The Johnnies return to the Metrodome for a 10 p.m. doubleheader against Edgewood (Wis.) on Friday, March 1.
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jerry Haugen (2:39)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's opened its 2013 season with a pair of 2-0 losses to Division II Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 25 (and the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 26) at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. SJU out-hit the Golden Bears 12-8 in game one but left 15 men on base in the 11-inning loss. A pair of Bloomington Jefferson graduates, senior Connor Cline and junior Luke Larson, led the Johnnies with three hits apiece. Cline roped a pair of doubles and laced what could have been the game-winning hit down the right-field line in the bottom of the ninth, but the ball landed a foot foul. He smoked the very next pitch to left field and the SJU runner on second base was doubled up to end the inning. CSP took advantage of the Metrodome turf to score the game-winning runs in the top of the 11th, all with two outs. Kyle Dalton, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, reached first on an infield chopper to short. Senior Adam Wenker (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) walked the next batter before Eric Fasnacht singled to left. The ball, however, skipped along the turf past sophomore Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) and both base runners scored. Senior Ryan Spengler (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) started the game and allowed three hits in three innings, while classmate Scott Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) followed with four innings of one-hit relief. Wenker took the loss, allowing the two runs (one earned) on four hits in four innings of work.
Fasnacht started game two with a seeing-eye triple to the right-field corner, and scored on a wild pitch for CSP. Cline cruised after that, allowing only one hit with eight strikeouts in four innings. Senior Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan) allowed the Golden Bears' other run, unearned, in the sixth inning. Greg Larpenter tripled with two outs in the sixth and scored on an infield single to third, CSP's third of the game, the next at-bat. CSP registered only four hits, the two triples and two infield singles to third base, but held SJU to only one hit: an infield single by junior Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) in the second inning.
SHUT OUT: The last time SJU was shut out in its season opener was March 22, 1991, against Minnesota-Morris at the Metrodome (6-0).
OPPORTUNITIES: The Johnnies out-hit the Golden Bears 12-8 in game one of Monday's doubleheader but were only 1-for-15 with players in scoring position and 3-for-20 with runners on base (3-for-27 in the two games combined). Despite batting .270 as a team in 45 games last season, SJU calculated a .290 (191-658) average with runners on base and a .284 (122-430) average with runners in scoring position.
RIGHT WHERE WE LEFT OFF: SJU's pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts (seven walks), a .213 opponent batting average and a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings Monday night. The Johnnies posted a 3.02 ERA and a .230 opponent batting average in 333.1 innings pitched last spring (2.79 ERA and a .230 opponent batting average in 142 MIAC innings).
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Edgewood opens its 2013 season against SJU Friday night and returns 18 players from the 2012 squad that posted a 17-23 record (13-9 NAC) and made its second appearance in three years to the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) playoffs. The Eagles return their top five hitters, according to batting average, from last year's squad, and return 70.6 percent of the team's hits (.293 average). Senior outfielder Jake Zadra hit .435 over the final 25 games of the 2012 season and reached base safely in 25 straight games from March 16 to May 10. Junior right-hander Trevor Koehn had a 4.76 ERA struck out 37 batters in 58.2 innings last season. Junior first baseman Alex Jaskulski begins the 2013 season with a .381 career batting average, which currently ranks fourth all-time in school history.
17 YEARS AGO: SJU swept Edgewood in the only previous meeting between the two schools, 11-5 and 18-3, on March 14, 1996, in Fort Myers, Fla.
