Fourth-seeded Saint John's faces ninth-seeded Hamline for the first of the MIAC-Round, three-game series at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 15, at CHS Field in St. Paul. SJU hosts the series' final two games, both nine-inning contests, beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 16, in Collegeville. – Live Stats/Live Video (Saturday) | Live Stats/Live Video (Sunday)

THE MIAC ROUND: Details for this weekend's MIAC Round, which were unanimously approved by coaches and administrators in March, are below.
 
MIAC Baseball Round 12 Details
-Round 12 is not considered part of the MIAC postseason and games are considered non-conference (they do not impact the conference standings). 
-The #1 seed, St. Thomas, receives a bye from playing Round 12.
-Round 12 matchups will feature #2 seed vs #11 seed, #3 seed vs #10 seed and so forth.
-All three games should be played as coaches' proposal was unanimous in support for these three games to impact NCAA selections and provide more games for student-athletes due to limited travel opportunities.
-All three games are to be played as 9-inning games.
-The lower ranked team will be the host on Saturday (one 9-inning game), with the higher ranked team serving as host on Sunday (two 9-inning games).
-If weather impacts completion of the Round 12 series, the following will be used to advance teams: 
-If only one game of the Round 12 series can be completed, the 1-0 team will advance. 
-If the series is tied 1-1 and the third game cannot be played (or no games are completed), the higher seed will advance.
-Teams that win the Round 12 three-game series will retain their regular-season, conference seed and advance to the MIAC Baseball Tournament.

WHAT'S NEXT: If the Johnnies win this weekend's three-game series, they will host an opponent TBD in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 19. The winner of that game will join the four-team, double-elimination MIAC Tournament May 20-22 in Collegeville. A series defeat this weekend or a loss Wednesday ends SJU's season.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (27-10, 16-9 MIAC) ended the conference schedule, and a three-game series against St. Olaf, with a 3-1 loss on Sunday (May 9) at Becker Park. The defeat followed a doubleheader May 8 that was split with a pair of extra-inning games as the Johnnies took the first game 7-3 (8-inn.) but fell in the second, 3-2 (9-inn.).

Pitching out-shined the bats for SJU last weekend as the Johnnies batted .248 (25-for-101) and posted a 2.49 ERA. Freshman outfielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) led the way at the plate with a .462 (6-for-13) batting average and a team-leading three runs scored, followed by sophomore third baseman Zach Selchow (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) at .417 (5-for-12). The Johnnies struggled with runners on base, however, at .174 (8-for-46) and .160 (4-for-25) with runners in scoring position.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Junior catcher Ethan Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) was named the MIAC Baseball Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday (May 10). He batted .500 (8-for-16) with seven RBI, five runs scored and four extra-base hits - including two home runs - in four games for SJU last week. 

He hit for the cycle, driving in five with three runs, May 4 vs. Minnesota-Morris and set SJU's single-season record for home runs with his 13th in game one at St. Olaf. Roe is batting .436 (17-for-39) with two homers, four doubles, a triple, 14 runs scored and 11 RBI during a current 10-game hit streak.

MIAC STAT LEADERS: Several Johnnies found themselves near the top of the MIAC's statistical leaders following the conclusion of conference play.

Hitting (MIAC Games Only)
-Hits: Max Nyrop, second (34); Rodney Erickson, fifth (29)
-Runs: Owen Dauk, second (21); Rodney Erickson, tied for third (20)
-Doubles: Max Nyrop, second (10)
-Home Runs: Ethan Roe, tied for first (5); Max Nyrop, tied for fourth (4)
-RBI: Max Nyrop, first (26)
-Slugging Percentage: Max Nyrop, second (.644)

Pitching (MIAC Games Only)
-ERA (min. 25 IP): Nick Penick, fourth (1.93); Casey Trapp, fifth (2.61); Kody Dalen, sixth (2.67)
-Saves: Alex Otto, tied for second (2)
-Strikeouts: Casey Trapp, sixth (37); Nick Penick, tied for seventh (33)
-Innings: Nick Penick, tied for fourth (42.0)
-Wins: Nick Penick, tied for sixth (4); Kody Dalen, tied for eighth (3) 

STAT COMPARISONS: The Johnnies lead the Pipers statistically in five of the six major categories.

Batting Average
-SJU, .305
-HU, .258

Slugging Percentage
-SJU, .488
-HU, .356

On-Base Percentage
-SJU, .392
-HU, .353

ERA
-SJU, 3.22
-HU, 6.46

Opponent Batting Average
-SJU, .242
-HU, .331

Fielding Percentage
-SJU, .957
-HU, .957

SECOND REGIONAL RANKINGS: SJU stayed at No. 7 in the second NCAA Midwest Region rankings released yesterday (May 13).

1. Gustavus Adolphus
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3. St. Thomas
4. Aurora (Ill.)
5. Northwestern
6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
7. SJU
8. Saint Mary's

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (13-24, 6-15 MIAC) squeaked past Minnesota-Morris, 6-5 and 11-7, on Monday (May 10) and fell to St. Scholastica, 10-0 in seven innings, Wednesday (May 12) in Duluth. Junior second baseman Cullen Buck leads HU in batting (.313), runs (30) and hits (46), and is second in RBI (17), doubles (5) and total bases (57). Sophomore pitcher Zach Bransen is 3-6 with a 4.95 ERA and leads the Pipers in innings (60) and strikeouts (49). Will Tzavaras is second on the squad with 42 innings on the mound and is 2-3 with a 5.57 ERA. Neither pitcher faced SJU two weeks ago.

TWO WEEKS AGO: SJU recorded a three-game sweep of Hamline with two victories May 1 (11-9 and 14-4) at Becker Park and a 10-5-win the following day at CHS Field. SJU batted .363 (33-for-91) with a 1.135 OPS and 16 extra-base hits (11 doubles and five home runs) in the series. 

Sophomore designated hitter Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) led SJU with a .667 (8-for-12) batting average with six RBI, five runs, three doubles and a homer in the series. Freshman outfielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) produced a team-high seven RBI, while batting .455 (5-for-11) with two homers, a double and three runs. Senior first baseman Justin Langer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) batted .571 (4-for-7) in the series and posted a .750 on-base percentage, thanks to five walks.

Dalen and Cade Marsolek (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) made two quality starts on the mound as the pair combined to throw 13 innings, allowing four earned runs, striking out nine batters and walking just one.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 42-16 against the Pipers since the 1993 season, including a 22-6 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won 14 of the last 16 meetings overall and are 11-3 all-time at CHS Field (including the MIAC Tournament).