Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

WINONA, Minn. – No. 28 Saint John's baseball swept its fifth straight conference doubleheader, 4-0 and 3-2, over Saint Mary's to extend its win streak to 12 games on Thursday, May 3, in Winona.

The wins also clinched SJU's (26-5, 11-3 MIAC) ninth consecutive appearance in the MIAC Tournament, which is scheduled for May 10-13 at CHS Field in St. Paul. The MIAC expanded the traditional four-team field to six teams in early April due to this spring's compacted schedule. The opening round features a pair of single-elimination games (No. 3 vs. No. 6, No. 4 vs. No. 5) May 10 and the two winners join the top two seeds for a double-elimination tournament May 11-13. 

Junior Bennett Wiggins (St. Anthony, Minn.) pitched a gem in the opener: a complete-game, one-hit shutout with a career-high eight strikeouts and no free passes. The lone hit for Saint Mary's (16-15, 10-6 MIAC) was a two-out single in the first inning.

Three Johnnie pitchers held SMU to a .180 batting average (9-for-50) and struck out 17 on the day. SJU batted .288 (17-for-59) and left 23 men on base in the two games.

Saint John's 4, Saint Mary's 0
SJU scored all four runs in the game's first three innings. Junior designated hitter Thomas Meland (Northfield, Minn.) doubled in senior first baseman Jeron Terres (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) with two outs in the first and sophomore right-fielder Wyatt Ulrich (Indus, Minn./International Falls) brought in a run with a bases-loaded single in the second. Sophomore shortstop Michael Gruber (Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area) and senior second baseman Brennan Swan (Plymouth, Minn./Totino-Grace) smacked back-to-back, RBI singles with two outs in the third. 

Wiggins handled the rest by setting down 19 in a row after Justin Weinberg's two-out single in the first inning. SMU's Joey Costello reached on a fielding error by Gruber to start the bottom of the sixth inning, but Gruber was able to get Costello out when he attempted to advance to second base on the play. Weinberg (.282) went 4-for-4 in game two and recorded five of the Cardinals' nine hits in the doubleheader.

Wiggins is now 4-2 with a 2.31 ERA, .224 opponent batting average and 29 strikeouts (to two walks) in 39 innings pitched this season.

Gruber and Swan recorded three hits apiece in game one.

Saint John's 3, Saint Mary's 2
The Johnnies broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Junior left-fielder Jack Wingerd (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) ended the stalemate with a leadoff solo home run, his third homer of the season. Ulrich followed with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a fielder's choice from Terres.

The Cardinals, however, tied the game in the bottom half on an RBI double from Jake Mencacci, his second of the season, and a throwing error.

Sophomore third baseman Jack Schramel (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) produced what proved to be the game-winning run with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the sixth inning.

Junior Tommy Auger (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) improved to 4-0 and lowered his season ERA to 2.32 with the win. He allowed the two runs, one earned, on seven hits and tied a career high with eight strikeouts in six innings of work. 

Senior Ben Etzell (Greenbank, Wash./Coupeville) pitched a scoreless seventh for his first save of the season and eighth of his career, which ties him with Kurt Jantscher '15 for third-most in school history.

The Johnnies wrap up the regular-season schedule with a pair of home, 1 p.m. doubleheaders this weekend. SJU plays host to St. Olaf (14-18, 4-12 MIAC) Saturday and St. Thomas (17-13, 12-4 MIAC) Sunday, for Senior Day.