Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saint John's offense came alive in a late-night, doubleheader sweep of Edgewood (Wis.), 10-5 and 2-1, March 1-2 at the Metrodome.
The Eagles (0-2 overall) jumped on senior Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) for three runs on four hits in the first inning of game one, and added an unearned run in the second to gain an early 4-0 lead.
SJU (2-2 overall) snapped a streak of 20 scoreless innings to start the 2013 season with five unearned runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the third. A RBI single from Cline put SJU on the scoreboard and consecutive hits from junior Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) and Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 4-2. Senior Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan) gave the Johnnies the lead with a three-run homer to left field on the first pitch he saw.
Back-to-back RBI doubles from Cline and Graves, and an RBI single from sophomore Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong), increased SJU's lead to 8-4 in the fourth. The Johnnies plated two more unearned runs in the fifth.
Cline handled the rest, holding EC hitless after the first inning and finished with seven strikeouts in five innings of work to earn the win (1-1 record). Senior Scott Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) allowed a harmless run in two innings of relief.
Cline, Graves, Jantscher and junior Tony Gazich (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) all finished with two hits.
Junior Josh Groth (Eagan, Minn.) started the second inning of game two with a leadoff double and scored on a sacrifice fly from classmate Justin Thompson (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) to give SJU a 1-0 lead. Graves made it 2-0 with an RBI double, his second of the doubleheader, in the third inning.
Senior Ryan Spengler (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) cruised through 4.2 innings on 38 pitches, without allowing an Edgewood hit, before the Eagles chipped away for three straight two-out hits and a run to cut it to 2-1. Graves made a spectacular diving catch to record the second out of the fifth before sophomore Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) ended the inning, with runners on first and third, with a diving grab of his own in the left-center gap.
Spengler allowed the lone run on five hits with five strikeouts, and no walks, in six innings to earn the win (1-0 record). Long struck out the side in the seventh inning to earn his first save of the season.
SJU bounced back from Feb. 25's season opener, in which it batted only .067 (1-for-15) with runners in scoring position and .111 (3-for-27) with runners on base, to post a .342 (13-for-38) average with runners on base and .320 (8-for-25) mark with runners in scoring position on the night. The Johnnies also batted .417 (10-for-24) with two outs and stole eight bases (8-for-8) and held Edgewood to only one stolen base on four attempts.
The Johnnies continue their Metrodome schedule with a doubleheader against nationally-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 11.
