haugen (1:47)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's opened its 2010 season with a sweep of NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul by scores of 4-0 and 9-8 on Feb. 24 at the H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis. Senior Andrew Aebly (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) and sophomore Hayden Zimmerman (New Richmond, Wis.) combined for a five-hit shutout in Game 1. Aebly allowed four hits in four innings to earn the win, while Zimmerman allowed just one hit while striking out four in the final three innings. Senior first baseman Kyle Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored to lead the Johnnies (2-0, 0-0 MIAC). Junior shortstop Matt Butorac (Maple Grove, Minn.) and sophomore designated hitter Jimmy Loonan (Waseca, Minn.) knocked in two runs apiece. SJU took a 2-0 lead on a two-run double by Loonan in the third inning and extended the lead to 4-0 with sacrifice flies from Butorac in the fifth and seventh innings. The Johnnies built an 8-1 lead thru three innings and held on for the victory in Game 2. Henkemeyer again led SJU at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance and three runs scored. Butorac, senior outfielder Andrew Gurbada (Royalton, Minn.) and senior third baseman Michael Carr (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) added two hits each. Carr and Zimmerman, who made his first varsity start in the outfield, tallied two RBI each. Junior Brett Kramer (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) allowed three runs on six hits in four innings of work to earn the win. Concordia-St. Paul's run in the top of the first inning snapped the Johnnies' streak of 21 consecutive innings without allowing a run in the Metrodome, going back to 2009's MIAC opener against Macalester. The Golden Bears rallied to score seven runs in the final four innings but left the tying run on second base as junior Dan Beste (Freeport, Minn./Melrose Area) tallied a strikeout to end the game and record his first collegiate save.
LAST YEAR'S ARIZONA TRIP: The Johnnies posted a 5-5 record on last year's spring break trip and batted .333 as a team. Butorac had quite a trip, batting .487 with 11 runs scored, 19 hits, eight doubles, 12 RBI, 27 total bases and a .692 slugging percentage. Henkemeyer followed closely with 12 hits, while Gurbada and junior Brian Skluzacek (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) tallied 11 and 10 RBI, respectively.
A LOOK AT THE TIGERS: R.I.T. is prepared for a successful 2010 campaign. Returning talented players at almost every position will enable the Tigers to have a very balanced unit, which will allow them to remain as one of the top teams in the Empire 8. The Tigers are coming off of a successful 2009 campaign, where they recorded 19 wins and finished second in the Empire 8 with a 9-7 record. RIT returns seven seniors, six juniors and six sophomores, along with the addition of five freshmen. Captains Geoff Dornes, Kyle Desrosiers and Justin Smith will provide leadership for the Tigers this season. The Tigers will have a very experienced group behind the plate this season. The return of Josh Rodems and Dave Kernan will undoubtedly provide support for a very talented pitching staff. Rodems hit a career-best .342 last season and threw out 25 percent of the opponents' potential base-stealers. Kernan hit four home runs and drove in 22. Smith and Ed Hughes will anchor the infield. Both had tremendous success in 2009. Smith finished with a .331 average with 31 runs scored, and had a .931 fielding percentage. He was an Empire 8 second-team selection. In addition, he tied a single-season record, stealing 23 bases in 24 attempts. Headlining the outfield unit is senior and 2009 Empire 8 first-team selection, Geoff Dornes. Last year, he was second on the Tigers with a .366 batting average and led the team with 49 hits, 33 runs scored, nine doubles and four triples. He needs just three hits to take over as RIT's all-time leader and is in striking distance of setting several more career records. In addition, he saw plenty of time on the mound, recording a 3.10 ERA in 58 innings pitched. Dornes was the 2007 and 2008 Empire 8 Player of the Year.
THE LAST MEETING: The Johnnies avenged a 9-2 loss two days prior with a 17-7 win over R.I.T. on March 5, 2009. In the 17-7 win over R.I.T., Butorac and senior Aaron Traut (St. Cloud, Minn./Rocori) had three hits and an RBI apiece, while Henkemeyer and senior Joe Eiden (Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace) added two hits each. Butorac, Henkemeyer and sophomore Bert Marsnik (Annandale, Minn.) each scored three times as SJU built an 11-0 lead before the Tigers scored seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings. One run in the eighth inning and a five-run top of the ninth inning increased the Johnnies' lead to 17-7. Gurbada, Traut and junior Andrew Hengel (Bemidji, Minn.) all tallied triples in the game. Senior Matt Johnson (Eagan, Minn.) allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work to earn his first victory of the season.
A LOOK AT THE REGENTS: Rockford finished last season with a 27-14 (17-5 NAC) and a second-round exit in the NAC postseason tournament. Gone from last year's club are some of the most successful players in the program's 47-year history. The Regents will be without four players who combined to hit .358 with 147 runs scored and 152 runs batted in, as well as two who posted a collective 5-3 record with a 3.90 ERA. But the Regents' cupboard is far from bare. Twenty-three letterwinners return, including 2009 NAC Freshman of the Year, infielder Jimmy Dercks, first-team All-NAC pitcher Travis Mohr and All-NAC Honorable Mention outfielder/pitcher Tyler Clay.
A LOOK AT THE LIONS: The College of New Jersey finished the 2099 season with a 27-18-1 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the NJAC. The Lions claimed the NJAC Playoff title and a 3-2 mark in the NCAA regional tournament. TCNJ lost six seniors to graduation last spring. Among them was 2009 ABCA Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year, shortstop Jeff Toth. Toth also earned first-team region honors for the third consecutive year after leading the squad in nine categories last season. TCNJ returns a trio of All-region players in senior outfielder Chris Esperon, senior pitcher Connor Henderson and sophomore catcher Mike Galeotafiore. Henderson finished the season with a 7-1 record last spring. The Lions received votes in the 2010 preseason American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball poll released Dec. 21.
A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Wartburg received nine votes in D3baseball.com's inaugural rankings released Jan. 26. The Knights return first-team All-IIAC junior outfielder/pitcher Patrick Grau and second-team All-IIAC junior pitcher Brad Watson. Wartburg finished 28-20 last season, including an IIAC Playoff title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. The Knights open the 2010 schedule Friday, Feb. 26, with a doubleheader against Macalester at the Metrodome.
THE LAST MEETING: Like last year's R.I.T. series, SJU answered an earlier loss with a 6-4 win over Wartburg on March 5, 2009. Hengel and Loonan (Waseca, Minn.) had two hits apiece, while junior Matt Boys (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnetonka) blasted his first career home run, a two-run shot, to spark a four-run fifth inning that gave SJU the lead for good. Alex Wahl allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits in seven innings to earn his first win of the season. Primarily used as a reliever over the previous two seasons, Wahl made his first career start this afternoon. Aebly allowed one run and three hits in the final two innings to earn his second save of the season.
