Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's baseball locked up the second seed in next weekend's MIAC Tournament with a doubleheader split of one-run games against Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, May 2, in Collegeville.
The Johnnies (22-13, 12-6 MIAC) will face Concordia-Moorhead (25-9, 12-6 MIAC) in the four-team, double-elimination tournament at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, at Veterans Field in Minnetonka. SJU swept the Cobbers, 7-4 and 8-7, to open conference play back on April 1 in Moorhead.
SJU surrendered a 4-0 lead in game one, only to score two runs on four straight hits with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to post a 6-5 win. The Johnnies scored a run in each of the first five innings of game two but left eight men on base and saw its ninth-inning rally fall short in a 9-8 loss.
Senior catcher
Gabe MacDonald (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a two-run homer, his third of the season, in game one and then went 1-for-1 with four walks and two runs scored in game two. He is batting .389 (28-for-72) with 18 runs scored, 25 RBI, eight doubles, a triple and three home runs during the stretch.
Senior catcher/closer
Kurt Jantscher (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) tied game one with a two-out, solo homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. The home run was his seventh of the season, all in conference play.
Senior second baseman
Brett Becker (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) doubled in the next at-bat, advanced to third on a single from senior centerfielder
Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) and scored on an RBI single from sophomore third-baseman
Derek Schiebel (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview).
Jantscher picked up the win, allowing one run on two hits in two innings of relief. Sophomore
Derek Graves (Mora, Minn.) made the start, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in five innings of work.
With the game tied at 5-5, Gustavus (14-22, 6-12 MIAC) posted a pair of two-run innings in the seventh and eighth to gain a 9-5 lead.
Pfaff led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to centerfield, his third of the season. Schiebel was hit by a pitch and scored on junior shortstop
Logan Hershey's (Maple Grove, Minn.) double down the left-field line to cut the Johnnies' deficit to 9-7. Hershey advanced to third base on a wild pitch and MacDonald walked before senior leftfielder
Tom Druk (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field. Junior rightfielder
Mike Stegora (Red Wing, Minn.) ripped a single into the right-side hole in the infield, a ball that was destined for the right-field corner, but it ricocheted off MacDonald's foot for the second out of the inning. Jantscher grounded out to first base to end the game.
Junior
Patrick Strey (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) was saddled with the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits. He struck out four with no walks in seven innings.
Jantscher led the SJU cause with a 4-for-8 performance at the plate, including two doubles, the home run and three RBI. Becker went 3-for-6 with two doubles and two runs scored. Hershey, Pfaff, Schiebel and Stegora added three hits apiece.
The school's all-time leader with 503 career at-bats, Pfaff moved past assistant coach Chad Krueger '99 for the SJU record in runs scored at 113. He is currently second in hits (164), stolen bases (45) and walks (72). Pfaff is batting .444 (12-for-27) with nine runs scored and 10 RBI during a current seven-game hitting streak.
Notes: Gustavus entered the doubleheader batting .240 with an average of three runs scored in 16 MIAC games…the Gusties batted .364 (24-for-66) on the day with 19 singles…seven of Gustavus' 14 hits and six of the nine runs scored in game two came from the leadoff and No. 9 batter in the lineup…Jantscher is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, in which he is batting .571 (12-for-21) with 12 runs scored, seven RBI, two doubles and two home runs during the stretch…Jantscher batted .600 (15-for-25) with 13 runs scored, nine RBI, three doubles and three homers in his final seven MIAC games…his seven home runs on the season are the most in a single season since All-American Jay Kasner '07 clubbed nine in 2007.
