The Johnnie baseball team travels to Florida for 11 games - six in Ft. Myers and five in Port Charlotte - over a span of nine days March 5-13. - Ft. Myers Information | Live Video ($40, Port Charlotte only) | Port Charlotte Information

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-1 overall) opened its 2022 season with a 2-1 record Tuesday and Wednesday, March 1-2, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Johnnies clubbed five home runs, batted .500 (12-for-24) with two outs, .556 (5-for-9) with runners in scoring position and recorded 10 RBI with two outs in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin-Superior. SJU broken open a scoreless game one with five, two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and overcame a 4-3 deficit with three runs in the top of the seventh inning in game two.

SJU suffered its first loss of the season, 8-6 in nine innings, to Bethany Lutheran in the first game of an early-morning (5:30 a.m. start) doubleheader on Wednesday. The second game was halted in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Johnnies trailing 8-2, due to the venue's time limit. The game may be completed later this season. If not, the result and statistics do not count. 

Saint John's 8, Wisconsin-Superior 1
Sophomore third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) started the five-run fifth inning with a two-out, two-run double – a ball that the UWS center fielder lost in the lights – and scored on a triple off the bat of sophomore center fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury). Erickson scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0, moments before junior shortstop Matthew Hayford (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) hit his first collegiate homer. 

The Johnnies padded the lead with a two-run homer from junior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and a solo shot from Becker in the sixth inning.

Senior Nathan Brandecker (South St. Paul, Minn.) allowed four runs and struck out two in five scoreless innings for the win. Junior Matt Herold (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) pitched two innings of relief and allowed the lone run, unearned, in the seventh.

Becker finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, and senior right fielder Soren Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Saint John's 6, Wisconsin-Superior 4
Junior southpaw Casey Trapp (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) recorded his first six outs via strikeout, but the Yellowjackets started the bottom of the third inning with a double, triple and sacrifice fly to gain a 2-0 lead. 

The Johnnies answered, however, with a pair of two-out runs in the next half-inning. Sophomore left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) singled and senior Ethan Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) brought him in with a double. Soren Roe tied the game with an RBI single. 

A pair of doubles gave the lead back to Superior in the bottom half of the fourth, but junior first baseman Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) – a 2021 All-American and 2022 Preseason All-American – tied the game in the sixth with a solo homer.

UWS took advantage of two walks and re-gained the lead on a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth.

Dauk led off the seventh by crushing a full-count pitch to right field for his second home run of the day, and fifth of his career. Becker singled with one out and scored on a double from Erickson, who came around to score on a two-out double from Nyrop.

Sophomore Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) earned the win in relief, allowing one run on one hit in two innings. Junior Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for his first collegiate save.

Trapp was tagged with three runs on five hits in the no-decision. He struck out eight and did not issue a free pass in four innings on the hill.

Bethany Lutheran 8, Saint John's 6 (9 inn.)
Down 5-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Bethany Lutheran scored three runs to tie the game - before an out was recorded - and three more in the top of the ninth. 
 
The Johnnies built a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs each in the second and fifth innings. A walk and back-to-back singles scored the game's first run – an RBI single from junior first baseman Zach Selchow (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) – and Dauk made it 2-0 with a squeeze bunt. 
 
Nyrop extended the Johnnies' lead to 3-0 with a two-out, RBI single in the fifth and Hayford scored on a wild pitch. Hayford ended the scoring with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the ninth inning. 
 
BLC cut its deficit in half (4-2) with two runs in the sixth, though Becker gave a run back to SJU with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom half of the inning. 
 
Sophomore Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) made the start on the mound, the fourth of his collegiate career, and struck out five with three hits allowed in four scoreless innings.

EARLY STATS: Becker is batting .600 (6-for-10) with five runs scored and four RBI from the No. 9 spot in the lineup through the season's first three games. Nyrop (.556) and Soren Roe (.500) have five hits apiece. The Johnnies are batting .304, to the opponents' .250, though the SJU pitching staff has awarded 18 free passes – 14 walks and four hit batsmen – in 23 innings.

SPRING-BREAK SCHEDULE: The Johnnies open the trip Saturday with a nine-inning game against Augustana (Ill.), the first of six games over four days in Ft. Myers. Following an off day on Wednesday, SJU travels northwest for five games in Port Charlotte.

Ft. Myers, Fla.
-Saturday, March 5: Augustana (Ill.), 3 p.m. ET (9 inn.)
-Sunday, March 6: Haverford (Pa.), 9 a.m. ET (DH)
-Monday, March 7: Muskingum (Ohio), 9 a.m. ET (9 inn.)
-Tuesday, March 8: Hiram (Ohio), 9 a.m. ET (DH)

Port Charlotte, Fla.
-Thursday, March 10: No. 2 Marietta (Ohio), 10 a.m. ET (9 inn.) | Heidelberg (Ohio), 1:30 p.m. ET (9 inn.)
-Friday, March 11: No. 7 North Central (Ill.), 3 p.m. ET (9 inn.)
-Saturday, March 12: No. 25 Denison (Ohio), 2 p.m. ET (9 inn.)
-Sunday, March 13: Wooster (Ohio), 10 a.m. ET (9 inn.)

TWO YEARS AGO: SJU went 7-1 over five days on its last spring-break trip, back in 2020, before the rest of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Johnnies opened with a doubleheader sweep of Bluffton (Ohio), before taking their first loss to then-No. 13 North Central (Ill.). SJU ended the trip with five straight wins, out-scoring the opposition by a 65-16 margin.