Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's baseball salvaged a doubleheader split at No. 11/14 St. Thomas on Wednesday, April 15, in St. Paul.

The Johnnies (14-12, 5-5 MIAC) surrendered a 7-2 lead and allowed 10 runs in the third inning of game one's 12-8 loss, but bounced back with a 5-4 win in game two.

SJU scored seven runs on nine hits through the first three innings off UST's Eric Veglahn, but Eric Clute set down the next nine Johnnies in order for the host Tommies (17-9, 8-2 MIAC). Veglahn and the Tommies' game-two starter, Dominic Reed, entered the doubleheader with a combined 4-2 record, four saves, 67 strikeouts (to 19 walks) and a 2.13 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched.

A two-run triple from junior first baseman Patrick Strey (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and a two-out, RBI single from senior centerfielder Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) gave SJU a quick 3-0 lead in the second inning of game one.

Senior Tyler Delwiche (Andover, Minn./Totino-Grace) walked two batters (No. 9 and leadoff) with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning, but escaped with no more damage thanks to a double play.

SJU scored four runs in the top of the third, only to allow 10 runs on eight hits in the bottom of the inning. The Johnnies loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh inning, but only scored one run.

Delwiche was saddled with the loss, allowing 10 runs on eight hits and seven walks in 2.2 innings pitched.

SJU struck first in game two on a two-out RBI double from senior second baseman Brett Becker (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) in the second inning. The Tommies answered with a two-out hit of their own, a two-run single from Brady Johnson, in the bottom half of the inning to give the home team a 2-1 lead. The two runs reached base on a hit-by-pitch and walk, respectively, and advanced a base on a wild pitch before Johnson's single.

The Johnnies squandered a leadoff double in the third, but took advantage of early base runners in each of the next two innings. The first two batters reached in the fourth and senior first baseman Geno Larkin (Eden Prairie, Minn.) eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2.

The first two SJU batters reached base again in the fifth. A throwing error on a sacrifice-bunt attempt from senior outfielder Tom Druk (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) cleared the bases and an RBI single from junior outfielder Mike Stegora (Red Wing, Minn.) scored Druk to give SJU a 5-2 lead.

Anthony Winters tripled to start the bottom of the sixth inning for UST, the Tommies' second hit of the game, and scored on a sac fly. UST manufactured a run in the bottom of the ninth off senior Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong), but the 6-foot-4 closer induced a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.

Senior Collin Felhaber (North St. Paul, Minn.) allowed three runs on only three hits, while striking out seven, in seven innings pitched to improve to 3-1 on the year. Jantscher earned the two-inning save, his MIAC-leading fifth of the season.

Becker (3-for-6) and Stegora (3-for-8) totaled three hits apiece on the afternoon, while sophomore third baseman Derek Schiebel (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) tallied two doubles. 

SJU out-hit the Tommies 18-16 on the day, including a 7-5 edge in extra-base hits and .391 average (9-for-23) with runners in scoring position, and did not commit an error.

The Johnnies return home to host five games in four days, beginning with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Carleton on Saturday, April 18, in Collegeville. SJU makes a brief return to non-conference play with a nine-inning game against St. Scholastica on Sunday, April 19, before returning to MIAC action with a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader versus Macalester on Tuesday, April 21.