The fifth-seeded Saint John's baseball team opens the single-elimination MIAC Tournament with a nine-inning game against the No. 4 seed, Bethel, at 3 p.m. today (Friday, May 10) at Veterans Field in Minnetonka. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, requires Real Audio) | Live Stats | Live Video | Directions | Tournament Website

Preview Video:
-Head coach Jerry Haugen (1:32)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (18-15, 9-9 MIAC) ended its regular season with a doubleheader split with Carleton on May 7 in Collegeville. The Johnnies cracked nine extra-base hits, including two home runs from junior Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) and a three-run shot from junior Josh Groth (Fridley, Minn.) in a 16-3 rout in game one. The well went dry, however, in game two as SJU totaled only six hits and committed three errors in a 9-4 loss in game two. Five of the nine runs allowed were unearned.

The doubleheader was delayed an hour and 43 minutes because umpires were not assigned by the league office.

Graves gave the home team an early 3-0 lead with a three-run shot in the first inning of game one and added a solo shot in the third inning. Senior Alex Powell (Hopkins, Minn.) drove in another run in the third with an RBI double. SJU added two more in the fourth, six runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Graves, Powell and junior Luke Larson (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) all had three hits. Sophomore Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored, while senior Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) was 2-for-3 with four runs scored. Graves and Groth combined for nine RBI.

Carleton jumped on sophomore Tyler Delwiche (Andover, Minn./Totino-Grace) for six runs, four earned, in 3.1 innings. The Knights built a 9-0 lead until the sixth inning when senior Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan) brought in Cline with a sacrifice fly and Graves scored on a wild pitch. SJU had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth inning but did not score. Sophomore Brett Becker (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) ended the scoring with a two-run homer to right field, the first of his collegiate career, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Thaddeus Gregory earned the complete-game win for Carleton, allowing the four runs on six hits. He held SJU, which totaled 17 hits in game one, to only three hits through the first five innings. Eight of the Knights' 13 hits in game two were infield/groundball singles.

POWER SURGE: The Johnnies have hit seven home runs in their last four games and have a total of 15 in 33 games this season (11 in 18 MIAC games). SJU only hit 16 in 45 games last season (seven in 20 MIAC games).

BIG FLIES IN BUNCHES: Graves' multi-homer game against Carleton May 7 is the third of his collegiate career. He is currently tied with Jeff Norman (1975-78) for 10th on the school's all-time home run list with 11 in his career. Graves hit two off of BU's David Freed in the 7-3 win over the Royals in the first game of last year's MIAC Tournament.

WHO NEEDS REST?: Senior lefty Ryan Spengler (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) earned a pair of pitching wins in a span of three days earlier this week for the Johnnie baseball team. He threw a complete-game shutout in game one's 1-0 nine-inning, walk-off win over Gustavus Adolphus on May 5 to earn MIAC Pitcher of the Week honors. Only three batted balls (groundball single thru left side, groundball single up middle and flyout to center) left the infield for the Gusties off Spengler, who struck out five and walked three. Spengler then earned the win on one day of rest in the Johnnies' 16-3 victory over Carleton May 7. He allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts to improve to 6-0 with a 2.76 ERA and a .221 opponent batting average in 49 innings (eight starts) this spring.

NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: The MIAC Pitcher of the Week honor was not the only accolade for Spengler this week, as he was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division III Pitcher of the Week May 9.

ROYAL HITTER: Pfaff enters today's game batting .500 (9-for-18) with five runs scored and two doubles in five career games against Bethel. He currently leads the team in runs scored (30), hits (41), doubles (11), stolen bases (10) and outfield assists (3).

EIGHT IN 10: SJU started the MIAC schedule with a 1-7 record before winning eight of its last nine games to finish 9-9. The doubleheader sweep of Bethel April 28, 7-2 and 6-0, started the 8-2 stretch.

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (23-14, 10-10 MIAC) is 4-6 in its last 10 games since dropping a doubleheader at home to SJU April 28. Senior Matt Rowley, the reigning MIAC Player of the Year, leads the team at the plate and on the mound. He is currently batting .355 with a .612 slugging percentage. On the mound, he is 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA, a .244 opponent batting average with 50 strikeouts (to 10 walks) in 56.1 innings pitched. The team is batting .292 overall, but finished ninth out of 11 teams with a .271 average in conference play. The pitching staff touts a 3.87 ERA and a .271 opponent batting average, in addition to a strong 2.91 strikeout-walk ratio (192 strikeouts to 66 walks).

EARLIER THIS SEASON: Saint John's bounced back from a frustrating sweep at Hamline April 27 with 13 runs on 19 hits in a sweep of Bethel, 7-2 and 6-0, on April 28 in Arden Hills. The Johnnies pounded out 12 hits and rode the complete-game effort of Spengler in game one, and senior Scott Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) lost a no-hit bid with one out in the seventh in game two's shutout.

Pfaff started game one with a double and scored on a double-play ball to give SJU an early 1-0 lead. Spengler got out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a triple play turned by Forster to Cline at first. The triple play is the Johnnies' first since May 4, 2002 (lineout to first baseman Jamie Louwagie, to shortstop John Hoffer at second base).

The Johnnies built a 4-0 lead with three runs in the third. Cline and Groth started the inning with back-to-back singles before Graves reached on a bunt single. An error by the second baseman, however, enabled Cline to score on the play, leaving runners at the corners. Graves then stole second and Groth advanced home on the throw. A double from Larson scored Graves. Bethel chipped away with single runs in the third and fourth innings before SJU added three more in the sixth. With two outs, BU intentionally walked Cline to load the bases but then hit two batters and walked another to plate three runs. Spengler improved to 4-0 on the year, allowing the two runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked one in the complete-game victory.

SJU broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the third inning of game two. With one down, Becker singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on an infield single by Cline. The Johnnies added four more in the sixth and another in the seventh. Cline and Graves tallied RBI singles in the sixth, while sophomore Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) poked a two-run single down the right-field line. Larson ended the scoring with a sac fly in the seventh.

Schroeder carried the no-hitter into the seventh, where he induced a flyball out to the first batter before Luke Schultz slipped a groundball single into right field. An infield single with two outs and a walk loaded the bases, forcing the decision to bring in Long, who ended the game with a three-pitch strikeout. Schroeder allowed the two groundball hits and walked four with three strikeouts to improve to 3-1.

Cline finished the day 4-for-6 with four runs scored in his first appearance in the lineup since injuring his throwing hand April 7. Larson matched his 4-for-6 performance with a double and four RBI. Pfaff ended his weekend 8-for-13 with two doubles and a .688 on-base percentage in his last four games.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 36-17 against the Royals since 1988, including eight wins in the last 10 meetings.