Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's hit four home runs, three with two outs, in a doubleheader sweep of Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday, April 7, in Collegeville.
Sophomore Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) hit two homers and drove in four of the Johnnies' five runs in game one's 5-3 victory. Sophomore Josh Groth (Fridley, Minn.) hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh of game two. The game went on for another five innings until junior Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) smacked a walkoff home run to give SJU (16-6, 4-0 MIAC) a 7-6 win in game two.
The Johnnies tallied an early 1-0 lead in game one with an unearned run in the first inning. Concordia (10-11, 2-4 MIAC) tied it at 1-1 with an unearned run of its own in the third.
Graves put the home team ahead, 2-1, with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fourth, though the Cobbers would tie the game once again with another unearned run in the top of the fifth. Graves came through once again with a three-run shot in the bottom half of the inning. All three runs were unearned.
Jared Johnson ended the scoring with a solo shot down the left-field line in the top of the sixth.
Junior Ryan Spengler (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits in six innings of work. He posted three strikeouts and three walks to improve to 3-2 on the season. Spengler now boasts a 1.48 ERA and a .145 opponent batting average in 24.1 innings this season.
Zach Frappier went the distance for CC, allowing five runs (one earned) on seven hits in the loss.
Graves and junior Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan) recorded two hits apiece for the Johnnies. Long pitched a scoreless seventh to earn his fifth save of the year (school-record ninth of his career).
The Johnnies jumped out to another early, this time 3-0, in the first inning of game two. Freshman Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) started the game with a single and scored on a double from Long. Cline brought him in with a sacrifice fly and junior Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) scored on an error.
CC's Brian Guler cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-out, two-run double in the third. Sophomore Luke Larson (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) answered with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, however, making it 4-2 in favor of SJU.
Concordia scored the next four runs to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom half of the seventh inning. Michael Olson tied the game with a two-run single in the fifth and the Cobbers added two more in the top half of the seventh.
Cline reached on an error, which could have been the final out of the game, in the seventh. Groth followed with a deep blast to left field, on a 3-1 pitch, for his first collegiate home run.
The shift in momentum didn't last long, however, as Concordia loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the eighth. Braden Rahman singled to start the inning and Brad Olson walked, forcing SJU head coach Jerry Haugen to pull freshman Collin Felhaber (North St. Paul, Minn.) in favor of junior Scott Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori). Schroeder intentionally-walked Michael Olson to load the bases, but forced Guler to foul out to the catcher. He then proceeded to strike out Chris Gilson and Johnson grounded into a fielder's choice to leave the scoreboard tied at 6-6.
The Cobbers threatened again in the top of the 10th. Rahman started the inning with a single, his fifth hit of the game, advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on a sac bunt. Schroeder, however, induced a groundout to third base and a flyout to left to end inning. Rahman looked to have his sixth hit of the game in the 12th, but Graves galloped into the right-center gap, made the catch and doubled up Jordan Doschadis at first base to end the inning.
Long struck out and Forster fouled out to the catcher on a 2-0 pitch to start the bottom half of the 12th. Cline jumped on a 3-2 pitch for the walkoff home run, his first of the season and third of his career.
Schroeder threw five scoreless innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. He struck out one and allowed only two hits. Schroeder now touts a 0.00 ERA with a .143 opponent batting average in 13 innings this season. Junior Adam Wenker (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings, while Felhaber surrendered two runs on six hits in two innings of relief.
Cline ended the game 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Forster was 2-for-6.
The Johnnies travel to face nationally-ranked St. Thomas this Tuesday, April 10. The doubleheader is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in St. Paul.
Notes: Cline looked to have tweaked his left (non-throwing) shoulder while sliding back into first base in the bottom of the 10th, but he stayed in the game…he is off to a good start in conference play, batting .538 (7-for-13) in three MIAC games…the 12-inning game is the longest for the Johnnies, in an originally-scheduled seven-inning contest, since SJU defeated Macalester 3-2 in 12 innings on April 23, 2008, in Collegeville…Graves' two-homer game is the first for a Johnnie since All-American Jay Kasner hit two at Bethel on May 2, 2007…Kasner is also the last Johnnie to hit two home runs in the same game at home (April 28, 2005, vs. Saint Mary's).
