Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's baseball opened its conference schedule with a sweep of Saint Mary's, 6-0 and 10-3, on Friday, April 7, at Haugen Field at Becker Park.

The Johnnies (11-8, 2-0 MIAC) hit a grand slam in each game – the first from senior catcher Matt Herold (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) in the second inning of game one and the second off the bat of junior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) in the fifth inning of game two – and batted .409 (27-for-66) on the afternoon.

Game 1
Herold's blast in the second inning – his first collegiate homer – gave SJU a 4-0 lead and the home team added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Sophomore shortstop Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) singled for his third-consecutive at-bat and scored, unearned, in the fifth and junior first baseman Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) brought in senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) on an RBI single with two outs in the sixth. Peter went 5-for-7 with four runs scored and two RBI on the day, while Best finished 3-for-4 in the opener.

Junior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) took care of the rest with six shutout innings. He allowed three singles and struck out six for his 10th collegiate win (10-1 record). Freshman Evan Soeffker (Buffalo, Minn.) completed the shutout in the seventh.



Game 2
A leadoff double came around to score, unearned, for SMU's (6-10, 2-2 MIAC) first lead of the game in the first inning of game two. The lead, however, only lasted until the second inning when junior centerfielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) doubled to start the bottom half of the frame, moved to third on a groundout from junior first baseman Andrew Mahlke (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) and scored on an RBI single from Peter.

Three-straight singles with one out loaded the bases in the fifth inning before Becker's grand slam, his first homer of the season and seventh of his career. Peter plated another run with a single and junior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) gave SJU a seven-run inning with a two-out, two-run triple.

The first five Cardinals reached base to start the sixth inning, but the visitors mustered only two runs and SJU added a run in the bottom half and another in the seventh.

Senior southpaw Casey Trapp (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) evened his season record at 2-2 with the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out five.

Senior Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) relieved Trapp with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth inning and kept the damage to a minimum. He surrendered an infield single, but posted a strikeout and an inning-ending double play. Sophomore Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) held SMU to one hit over the game's final three innings.

SJU's pitching staff posted a 1.12 ERA, .210 opponent batting average (13-for-62) and 14 strikeouts on the day. The Cardinals batted 0-for-14 with two outs, .182 (4-for-22) with runners in scoring position and left 22 men on base.

The Johnnies host Carleton (4-7, 0-0 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 8, in Collegeville. The games were scheduled to be played in Northfield but were moved to Collegeville due to field conditions. SJU will be the "visiting" team in both contests.