Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box ScoreFORT MYERS, Fla. – Saint John's baseball ran its winning streak to three games with a doubleheader sweep of Newbury (Mass.), 7-0 and 9-8, on Wednesday, March 4, in Fort Myers, Fla.
Sophomore
Derek Graves (Mora, Minn.) and freshman
Nick Noack (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) combined for a three-hit shutout in game one and the Johnnies (3-3 overall) built an 8-0 lead en route to game two's suspenseful 9-8 victory.
Graves surrendered two hits and two walks, while striking out six, in six innings of work to even his record at 1-1 on the young season.
Fueled by back-to-back two-run doubles from senior
Tom Druk (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) and junior
Quinn Madsen (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View), SJU exploded for a seven-run first inning in game two. Sparked by leadoff doubles in three consecutive innings, in which all three runs scored, Newbury (2-4 overall) chipped away at the Johnnies' lead but never overtook the men from Collegeville.
Sophomore
Alex Kendall (St. Cloud, Minn./Saint John's Prep) started game two and allowed five runs in three innings. He departed the mound with the bases loaded, and no outs, in the fourth inning. Freshman
Ben Etzell (Greenbank, Wash./Coupeville) was credited with his first collegiate win, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
Senior
Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to tally his second save in as many days.
Sophomore
Derek Schiebel (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) led SJU with a 5-for-8 performance at the plate and four runs scored on the day. Senior
Brett Becker (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) tallied three hits and classmate
Tom Druk (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) collected four RBI, all in game two. Junior
Dan Keller (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake) went 2-for-4, including a triple off the right-centerfield fence, and four runs scored.
The Johnnies batted .448 (13-for-29) with runners on base, .455 (10-for-22) with runners in scoring position and .381 (8-for-21) with two outs in the two games.
SJU takes on Bluffton (Ohio) for a 9 a.m. EST doubleheader on Thursday, March 5, at the Player Development Complex in Fort Myers.