Saint John's baseball hosts Gustavus Adolphus for Senior Day at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats/Live Video

ST. OLAF BUMPED AGAIN: SJU's home doubleheader vs. St. Olaf was originally scheduled for April 15, but was rescheduled for April 17, April 23, April 30 and now May 3.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (17-12, 8-4 MIAC) handed league-leading Bethel its first conference losses of the season with a doubleheader sweep – 11-3 and 11-10 – on Wednesday (April 26) in Collegeville.
 
The Johnnies mashed to a .464 batting average – totaling 32 hits (32-for-69) – including .538 (14-for-26) with runners in scoring position. Ten of the hits were for extra bases: five doubles, a triple and four home runs. Bethel entered the day with a 3.52 ERA and a .264 opponent batting average on the season.
 
Four Johnnies totaled a homer and four RBI each on the afternoon. Junior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) batted for the cycle in the doubleheader, going 6-for-8 with four runs scored, while senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) went 4-for-7 with four runs scored. Dauk clobbered the go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning in game two. Senior first baseman Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) and junior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) collected three hits apiece.

SJU's starting catchers – seniors Matt Herold (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) and Zach Selchow (Apple Valley, Minn.) – both went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
Game 1
Fueled by a pair of crooked innings, the home team jumped out to an 11-0 lead through the first four innings of game one. Five-consecutive Johnnies drove in a run en route to a six-run bottom of the second and SJU added four more runs, including a three-run bomb from Becker, in the third.
 
Junior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) took care of the rest for SJU on the hill. He allowed the three runs, though all three were unearned, on three hits in 4.2 innings for the win (2-2 record). He struck out a career-high nine and walked two.
 
Senior Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) got out of the jam in the fifth inning with a strikeout and sophomore Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) struck out two in two scoreless innings of relief.
 
Game 2
BU struck first in game two when a lazy flyball fell in no-man's land out in right with two outs to plate two runs in the top of the first inning. The Johnnies' bats stayed hot and totaled six runs on nine hits through the first two innings of BU's Max Sutter. Sutter started the game with a 4-0 record, 2.00 ERA and a .231 opponent batting average in 36 innings this spring, but SJU tagged him for six runs on 14 hits in five innings of work for the no-decision. 
 
Nyrop tied the game at 2-2 with a two-run blast, his fifth homer of the season and 23rd of his career, in the bottom of the first inning. The Johnnies then recorded four-consecutive hits with two outs in the bottom of the second to gain a 6-2 lead.
 
The Royals answered by scoring eight-straight runs (five earned) – a six-run third inning and two in the sixth – before SJU's five-run seventh.
 
Down 10-6, Amundson started the bottom of the seventh inning with a triple and scored on sophomore shortstop Jackson Peter's (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) RBI double on the next at-bat. He came around to score on junior designated hitter Owen Best's (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) RBI single. With two outs, Selchow kept the rally alive with a single and junior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) reached on an error before Dauk cranked a 3-2 pitch deep to right field for the go-ahead home run.
 
Sophomore Kade Bowar (Burnsville, Minn.) picked up the win in relief (2-0 record) after he pitched the scoreless seventh and eighth innings. Freshman Evan Soeffker (Buffalo, Minn.) closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the season.

TWO-OUT HITTING: SJU batted .552 (16-for-29) and drove in 15 of the day's 22 runs with two outs in the sweep of Bethel. The Johnnies are batting .348 (115-for-330) with two outs this season overall, .423 (60-for-142) in MIAC play and .439 (47-for-107) at home.

11-3: Wednesday's win in game one evened Dalen's season record at 2-2 and bumped his career record to 11-3. He currently has 112 strikeouts, which are 15 from 10th in program history, in 113 career innings.

SIX AWAY: Erickson needs six hits to become the fourth Johnnie this season, and 38th in program history, to reach 100 for a career.

NYROP ON THE CHARTS: SJU's all-time leader in RBI with 116, Nyrop is also climbing a handful of other lists in program history:

-Second with 23 home runs, two behind the record of 25 held by Ethan Roe '22;
-Third with 263 total bases, two behind Max Jackson '19 in second (265);
-Tied with Jamie Louwagie '02 for fourth with 32 doubles, one behind E. Roe in third (33);
-Tied with Jay Kasner '07 for seventh with 160 hits, four behind Derek Schiebel '17 in sixth (164).

STREAK AT 29: Becker has now reached base safely in all 29 games this spring, which is the longest streak since the stat was first recorded in 2012, and his last 33 games going back to last season. The 33-game streak is the Johnnies' second-longest behind Nyrop's 43-gamer that ended April 18.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU is second in the MIAC in batting (.362) and is second, behind Gustavus, in ERA (3.74) and opponent batting average (.257) in conference play.

Batting Average
2. SJU, .362 (.324 overall)
4. GAC, .330 (.303 overall)

Extra-Base Hits
-GAC, 97 (58 doubles, 12 triples, 27 home runs)
-SJU, 88 (61 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs)

ERA
1. GAC, 2.42 (4.46 overall)
2. SJU, 3.74 (5.27 overall)

Opponent Batting Average
1. GAC, .218 (.256 overall)
2. SJU, .257 (.284 overall)

Fielding Percentage
5. GAC, .962 (.959 overall)
8. SJU, .944 (.951 overall)

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (21-10, 12-2 MIAC) earned its fifth conference sweep of the season on Wednesday at Carleton, 6-0 and 8-3. Senior center fielder Bryce Novak leads the Gusties in batting average (.407), runs scored (37) and hits (48), while junior outfielder Drake Siens is next at .395 with a team-leading 15 doubles. The 2022 MIAC Player of the Year and a 2023 preseason All-American, senior infielder Jack Hanson is batting .383 with three triples and five homers, and senior infielder Gavin Baker leads the team with eight homers and 37 RBI. On the mound, sophomore Luke Siegle is 7-0 with a 1.15 ERA, 45 strikeouts and .175 opponent batting average in 45.2 innings this spring.  

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies swept the Gusties in the regular season, but fell to them twice in the MIAC Tournament. SJU vaulted into second place in the MIAC standings with a high-scoring, doubleheader sweep of GAC last May 1 (2022) in St. Peter. SJU won the opener, 13-4, and jumped out to a 14-1 lead in game two en route to a 23-11 victory in seven innings (10-run rule).
 
The Johnnies batted .465 (20-for-43) with runners in scoring position and out-hit the Gusties 32-19, including 10 extra-base hits: five doubles, two triples and three home runs. In the field, SJU turned five double plays on the day, including four in game two. GAC entered the doubleheader fourth in the first NCAA Region 9 rankings and committed 11 errors on the afternoon (eight in game two).
 
Game 1
SJU loaded the bases with one out in the first inning thanks to three consecutive free passes - two hit batsmen and a four-pitch walk - and gained a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout from catcher Ethan Roe '22.
 
The Johnnies score four runs on five hits in the top of the second inning. S. Roe smoked a leadoff double to the right-center gap, moved to third on a groundout off the bat of junior Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) and scored on an infield single from shortstop Matthew Hayford. Dauk kept the inning alive with a two-out single and Nyrop made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the next at-bat. Amundson reached on an error to load the bases and E. Roe ripped a two-run single up the middle for a 5-0 cushion. 
 
Nyrop reached via error and Amundson walked to start the fourth before S. Roe roped a two-out, two run single up the middle for a 7-0 lead.
 
The Gusties scored two runs, one earned, in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the fifth to cut their deficit to 7-4.
 
Nyrop singled to start the sixth inning and moved to second on a one-out wild pitch, but did not score on E. Roe's double. He was thrown out at the plate on Erickson's groundball to third. S. Roe came through once again with a two-out, two-run double to the left-center gap to give SJU a 9-4 lead.
 
The Johnnies ended the scoring with four more runs, three of which came on Amundson's seventh home run of the season, in the top of the seventh.
 
Dalen allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings for the win (2-1 record). He struck out five and issued four free passes (two walks and two hit batsmen). Nathan Brandecker '22 allowed one hit in two innings of scoreless relief.
 
Game 2
The two teams scored a run or more in each of the first six half-innings in game two, including nine for SJU in the first. Becker reached on an error to start the game, Dauk singled and Nyrop walked to load the bases. Amundson followed with a two-run single to the opposite field and E. Roe was plunked by a pitch to re-load the basepaths. GAC committed its second error of the inning in the next at-bat as Erickson brought in another run on a groundball to the shortstop. S. Roe made it 4-0 with a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning and Schleper continued the scoring parade with an RBI single in the ensuing at-bat. Hayford gave SJU a 6-0 lead with an RBI double to force a pitching change. Another error re-loaded the bases before Dauk drove in the seventh run with his second single of the inning and Nyrop roped a two-run double down the left-field line.
 
An SJU error and two walks loaded the bases for GAC in the bottom of the first and the home team scored its first run on a double play.
 
The Johnnies scored five more, thanks to three hits and two more GAC errors, in the top of the second inning. Becker drove in the first run with his third triple of the season and Amundson crushed his second, three-run homer of the day.
 
Like the first inning, GAC loaded the bases in the second with a single and two walks. A wild pitch gave the Gusties their second run and a sacrifice fly made it 14-3.
 
Erickson lined a single to left to start the third inning and made it to third when the ball skipped past the left fielder. He scored on a sac fly from S. Roe in the next at-bat for a 15-3 lead.
 
Gustavus went single-walk-single-double to start the bottom half of the third inning and plated two more runs, ending junior Griffin Larson's (Edina, Minn.) day in favor of junior Isaac Harrill (Eden Prairie, Minn.). A one-out double and throwing error added two more runs to the Gusties' ledger, cutting SJU's lead to 15-7.
 
The home team closed the gap again in the fourth inning, 15-10, with a two-run double and an SJU fielding error that should have ended the inning.
 
The Johnnies responded with a two-out, two-run single from Becker in the top of the fifth and a single run in the sixth to gain an 18-10 lead. Amundson tripled for the third time this season to start the sixth and scored on a two-out single from S. Roe. 
 
An infield single gave GAC a single run in the bottom of the sixth before SJU put up another crooked number in the top of the seventh. Nyrop hit an opposite-field grand slam, the second of his career and the team's third of the season. 
 
Harrill earned his first collegiate win (1-1 record) in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) in two innings. The Gusties scored one run off Haring in the final three innings. He struck out three and walked three.
 
Larson was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on four hits in two innings. He walked five and hit one.
 
Amundson matched Dauk's 5-for-9 performance on the day and combined with Nyrop for 12 runs scored and 15 RBI. Six Johnnies crossed the plate four times or more in the doubleheader: Amundson (6), Nyrop (6), Becker (5), Dauk (5), Erickson (4) and Hayford (4).

Game 3
SJU opened the 2022 MIAC Tournament with a 17-7 loss to Gustavus on May 12 at CHS Field in St. Paul. GAC totaled 17 hits, including four home runs, in the victory. SJU, meanwhile, cracked 13 hits but left 12 men on base.

The Gusties gained a quick 4-0 lead thanks to back-to-back home runs - a three-run shot from Gavin Baker just inside the left-field foul pole and a solo homer from Ethan Mocchi - in the top of the first inning. E. Roe put SJU on the scoreboard with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom half of the frame.

GAC tacked on three more runs to make it 7-1 in the top of the fourth. Logan Bjorkman hit a two-run homer and the third run scored from first on a two-out, RBI single off the bat of Jack Hanson that Amundson dove for and caught, but lost when he rolled forward.

SJU cut it to 7-3 thanks to RBI singles from the Roe brothers in the bottom of the fourth, but Bjorkman hit his second homer of the game to lead off the sixth inning.

S. Roe launched his sixth home run of the season, and 10th as a Johnnie, with one out in the sixth. Hayford reached on an infield single with two outs and Becker brought him in with a triple, his fourth of the season, to cut the Johnnies' deficit to three (8-5).

GAC padded its lead with three runs on four hits in the seventh, making the score 11-5, in the top of the seventh. The first two Johnnies reached to start the bottom half, but did not score.

Schleper roped a pinch-hit single to start the bottom of the eighth and scored on Dauk's two-out single. The Gusties, however, batted around and scored six runs on six hits in the top of the ninth inning. Hayford ended the game's scoring with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

Nyrop and Ethan Roe led SJU's bats with three hits apiece. The performance extended Nyrop's hit streak to 18 games (22 straight on base).

Brandecker took the loss (7-2 record), allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits. He struck out three and walked two in four innings.

Game 4
The Johnnies ended their 2022 season with a heartbreaking, 11-10 loss in 10 innings to Gustavus on May 13 in St. Paul.

The Gusties tied the game at 10-10 on a triple from Drake Siens, his seventh of the season, with two outs and Nick Azar followed with a full-count, walk-off single up the middle. The Johnnies had leads of 6-2 and 7-4, but GAC scored five runs on five hits, two of which were bunts, and an SJU error for a 9-7 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

SJU, however, tied the game at 9-9 with a two-out, pinch-hit double from Schleper in the top of the ninth. The Johnnies nearly took the lead in the next at-bat, but GAC's Dalton Thelen ran down Hayford's sharp drive into the right-center gap to end the inning.

The Johnnies looked to be in business in the top of the 10th when GAC's Ethan Mocchi walked the first two batters on eight pitches. Nyrop moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt and GAC elected to intentionally walk Amundson to load the bases. SJU took the lead in the ensuing at-bat when E. Roe lifted a flyball to short left field that the shortstop caught for a sac fly. 

An error on a double-play ball came back to haunt SJU in the bottom of the first inning as Gustavus plated two runs - on an infield single and bloop hit to no-man's land in left-center field - but left the bases loaded.

The Johnnies scored six runs on four hits in the top of the second inning. SJU loaded the bases without a hit in the second, thanks to two walks and a hit batsmen. Selchow brought in the first run with a dribbler up the third-base line and Hayford tied the game with a line-drive single through the left side. Becker roped a two-run double to the left-center gap and Hayford scored on a wild pitch. Nyrop extended his hit streak to 20 games (on-base streak to 24) with an RBI single in the ensuing at-bat.

GAC tallied two runs in the bottom of the third when a leadoff double from Siens scored on a one-out triple by Thelen, and Logan Bjorkman followed with a sac fly.

Nyrop extended the Johnnies' lead to 7-4 with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the sixth inning.

Larson took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of relief. He struck out four and did not issue a free pass. Dalen made the start and allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 12 hits. He struck out seven and walked two in 6.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 43-33 against Gustavus since 1988, including a 20-14 record in Collegeville. SJU holds an 18-13 advantage since 2010 (7-5 at SJU).