Box Score

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Saint John's baseball opened the NCAA La Crosse Regional with a 7-2 win over St. Scholastica on Wednesday, May 18, at Copeland Park.

The Johnnies (29-12 overall) advance to play the top seed, No. 3/4 Wisconsin-La Crosse (35-8 overall), at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. The host Eagles cracked 23 hits en route to a 17-2 win over Beloit (Wis.) Wednesday. UWL finished as the NCAA Division III runner-up to Cortland State (N.Y.) last season.

The win ties an SJU single-season record for victories set in 1994 (29-8) and 2012 (29-16).

SJU added to a 2-0 lead with single runs in each of the final five innings to post the victory.



Freshman outfielder Jack Wingerd (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) gave SJU an early 2-0 lead with a two-run, opposite-field home run in the second inning. The homer, which was hit on the first pitch he saw, is the first of his collegiate career.

An infield, RBI single from senior shortstop Logan Hershey (Maple Grove, Minn.) made it 3-0 in the fifth inning and a sacrifice fly from freshman outfielder Max Jackson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) gave SJU a 4-0 lead in the sixth.

A solo home run off the bat of Hershey extended the lead to 5-0 in the seventh inning. The homer was the third of the season (eighth career) for Hershey, who went 3-for-5 on the day.

The Saints (31-10 overall) got on the scoreboard with a two-out, two-run single from Steven Neutzling in the bottom half of the seventh.

SJU answered with an unearned run in the eighth inning and manufactured another run on a sac fly from senior outfielder Dan Keller (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake) in the ninth. Keller posted a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

Junior Alex Kendall (St. Cloud, Minn./Saint John's Prep) improved to 7-2 with the win, allowing the two runs on six hits in 6.2 innings.

Sophomore Nick Noack (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) allowed two hits and struck out four in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

CSS' Jordan Risse was saddled with the loss, his first of the season (7-1), allowing five runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. He struck out 10 and walked four. He entered the game with a 2.24 ERA and a .190 opponent batting average in 10 previous starts this spring.

SJU defeated St. Scholastica and Risse by a similar 6-2 score last season in Collegeville. 

The Saints left 13 men on base, including the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings, while SJU left 10.