Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Saint John's baseball used late-inning, tie-breaking runs to earn a doubleheader sweep, 8-5 and 5-4, at St. Olaf on Thursday, April 20, in Northfield.

The Johnnies (19-8, 9-3 MIAC) doubled their season total for home runs with two dingers in game one and earned the sweep thanks to a strong effort from the bullpen and senior third baseman Derek Schiebel's (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) RBI single in the top of the ninth inning. Schiebel went only 1-for-5 on the day but recorded five RBI, thanks to three sacrifice flies and an RBI groundout.

The trip was SJU's first to St. Olaf's Mark Almli Field since 2011 and the doubleheader sweep is the first on the Oles' home field in the program's recorded history. 

The big hit was hard to come by, as SJU batted .258 (16-for-62) on the day, including .212 (7-for-33) with runners on base and .217 (5-for-23) with runners in scoring position. The Johnnies batted .182 (4-for-22) with two outs and left 18 men on base.

Game 1
The Johnnies manufactured a run without a hit to start the doubleheader. Freshman outfielder Wyatt Ulrich (Indus, Minn./International Falls) walked to start the game and scored on Schiebel's first sac fly of the day. STO (9-16, 2-8 MIAC), however, tied it with a two-out double from Jake Mathison in the bottom half of the first.

Sophomore designated hitter Thomas Meland (Northfield, Minn.) greeted the hometown fans with a solo home run, his second of the season, on the first pitch of the second inning to give the lead back to SJU. The visitors had the bases loaded later in the half-inning for sophomore centerfielder Max Jackson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) when a throwing error by the pitcher, attempting to pick off Ulrich at first base, brought in another run.

Another two-out double down the left-field line cut STO's deficit to 3-2 in the bottom half of the second, but junior catcher Dominick Schleper's (Shakopee, Minn.) double over the centerfielder's head made it 4-2 in the top of the fourth.

A solo homer from Ryan Iverson and a two-run single gave the host Oles their first lead of the game, 5-4, in the bottom of the fourth. The lead was short-lived, however, as Jackson started the fifth inning with a leadoff double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly from Schiebel to tie it at 5-5.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth chased sophomore starting pitcher Tommy Auger (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) from the game for junior Ben Etzell (Greenbank, Wash./Coupeville), who walked two batters but got out of the jam unscathed.

Jackson provided the heroics for SJU with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning and a two-out RBI single from Ulrich ended the scoring at 8-5 in the seventh.

Etzell earned the win, allowing one hit in three innings of scoreless relief to improve to 2-0 on the season. Auger allowed the five runs on nine hits in four innings for the no-decision.

Game 2
Ulrich started game two with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Schiebel's third sac fly of the afternoon to give SJU a 1-0 lead. Ulrich finished 3-for-8 with two RBI and two runs scored to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.

The Oles tallied three runs in the bottom half of the first and added another in the second to gain a 4-1 lead. SJU loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth inning but had to settle for two runs on two RBI groundouts. The Johnnies tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth inning thanks to a wild pitch on ball four to Schleper, but left runners on the corners with one out. The visitors also left a runner on second base with one out in the eighth inning.

Ulrich started the ninth inning with an infield single, but was thrown out at second base attempting to steal. Jackson followed with a double to the left-centerfield gap and Schiebel roped an RBI single through the right side for what proved to be the game-winning hit.

Etzell tallied a 1-2-3 ninth inning to register his third save of the season. Three other Johnnies combined for four innings of scoreless relief as SJU allowed only one hit after the fourth inning: freshman Joey Stock (two innings; Cold Spring, Minn./Saint John's Prep), sophomore Jake Dickmeyer (one inning; Woodbury, Minn.) and senior Alex Kendall (one inning; St. Cloud, Minn./Saint John's Prep). Kendall collected a 1-2-3 eighth inning to earn the win and improve to 4-3 on the year.

Sophomore Bennett Wiggins (St. Anthony, Minn.) made his first varsity start and allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in four innings of work.

The Johnnies return home to host Augsburg (15-17, 3-9 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 22, at Becker Park in Collegeville. An 11 a.m. social and barbecue is scheduled for Lynch Plaza, which is located behind the stadium's grandstand, followed by a 12:15 p.m. naming ceremony of Haugen Field.