Saint John's baseball takes its win streak to Duluth today for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader against St. Scholastica at Wade Stadium. - Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (15-13, 7-3 MIAC) earned its second consecutive sweep, 14-6  and 4-3, at St. Olaf on Saturday, April 16, at Mark Almli Field.

SJU hit four home runs in game one and batted .324 (24-for-74) on the day. St. Olaf, meanwhile, batted .207 (12-for-58), including 6-for-32 (.188) with runners on base and 2-for-20 (.100) with runners in scoring position.

Game 1
Junior first baseman Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) started the game's scoring with a two-run homer, his fifth of the season and 16th of his career (sixth in SJU history), in the top of the first inning.

SJU tacked on four more runs in the third inning on an RBI single from sophomore center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Roe's record-breaking, three-run homer in the third inning.

STO scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning and SJU did the same in the top of the fourth to make the score 8-2.

The Johnnies crossed the plate twice in the fifth inning thanks to back-to-back doubles from Nyrop and sophomore third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.), and senior right fielder Soren Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) registered a sacrifice fly.

A pair of home runs - a leadoff dinger from senior catcher Ethan Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) and a three-run blast from junior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) - ended the Johnnies' scoring in the sixth.

Sophomore Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) earned his first win of the season (1-1 record), allowing six runs (two earned) on seven hits. He struck out seven in 6.1 innings. Junior Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) recorded the final two outs in relief.

Dauk and Nyrop, SJU's second and third hitters in the lineup, combined to go 6-for-7 with seven runs scored and five RBI.

Amundson, Ethan Roe and junior shortstop Matthew Hayford (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) added two hits apiece.

Game 2
SJU followed a similar blueprint to game one with three runs in the first inning. Nyrop stroked an RBI double, while Amundson and sophomore left fielder (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) recorded a pair of two-out, RBI singles.

Erickson gave SJU a 4-0 lead with a sac fly in the top of the third inning.

Sam Lavin made it a one-run game with a one-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. Joey Glampe followed with a double, but senior Nathan Brandecker (South St. Paul, Minn.) relieved sophomore Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) and recorded the final two outs to end the threat. The relief appearance was Brandecker's first since April 21, 2021, at Bethel.

Junior southpaw Casey Trapp (Blaine, Minn./Centennial), fresh off his 127-pitch, complete-game win on Wednesday (April 13), pitched the ninth inning for his collegiate save.

Sophomore Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) picked up the win in his second collegiate start. He allowed only one hit and struck out nine in five scoreless innings, but walked six.

Hayford led SJU's bats in game two with a 3-for-4 performance to end the day 5-for-7. Amundson and Soren Roe tallied two hits apiece.

Dauk and Nyrop each batted 4-for-8 with five runs scored and three RBI in the doubleheader.

NEW RECORD: Ethan Roe broke his tie with Jed Riegelman '04 for sole possession of SJU's program record for career home runs with a pair of long balls, his 21st and 22nd, in game one last Saturday at St. Olaf. The homers, his eighth and ninth of the season, served as his first multi-homer game of the season and fourth of his career. Roe is tied with Derek Schiebel '17 for fourth in program history in career doubles (30) and is 10th in both RBI (90) and total bases (215).

ONE FROM ANOTHER: The 2021 SJU baseball team set a program record with 39 home runs in 41 games last spring. The 2022 Johnnies, however, are only one away from the mark with 38 dingers in 28 games. The 38 homers are 11th in Division III in both total and per game (1.36).

PITCHER OF THE WEEK…AGAIN: Trapp earned his second MIAC Pitcher of the Week honor in three weeks yesterday (April 18). He went 1-0 with a save, 1.80 ERA, nine strikeouts and a .176 opponent batting average in 10 innings pitched as SJU swept a pair of conference doubleheaders last week. 

He moved his record to 3-0 with a complete-game win over Hamline April 13, allowing the two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts in nine innings. Fresh off the 127-pitch, complete-game performance, Trapp pitched the ninth inning in game two Saturday (April 16) at St. Olaf for his first collegiate save. 

Trapp is currently tied for 12th in NCAA Division III with three complete games this spring and leads the MIAC, both overall (49) and in conference play (26), in strikeouts.

ON BRAND: Brandecker made two appearances (1-0 record) and posted a .133 opponent batting average (four hits allowed) with seven strikeouts in 8.2 scoreless innings last week. He started the week Wednesday (April 13) with the first complete-game shutout of his career against Hamline. He allowed four hits and struck out five in seven innings for his 10th career win (4-1 record this spring). In game two Saturday (April 16) at St. Olaf, Brandecker entered the game in the seventh inning with the tying run on second base with one out. He recorded the next two outs, as well as a scoreless eighth inning in the eventual 4-3 win. The opposition batted 0-13 with runners on base and 2-for-11 (.182) with two outs against Brandecker last week.

MIDDLE-INFIELD HEAT: SJU's middle infielders, Dauk (second base) and Hayford (shortstop), feasted on last week's pitching. Dauk batted .533 (8-for-15) with eight runs scored, two home runs, four RBI, a double and a .632 on-base percentage from the No. 2 spot in the lineup, while Hayford went 8-for-14 (.571) with three runs scored, two doubles and two RBI from the No. 9 spot.

Dauk is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak - in which he is batting .440 (11-for-25) and has a .563 on-base percentage - and has reached base safely in each of the last 16 contests.

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (6-10, 1-3 MIAC) last played on April 9, when it earned a split at Bethel, and has played only four games this month (two losses April 3 against Saint Mary's at Northwestern). Two other doubleheaders, April 13 at Concordia and April 16 at Augsburg, were postponed due to weather. Sophomore Jake Schelonka leads the team in batting average (.410), runs scored (16), hits (25) and extra-base hits (8). Six different pitchers have a win for a staff that has a 5.98 ERA and a .309 opponent batting average.

THE LAST TIME: SJU cracked 23 hits, including eight doubles, in a 24-4 non-conference win over St. Scholastica the last time these two teams met - the series' first and lone meeting in Duluth - on April 29, 2018.

SJU erased a 2-0 deficit with five runs in the top of the second inning and, after CSS cut into the Johnnies' lead with a single run in the third, scored 19 consecutive runs until the bottom of the ninth. The visitors scored six runs in the fifth inning and eight in the ninth. The Saints' lead was their first against SJU since 2004, a span of 27 innings.

Wyatt Ulrich '20 became the 29th Johnnie in school history to reach 100 career hits with a two-run double, his second of the game, in the ninth inning. He ended the afternoon 3-for-6 with the two doubles, four runs scored and a career-high five RBI.

Dominick Schleper '18 went 5-for-5, SJU's first five-hit game since Aaron Pfaff '15 in 2015 (March 5 vs. Bluffton in Ft. Myers, Fla.), with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.

Brennan Swan '18 and Max Jackson '19 each went 3-for-6 with two RBI. 

Every SJU starter in the lineup drove in at least one run in the game, yet the visitors still managed to leave 14 men on base. The Saints issued 17 free passes (15 walks, two hit batsmen) in the game.

SJU used seven different pitches in the win and awarded Taylor Fourre '20 with the win. He allowed two hits in two scoreless innings (the fifth and sixth).

The game was SJU's second with 20 runs scored or more this season (21-0 on March 5 vs. Finlandia, Mich.) and the 24 runs were the most for the Johnnies since they scored 24 in the 24-8 win over Dickinson (Pa.) on March 7, 2009, in Chandler, Ariz.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 8-2 all-time against St. Scholastica on the baseball diamond, though Tuesday's games are the first between the two teams with CSS as a member of the MIAC.