The Johnnie baseball team plays host to Macalester for Alumni Day at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in Collegeville. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (16-14, 8-4 MIAC) spoiled a complete-game, one-hitter from junior lefty Casey Trapp (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) and settled for a doubleheader split with St. Scholastica on Tuesday (April 19) at Wade Stadium in Duluth. 

The Johnnies took the opener with an 8-2 victory and out-hit St. Scholastica by a 7-1 margin, including four doubles, but batted 0-for-9  with runners in scoring position (1-for-15 with runners on base) in a 2-1 defeat in the nightcap. The feels-like temperature dipped into the upper 20's during the loss, which was SJU's sixth by one run this season. CSS batted .096 (5-for-52) on the day.

Game 1
SJU gained a 3-0 lead thanks to three hits and an error in the top of the first inning. Sophomore third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) and junior first baseman Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) reached via infield singles before senior right fielder Soren Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake) opened the scoring with an RBI double. Sophomore center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat and Roe came around to score on an error off the bat of his twin brother, senior catcher Ethan Roe (Golden Valley, Minn./Blake).

The Saints tallied back-to-back RBI hits, a single and a double, with two outs to cut its deficit to one run in the bottom half of the first inning. Nyrop, however, gave a run back to the visitors with an RBI single of his own with two outs in the top of the second.

The Johnnies padded their lead with four runs in the top of the seventh inning. Nyrop came through once again with an RBI double and moved to third on a flyout from Soren Roe. He then scored on Amundson's RBI single. Following a balk, Ethan Roe reached on an infield single and both runners scored on a two-out double from sophomore designated hitter Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.).

Senior Nathan Brandecker (South St. Paul, Minn.) improved to 5-1 with the victory. He allowed the two runs on four hits in six innings of work. Trapp, the reigning MIAC Pitcher of the Week, recorded the final three outs in relief.

Game 2
Trapp cruised to two outs in the bottom of the third inning before the Saints tacked on two unearned runs thanks to three walks, an error and two wild pitches. Scholastica's lone hit of the game came with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.

Amundson doubled to start the seventh inning, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on sophomore left fielder Rodney Erickson's (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) sac fly with one out.

The Johnnies threatened again in the eighth and ninth innings, but could not score the tying run. Junior shortstop Matthew Hayford (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) doubled to start the eighth and moved to third on a flyout from Becker, but was stranded. Amundson and Erickson reached with infield singles in the ninth, but were left on second and first base, respectively.

Trapp struck out seven and walked four (plus a hit batter) in eight innings, his first loss (3-1 record) and fourth complete game of the season.

Amundson (3-for-6) and Nyrop (4-for-8) both batted .500 with two RBI on the day. Nyrop roped two doubles to Amundson's one.

HEATING UP: Nyrop is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak, in which he is batting .438 (14-for-32) with 12 RBI, three home runs, four doubles and 10 runs scored. The 2021 All-American is currently sixth in program history with 16 career homers and needs five hits to become the 34th Johnnie to reach 100.

TRAPPER KEEPER: Over his last four appearances (two starts and two in relief), Trapp has allowed two earned runs and seven hits, while striking out 17 in 19 innings pitched. The reigning MIAC Pitcher of the Week leads the Johnnies in innings (55.1) and strikeouts (57), and touts a 3.09 ERA and .227 opponent batting average this spring.

2012 REUNION: On Saturday, Johnnie baseball will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the 2012 team that finished with a 29-16 (14-6 MIAC) record, won the program's first MIAC playoff championship and made its third NCAA appearance.

Closer Joey Long '13 earned D3baseball.com All-America honors and was joined by four others on the website's All-Region teams, as well as the All-MIAC first team: pitcher/first baseman Connor Cline '13, outfielder Dylan Graves '14, pitcher Ryan Spengler '13 and pitcher Hayden Zimmerman '12.

A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (8-15, 4-6 MIAC) saw its win streak end a five games with a pair of losses, 6-4 and 16-6, Thursday (April 21), at St. Olaf. The Oles jumped out to early leads - 6-0 after the first inning in game one and 7-1 after three innings of game two - in the two wins. Sophomore Matt Mukai leads the team with a .379 batting average (25-for-68), while senior Michael Moreno has five home runs and sophomore Matt Odom boasts a team-best 24 RBI and 21 runs scored. Opponents are batting .327 against Mac, which has a 7.49 team ERA.

LAST SPRING: SJU extended its win streak to 10 games with a doubleheader sweep of Macalester, 8-7 and 5-4, last April 28 (2021) in Collegeville.

There were six lead changes in game one, with the sixth serving as a walk-off single by junior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) in the bottom of the seventh, and the Johnnies led throughout the nightcap for the narrow 5-4 victory.

Soren Roe went for 5-for-7 with two doubles, three runs scored and two outfield assists in his first games against his former team. Roe was an All-MIAC honoree for the Scots as a freshman in 2019.

Game 1
Each time SJU crossed the plate in game one, Macalester answered in the next half-inning. That is, until the bottom of the seventh.

The Johnnies gained a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a ground-rule, RBI double from Nyrop and a balk. The Scots answered with three runs, one earned, in the top of the fourth and SJU re-tied the game at 3-3 with a two-out, RBI single from Schleper in the bottom of the fifth.

Mac scored a run in the top of the sixth, but SJU responded with three two-out runs in the bottom half for a 6-4 lead. Two runs came across on wild pitches during junior third baseman Zach Selchow's (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) at-bat and Ethan Roe brought in the other with an RBI single to left.

Soren Roe started the bottom of the seventh with a single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Pinch-hitter Pete Schroeder (Minneapolis, Minn./Providence Academy) walked and Hayford scored Roe with an RBI single to tie the game. Erickson reached on a fielder's choice – the third baseman fielded the groundball and attempted to get Schroeder leaning off third – to load the bases. With the outfield in, Dauk blasted a deep single over the right-fielder's head for the walk-off win.

Nick Penick '21 allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits in the no-decision. He struck out seven in six innings of work. Otto picked up the win to improve to 5-0 this season.

Game 2
SJU replicated game one with two runs in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to a two-out, two-run triple by Dauk. Soren Roe increased the lead to 3-0 with a two-out, RBI double off the right-field fence in the bottom of the fourth.

The visitors cut their deficit to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but SJU answered with two runs of its own (one earned) in the bottom half. Mac added two more in the top of the eighth.

Trapp moved his record to 2-4 with the win, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Junior Matt Herold (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) gave up two runs in two innings of relief and junior Hunter Ault (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first collegiate save.

Dauk and Nyrop both went 3-for-6 with two walks on the day, while Schleper and Ethan Roe joined them in the three-hit club. 

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 46-11 against Macalester since the 1993 season, including a 23-5 record in Collegeville. Saturday's doubleheader is the series' fifth consecutive at Becker Park (Macalester was the home team in 2018).