Saint John's (12-6, 0-0 MIAC) begins its conference schedule at Carleton (6-9, 1-1 MIAC) this Wednesday, April 4. The doubleheader is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Mel Taube Field in Northfield. – Listen Live | Live Stats
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jerry Haugen (1:45)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The Saint John's bats came alive in game two to earn a doubleheader split with Wisconsin-Oshkosh on March 26 at the Metrodome. A pair of two-out walks that turned into Oshkosh runs proved to be the difference in a 4-1 win before the Johnnies tallied seven runs on seven hits in the first two innings of SJU's 10-3 game-two victory. Junior Ryan Spengler (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) allowed two runs, one earned, on only three hits in five innings of work to take the loss in game one. A two-out walk came around to score on an error in the second inning, and another did the same on an RBI double in the third. Meanwhile, southpaw Luke Westphal, a second-team All-American last spring, returned to form for the Titans. He struck out seven and allowed two hits in the complete-game victory. Junior Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single in the fourth inning. The Titans added two more runs, one earned, off reliever Hayden Zimmerman (New Richmond, Wis.) in the seventh. Zimmerman entered the game with runners on first and third with nobody out in the top of the sixth. He induced a ground ball to second to get the force, but the base runner was called for interference to give SJU two outs and keep the runner at third base. Zimmerman struck out the next batter to end the inning and keep it a 2-1 game. Zimmerman struck out the first batter to start the seventh and looked to do the same with the second, on a curve ball down the pipe that froze both the batter and umpire, but the pitch was called ball four. The No. 9 hitter laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Zimmerman overthrew first base to put the runners on second and third with one down. The leadoff hitter, Derek Layton took advantage of the runners in scoring position and poked a ground ball narrowly past Forster for a two-run single.
The Johnnies jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of unearned runs in the first inning of game two. Sophomore third baseman Luke Larson (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) poked a bases-loaded, two-run single to give SJU the early cushion. The lead was short-lived, however, as UWO tied the game at 2-2 with three groundball hits in the bottom half of the inning. SJU proved that the first inning wasn't a fluke by plating five runs on five hits in the second to take a 7-2 lead. Freshman catcher Billy Gregg (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) ripped a hard-hit single to centerfield and advanced to third after the ball skipped by both the center and rightfielders. He scored on a single from freshman outfielder Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) two pitches later. Junior Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) brought Pfaff around with a deep double to the gap in left-center, and scored on a single down the left-field line from sophomore Josh Groth (Eagan, Minn.). Junior first baseman Charlie Perrine (Edina, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) followed with a walk and Larson cleared the bases with a two-run triple down the right-field line. Both teams tallied a run in the third inning. SJU started the inning with a walk, followed by back-to-back singles from Pfaff and junior Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan). The Johnnies added two more runs in the fifth inning to end the scoring. Pfaff reached for the third time and scored on a wild pitch. Forster, meanwhile, was hit by pitch, stole second, advanced to third on the wild pitch that scored Pfaff, and scored on an infield single from Larson. Larson finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI in the contest. Cline settled down after the third inning and improved to 3-2 with the win. He allowed all three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in five innings. Long threw two hitless innings of relief with three K's. Pfaff and Long recorded two hits each, while Forster went 1-for-4 with three runs scored. Seven of the Johnnies' 10 runs were scored by the 1-through-4 hitters.
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS: SJU's pitching staff is currently fourth in all of NCAA Division III (373 schools) with 6.39 hits allowed per nine innings. The Johnnies are also fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.1) and 16th in with a 2.66 ERA. Zimmerman is sixth with an average of 4.5 hits allowed per nine innings. SJU is tied with Bethel for eighth with 0.69 triples per game.
ROTATION: The Johnnies' top four starters (Hayden Zimmerman, Connor Cline, Ryan Spengler and Adam Wenker) are a combined 9-3 with a 2.23 ERA and a .198 opponent batting average in 84.2 innings pitched (16 starts) this season. In his last eight starts, going back to the 2011 season, Zimmerman boasts a 1.93 ERA, .179 opponent batting average and a .98 WHIP with 43 strikeouts (to 20 walks) in 56 innings pitched (5-2 record).
FRESHMAN BOOKENDS: Gregg and Pfaff have provided quite a boost to the Johnnies' lineup through 18 games this season. Both tout 13 hits on the year and carry on-base percentages well above the .500 mark. Pfaff is batting .394 with 11 runs scored, nine RBI and a team-leading .535 on-base percentage at the leadoff spot. Gregg, meanwhile, is batting .464 with five RBI while rotating with sophomore Justin Thompson (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) at both catcher and the No. 9 spot in the order.
HEALTHY SPENGLER: Spengler is happy to be healthy this spring, and it shows. Spengler pitched only 3.2 innings as a freshman in 2010 before injuring his throwing shoulder, and then took a line drive off of his shin in his first start of the year last spring in Arizona, breaking his leg and forcing him to miss the entire 2011 season. Despite hiccups in his control (16 walks), Spengler has a 2-2 record with a 1.47 ERA, .133 opponent batting average and 21 strikeouts in 18.1 innings this season.
5 RBI: Larson went 3-for-5 with five RBI in the Johnnies' 10-3 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh on March 26. All three hits, and corresponding RBI, came with two outs. The five RBI are the most in a single game since Matt Butorac '11 posted six in the 24-8 win over Dickinson (Pa.) on March 7, 2009. A first-team All-MIAC selection at Saint Mary's last spring, Larson currently leads the team with 15 RBI and is second in hits (18).
CONFERENCE OPENERS: Since the 1993 season, SJU has collected a 27-10 record in its MIAC opener, including 11 sweeps in the 18 doubleheaders (the Johnnies' MIAC opener at St. Thomas was split into two games on two different dates due to weather in 1997).
NON-CONFERENCE START: SJU posted its best pre-MIAC non-conference record, 12-6, topping 1995's 11-5 mark.
LAST YEAR: Saint John's smacked nine extra-base hits in an MIAC doubleheader sweep of Carleton last April 17 in Collegeville. The Johnnies jumped out to an 8-0 lead en route to an 8-5 win in game one and carried the second contest with a low-scoring 3-1 decision. Game two lasted just one hour and 15 minutes. Back-to-back doubles from Brian Skluzacek '11 and Matt Butorac '11 gave SJU an early 2-0 lead in the first. The Johnnies tacked on four more runs in the second thanks to a two-run triple by junior Alex Powell (Hopkins, Minn.), a sacrifice fly from Skluzacek and a solo home run by Butorac. SJU extended its lead to 8-0 thanks to a sacrifice fly from Forster and an RBI double by Brett Kramer '11.
Meanwhile on the mound, Cline cruised through the first 16 Carleton batters and posted five no-hit innings before things began to unravel in the sixth. Ben Walsh broke up the no-no with a single to start the sixth, followed by a walk and a hit batsman by Cline. He then walked in a run before Alex Wirta blooped a Texas-leaguer to left centerfield. Sophomore Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) looked to make a diving catch but the ball skipped out of his glove, which added another run, 8-2. The very next batter did the same thing, this time to Graves' right. Again, Graves stretched out to make a diving catch but the ball trickled out upon hitting the ground, which plated another run. A sac fly and an RBI single made it 8-5 before Cline retired a pinch hitter to end the inning. Long tallied a 1-2-3 seventh to record his second save of the season. Skluzacek was 3-for-3 and set a new school record with three doubles in the game, while Butorac was 3-for-4. The 1-2-3 hitters for SJU (Powell, Skluzacek and Butorac) combined for a 7-for-10 performance at the plate with six RBI and six runs scored.
Butorac gave SJU another early lead in game two with a sac fly in the first inning. Matt Boys '11 added to the lead with an RBI triple, the 10th of this career, in the second. Carleton cut its deficit to 2-1 with an unearned run in the fourth inning before the Johnnies added an unearned run of their own with an RBI double by Skluzacek, his fourth of the day, in the fifth. Skluzacek ended the day a perfect 5-for-5 with four doubles and three RBI. Kramer improved to 3-2 with the virtual shutout, allowing the unearned run on five hits with two strikeouts in the complete-game victory. Boys, Cline, Powell and Skluzacek all had two hits apiece.
SERIES HISTORY: Since 1993, the Johnnies are 27-11 against Carleton, including a 13-5 record in Northfield.
