The Johnnies (18-11, 12-6 MIAC) play host to Macalester (22-11, 13-3 MIAC) for their regular-season and home finale this Saturday, May 7. The doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Saint John's Field in Collegeville.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's moved one game closer to a MIAC Tournament berth with a doubleheader split at Concordia May 5 in Moorhead. The Johnnies hit two home runs and turned four double plays in game one's 11-5 win. Game two, however, was a different story. SJU out-hit the Cobbers 12-9 but committed five errors and hit into three double plays. Only one of the seven runs allowed was earned. In game one, Concordia posted an early 1-0 lead with an RBI double in its half of the first. The Johnnies, however, answered with four two-out, unearned runs in the top of the second. Senior second baseman Andrew Hengel (Bemidji, Minn.) brought in sophomore first baseman/pitcher Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) with an RBI single. Cline started the inning with a two-base error credited to the shortstop. Senior outfielder Matt Boys (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnetonka) and freshman outfielder Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) gave SJU the lead with back-to-back RBI doubles. Sophomore outfielder Alex Powell (Hopkins, Minn.) followed with an RBI single. The Cobbers cut their deficit to 4-2 before SJU recorded a five-run fifth inning to bust the game wide open. Senior shortstop Matt Butorac (Maple Grove, Minn.) hit a two-run, bases-loaded single to chase the Cobbers' starting pitcher from the game. Cline welcomed the relief pitcher by smacking a three-run homer, his second of the season. SJU added two more runs in the sixth thanks to a leadoff home run from Hengel, the first of his collegiate career, and an RBI double from senior catcher Brian Skluzacek (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori). Concordia's Tony Emmerich ended the scoring with a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom half of the sixth. Junior Hayden Zimmerman (New Richmond, Wis.) allowed five runs, four earned, off seven hits in six innings of work. He struck out five and walked four to improve to 3-3 on the season. Sophomore Adam Wenker (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless seventh. Boys and Hengel led SJU with two hits apiece, while Cline (3), Butorac (2) and Hengel (2) tallied multiple-RBI games.
In the second game, the Johnnies grabbed an early 1-0 lead with an RBI double from Hengel in the second, but Concordia answered with five unearned runs in its half of the inning. The Cobbers added two more in the fifth before SJU put together a two-out threat in the seventh. Skluzacek recorded his 10th double of the season and scored on an RBI single from Butorac. He then scored on an RBI single from Cline. Sophomore Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) took the loss, allowing all seven runs. Only one run was earned, though much of the Cobbers' five-run inning was prolonged by two of his own errors. Sophomore Jake Blair (Ripon, Wis.) pitched a scoreless sixth inning in his first relief appearance since April 9. Senior outfielder Eric Smith (Rogers, Minn.) went 3-for-3 in his first start since suffering a back injury April 9 at St. Olaf. Butorac, Graves and Hengel added two hits each.
MIAC TOURNAMENT BERTH: SJU can earn a berth to its second consecutive MIAC Tournament with either a win in one of its two games against Macalester this Saturday, or a Concordia loss in any of its next four games this weekend (at Gustavus, vs. Macalester).
A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester's 11-game MIAC winning streak was snapped by the visiting Tommies as UST extended its own conference streak to 10 by sweeping the Scots 7-5 and 16-6 on May 4. Three Scots had four hits on the day: Graham Brown, Will Chen, and Robert Williams. There were a total of 53 hits and each team stranded 20 runners on base. Nevertheless, Macalester has already clinched its first MIAC Tournament appearance since 2000. Mitch Glasser leads the team with a .407 batting average, while Williams is tops in hits (44) and RBI (28). The Scots lead the MIAC (conference games only) with a team fielding percentage of .971 and are second with a .326 team batting average.
THE LAST MEETING: Last season, the Johnnies swept Macalester 9-7 and 9-0 on April 27 in St. Paul. In game one, the Scots jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first inning before SJU cut the deficit to 3-1 in the next half inning. The Johnnies proceeded to add eight runs in the final three innings to seal the win. SJU took a 4-3 lead thanks to three singles, a double and an error in the fifth. Macalester, however, re-gained the lead at 5-4 in the bottom half of the inning. The Johnnies responded by loading the bases with nobody out in the sixth. Second baseman Joe Eiden '10 followed a strikeout with a fielder's choice RBI for the second out. First baseman Kyle Henkemeyer '10 then came through with a clutch single to score the second run of the inning. Boys blasted a three-run homer, with two outs, in the top of the seventh. The home run increased the Johnnies' lead to 9-5. The insurance runs proved to be crucial, as the Scots added a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh before succumbing to defeat. Andrew Aebly '10 allowed five runs on nine hits thru six innings to earn the win. Cline allowed the two-run homer in the seventh, though both runs were unearned. Senior Brett Kramer (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) recorded his second consecutive complete-game shutout against Mac, allowing five hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
In game two, SJU scored six unearned runs in the second inning thanks to two bases-loaded walks, an RBI-double from catcher Brian Skluzacek (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori), and RBI-singles from Henkemeyer, Butorac and outfielder Andrew Gurbada '10. Forster added a two-run double in the fourth inning and Skluzacek tallied his second RBI on a single in the seventh to end the scoring. Forster posted his first collegiate three-hit game with two runs scored and three RBI, while Butorac went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
SERIES HISTORY: Since 1993, the Johnnies are 30-6 against Macalester, including an 11-1 record in Collegeville. The last time the Scots won in Collegeville was May 4, 1996 (6-3). SJU has won 15 of the last 16 meetings, including wins in each of the last eight.
