Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

MOORHEAD, Minn. – Saint John's baseball opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep at Concordia-Moorhead, 7-4 and 8-7, on Wednesday, April 1.

The Johnnies matched their season batting average of.343 (23-for-67) with 12 extra-base hits, including five home runs, on the day.

SJU (11-7, 2-0 MIAC) jumped on the scoreboard first with three runs in the top of the second inning of game one. Junior Gabe MacDonald (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) started the inning with a single and scored on senior Tom Druk's (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) triple. Junior Mike Stegora (Red Wing, Minn.) followed with his first collegiate home run.

Concordia (11-5, 0-2 MIAC) cut its deficit to 3-2 with a home run from Jordan Domine in the bottom half of the second and an unearned run in the third.

The Johnnies added a run with two outs in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a single from senior Brett Becker (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) and a two-base error.

Aaron Green tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Senior Geno Larkin (Eden Prairie, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with a two-run homer, his second of the season, in the top of the sixth inning. Becker followed Larkin with a double and scored on a two-out double from sophomore Derek Schiebel (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) to make it 7-4.

Senior lefty Tyler Delwiche (Andover, Minn./Totino-Grace) went the distance in game one, allowing the four runs (three earned) on five hits with five strikeouts. His consecutive-scoreless-innings streak ended at 16 on Domine's solo shot with one out in the second inning.

Stegora walked with the bases loaded to give the Johnnies an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two. Junior Logan Hershey (Maple Grove, Minn.) then doubled SJU's lead with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the second inning. A solo home run from Nick Bornhauser with two outs in the bottom half of the inning cut the lead to 2-1.

Hershey drove in another run in the fourth inning on a groundout before senior Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) blasted his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot, to push the Johnnies' lead to 5-1.

Concordia tallied a run in the bottom of the fifth before SJU broke the game open with three runs in the sixth. Hershey and Jantscher hit back-to-back home runs and Stegora cracked an RBI double.

The first five batters reached (four hits and a walk) and Concordia clawed back to score five runs (three earned) in the bottom of the sixth.

Freshman Nick Noack (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) did not allow a baserunner and struck out four in two innings of relief. Jantscher stranded a leadoff walk at third base to earn his fourth save of the season. Senior Collin Felhaber (North St. Paul, Minn.) allowed all seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in six innings pitched. He struck out four and walked one.

Senior Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) saw his 11-game hitting streak come to an end in game one but bounced back with a 3-for-4 performance, as well as three runs scored and two stolen bases, in the nightcap.

Becker went 4-for-7 on the day and is now a .611 hitter (11-for-18) with three RBI and two doubles in six career games against the Cobbers.

Jantscher went 2-for-4 with the pair of home runs and three RBI, while Stegora collected three hits on the day, the homer and two doubles, and three RBI. Druk also added three hits and extended his reached-base streak to 17 games.

Concordia entered the doubleheader batting .373 through the season's first 14 games but posted a .238 (15-for-63) average on the afternoon.

SJU plays host to Saint Mary's for its home opener at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Saint John's Field in Collegeville.