Saint John's baseball hosts a pair of 1 p.m. doubleheaders this Friday (Saint Mary's) and Saturday (Carleton), April 7-8, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats/Live Video

SCHEDULE CHANGES: SJU was scheduled to host Saint Mary's on Tuesday (April 4), but the games were postponed and rescheduled for Friday. The Johnnies' original MIAC opener against Concordia-Moorhead that was scheduled for last Saturday (April 1) was moved to Collegeville and then rescheduled for both Sunday and Monday until it was postponed to a later date.

AT HOME AS THE VISITORS: Saturday's doubleheader against Carleton was scheduled to be played in Northfield but was moved to Collegeville due to field conditions. SJU will be the "visiting" team in both games.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-8, 0-0 MIAC) earned a 12-9 non-conference win over Crown in its home opener back on March 25 at Haugen Field at Becker Park. The Johnnies built a 10-2 lead thanks to a seven-run sixth inning, but the Polars hit a solo home run in the seventh and plated six in the eighth inning to cut the lead to one. SJU extended the lead to three with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and freshman Evan Soeffker (Buffalo, Minn.) struck out two as part of a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save of the season.

The home team jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of RBI singles with two outs from juniors Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) and Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) in the bottom of the first inning. Crown chipped away to tie the game at 2-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but junior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with his second double of the game in the fifth ahead of the seven-run sixth.

Senior catcher Zach Selchow (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) started the scoring in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly and the Johnnies scored the remaining six runs with two outs. Senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) singled in sophomore shortstop Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa), Becker scored on a wild pitch and senior designated hitter Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) and junior centerfielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) followed with RBI singles. Schleper brought in the final two runs with a single.

Crown matched the Johnnies' two-out effort in the eighth as all six runs (four earned) came across home plate after the second out was recorded thanks to three singles and a three-run homer.

Nyrop started the bottom of the eighth inning with his second double of the game and his pinch runner, sophomore Ryan Janzen (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), scored on a sac fly from Peter. Amundson made it 12-9 on a wild pitch, Crown's sixth of the game.

Junior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) made the start and was sharp in his first appearance of the season (due to injury) and allowed one hit with three strikeouts in two innings. Senior lefty Casey Trapp (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) pitched the next three innings and picked up the win. He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and struck out six. The six strikeouts enabled him to climb past Denny Coleman '69 and Hayden Zimmerman '12 into third place on SJU's all-time list with 157.

Nyrop led SJU with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Becker (2-for-4) and Schleper (2-for-3) added two hits apiece.

GETTING CLOSER: Four Johnnies are approaching the 100-career hit club:

-Dauk: 92
-Becker: 91
-Schleper: 87
-junior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury): 82

NYROP IN THE RECORD BOOK: On March 25, Nyrop moved into 10th on the Johnnies' all-time hit list with 140, while the pair of doubles placed him into a tie with Derek Schiebel '17 for fifth (30). His single in the sixth inning served as his 99th RBI, which broke his three-way tie with Ryan Giefer '95 and Jed Riegelman '04 for fifth.

AND TRAPP: Trapp's six strikeouts against Crown enabled him to pass Denny Coleman '69 and Hayden Zimmerman '12 into third in program history with 157, seven behind Connor Cline '13 in second. Trapp also has 155.1 career innings pitched, 3.2 behind former teammate Nathan Brandecker '22 in 10th. 

MIAC OPENERS: The Johnnies are 37-19 in MIAC openers since 1993, including an 8-4 record against the Cardinals (5-1 in Collegeville).

STAT COMPARISONS
Batting Average
-SJU, .291
-SMU, .264
-CAR, .255

Extra-Base Hits
-SJU, 48 (38 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR)
-SMU, 25 (18 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR)
-CAR, 21 (16 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR)

ERA
-SMU, 4.74
-SJU, 6.12
-CAR, 9.15

Opponent Batting Average
-SMU, .292
-SJU, .300
-CAR, .352

Fielding Percentage
-SMU, .962
-SJU, .958
-CAR, .919

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (6-8, 2-0 MIAC) opened its conference schedule with a home sweep of St. Scholastica, 6-2 and 9-2, on Monday (April 3) in Winona. Sophomore outfielder Riley Bauman leads the team in batting average (.373), runs (11) and home runs (3), and is tied with sophomore first baseman Mason Coyle (14-for-35) with nine RBI. On the mound, senior righty Timmy Smith is 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 17 strikeouts in a team-leading 26.0 innings pitched. SMU's pitching staff has allowed 37 extra-base hits and has 73 strikeouts in 114 innings (SJU has given up 32 extra-base hits and has 136 strikeouts in 139.2 innings).

LAST YEAR: The two teams split last year's doubleheader on April 27 in Winona. SJU totaled 11 hits and took advantage of six SMU errors in a 10-1 win in the opener, but batted 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 outs at the plate via strikeout in a 7-5 loss in game two.

Nyrop became the 34th Johnnie in program history to reach 100 career hits with a two-out single in the top of the first inning in game two.

The Johnnies out-hit the Cardinals 24-13, including three home runs, to raise their season-record total to 44. 

Game 1
Dauk extended his on-base streak to 21 games with a one-out single in the top of the first inning before Nyrop blasted his sixth home run of the season to give SJU a quick 2-0 lead. The homer, the 17th of his career and his 99th career hit, moved Nyrop into a tie with Brent Schloe '00 and Joey Stock '20 for fourth in program history.

A pair of free passes - a hit batsmen and a walk - with one out came back to bite Nathan Brandecker '22 as SMU cut its deficit in half with a run in the bottom of the second.

The free passes carried over to the Johnnies' half of the third inning, as Becker and Dauk walked, but the Cardinals coaxed two groundballs and a flyout to escape the inning.

The Johnnies manufactured a pair of runs to make it 4-1 in the top of the fourth inning. Erickson singled to start the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from right fielder Soren Roe '22, on to third on a groundout from Schleper and scored on a two-out single off the bat of shortstop Matthew Hayford. Becker and Dauk followed with back-to-back singles to plate the team's fourth run of the game.

SJU broke the game open with six unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning. SJU loaded the bases with one out before the Johnnies scored the inning's first two runs thanks to the Cardinals' fifth error on a fielder's-choice groundball by Nyrop. Amundson followed with a sac fly to give SJU a 7-1 lead. The visitors re-loaded the bases with singles from catcher Ethan Roe '22 and Erickson, and Soren Roe cleared them with a two-out double.

Brandecker improved to 6-1 with the win, his third complete game of the season. He allowed four singles and struck out five.

Erickson led SJU's bats with his first three-hit game of the season (3-for-4), while Dauk went 2-for-3 with two walks.

Game 2
The Johnnies, like game one, gained an early lead thanks to the long ball in game two. Ethan Roe and Erickson singled to start the second inning before Soren Roe crushed his sixth home run of the season to give SJU an early 3-0 lead. The Cardinals, however, answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to back-to-back doubles and a sac fly.

Amundson made it 4-2 when he smoked a 0-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his sixth homer of the season in the top of the third inning.

SJU had a runner on third base with one out in the top of the fifth inning, but struck out twice and did not score. Trapp walked the first three batters, Nos. 8-9-1 in the lineup, to start the bottom half of the fifth, but SMU only scored one run with a sac fly.

The Cardinals tied the game with an unearned run on a two-out, RBI double on a 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the sixth.

Dauk doubled with two outs in the seventh, two pitches after Becker was thrown out at second base attempting to steal, to extend his on-base streak to 22 games. 

SMU gained its first lead of the day with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Cameron Weber doubled with one out, stole third and scored on a single from Trevon VanEgtern. Daniel Marxen brought in the other two runs, both unearned, with a two-out single.

Ethan Roe and Erickson singled with one out in the top of the eighth inning, and Soren Roe ended the game's scoring with an RBI.

Junior Isaac Harrill (Eden Prairie, Minn.) took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Junior Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) surrendered an unearned run on two hits and recorded the final five outs.

Trapp gave up three runs on four hits in the no-decision. He struck out five and walked four in five innings.

Ethan Roe went 3-for-4 with a double, which broke his tie with Derek Schiebel '17 for fourth-most in program history (31), in the nightcap.

Erickson batted 5-for-8 with three runs scored on the day, while Dauk and Ethan Roe each went 4-for-8 and combined for five runs.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 44-30 against Saint Mary's since 1987, including a 24-16 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies are 10-3 in the last 13 meetings overall.

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (4-7, 0-0 MIAC) last played on March 24 when it completed its trip to Tucson with a split against Oberlin – an 11-1 loss in seven innings and a 6-5 win – to finish with a 4-5 record. Junior Steve Antrim (.308) and sophomore Ananth Iyer (.343) lead the Knights with 12 hits apiece, while Antrim boasts and team-best two homers, seven runs scored and is tied with freshman Ryan Chang in RBI with seven. Senior southpaw AJ Staff leads the pitchers with a 3.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 18 innings on the mound.

A YEAR AGO: The Johnnies salvaged a split with Carleton thanks to Ethan Roe's walk-off, three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of game two last April 9 in Collegeville.

The Knights rode the arm of Kiefer Lord to a 5-1 win in game one, but SJU came back from two, three-run deficits and hit three home runs in game two's 10-9 victory.

Game 1
Carleton jumped on the scoreboard first with a leadoff, solo homer from Jacob Smith in the second inning and plated three more runs off Brandecker in the third.

The Knights added an unearned run off junior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) in the fourth inning. Sophomores Grant Limke (Buffalo, Minn./Holy Family Catholic) and Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) combined for three scoreless innings of relief on the mound.

Erickson tripled for the second time this season (and fifth of his career) with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored on a wild pitch to end the shutout. He recorded two of SJU's five hits in the loss.

Brandecker took his first loss of the season (3-1 record), allowing four runs on four hits in three innings.

Lord struck out eight in the complete-game effort for the Knights.

Game 2
The Knights scored a single run in each of the first three innings off Trapp, the reigning MIAC Pitcher of the Week at the time, to gain a 3-0 lead in game two.

Nyrop cut the Johnnies' deficit to 3-2 with a two-run homer, his third long ball of the season and 14th of his career, with two outs in the bottom of the third inning and a solo shot from Amundson tied the game in the fourth. 

Carleton took the lead, 5-3, thanks to three straight hits with two outs in the top of the sixth inning.

Soren Roe doubled to start the bottom half of the sixth and eventually scored on an RBI groundout from Amundson.

Senior Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) relieved Trapp with runners on the corners and one out, but the Knights pushed a controversial run through when his first batter faced laid down a suicide-squeeze bunt. Haring shoveled the ball to Ethan Roe, who looked to have applied the tag, but the umpire called the baserunner safe to make the score 6-4.

The Johnnies took advantage of back-to-back walks from Nyrop and Soren Roe in the eighth inning when Amundson laced a two-run, opposite-field double.

The Knights, however, re-gained the lead with a bases-clearing, two-out double from Paul Hinton in the top of the ninth inning off Harrill. All three runs were unearned.

Becker started the ninth-inning rally by walking with one out, and he advanced to third on a single from Dauk. Nyrop made it a two-run game (9-7) with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat and Soren Roe walked before his twin brother, Ethan, launched the full-count, walk-off home run to straightaway center field. 

Krueger recorded the final out of the ninth inning and earned the win (2-1 record).

Amundson finished the game 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI, while Becker and Soren Roe each went 2-for-3. Roe crossed the plate three times.

SJU batted .208 (5-for-24) with runners on base in the two games, while Carleton went 13-for-33 (.394) with runners on base and 8-for-23 (.348) with runners in scoring position. The Knights, however, left 21 men on base in the doubleheader, including 14 in game two alone.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 42-17 against the Knights since 1993, including a 21-9 record in Collegeville.