Rodney Erickson_Graham Miller
Junior right fielder Rodney Erickson batted 7-for-7 in the sweep (image courtesy of Graham Miller).
2
St. Olaf College STO 13-15, 8-6 MIAC
7
Winner Saint John's Univ. SJU 21-13, 12-5 MIAC
St. Olaf College STO
13-15, 8-6 MIAC
2
Final
7
Saint John's Univ. SJU
21-13, 12-5 MIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
St. Olaf College STO 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 8 1
Saint John's Univ. SJU 1 1 1 3 0 1 X 7 9 0

W: Hartley, Connor (3-1) L: Derek Hansen (0-3)

3
St. Olaf College STO 13-16, 8-7 MIAC
10
Winner Saint John's Univ. SJU 22-13, 13-5 MIAC
St. Olaf College STO
13-16, 8-7 MIAC
3
Final
10
Saint John's Univ. SJU
22-13, 13-5 MIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Olaf College STO 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 10 1
Saint John's Univ. SJU 2 2 1 0 2 1 2 0 X 10 15 2

W: Bowar, Kade (3-0) L: David Scheil (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Johnnies Clinch MIAC Playoff Bid With Another Sweep


Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's baseball clinched its 13th-consecutive appearance in the MIAC Tournament and 15th since the format started in 2003 with another doubleheader sweep, 7-2 and 10-3, over St. Olaf on Wednesday, May 3, at Haugen Field at Becker Park.

The Johnnies (22-13, 13-5 MIAC) batted .387 (24-for-62) with four home runs, two triples and two doubles on the day, while seven pitchers combined to allow three earned runs in 16 innings, aided by five double plays.

SJU hosts the four-team, double-elimination MIAC Tournament next Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13, in Collegeville. - Additional Information

Junior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) went 7-for-7 on the day from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. His solo home run to start the bottom of the sixth in game one gave SJU a 7-1 lead and enabled him to become the 38th Johnnie in program history (fourth this season) to reach 100 career hits.



A pair of seniors, second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and pitcher Jack Haring (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine), tied SJU season records in the doubleheader. Dauk crossed the plate four times to tie the Johnnies' season record for runs scored – 44 – set by Cole Weaver in 2016 and Haring made his 19th relief appearance in game one, which tied the school record held by Case Paxton '09 (2007), Hayden Zimmerman '12 (2010) and Joey Long '13 (2012).

Game 1
The Johnnies scored a run or more in each of the first four innings to gain a 6-0 lead. Sophomore shortstop Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) brought in the game's first run with an infield single in the first inning, junior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) made it 2-0 with an RBI groundout in the second and junior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) padded the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third.

SJU broke the game open with a three-run fourth inning. Senior catcher Matt Herold (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) and Erickson started the frame with back-to-back singles and moved up a base on a sac bunt from Dauk. Following a wild pitch that scored Herold, Becker followed with his second triple of the season and senior first baseman Max Nyrop (Alameda, Calif.) brought him in with an RBI groundout.

The Oles (13-16, 8-7 MIAC) erased the shutout in the fifth inning and ended the scoring with a two-out single in the seventh.

Erickson's solo shot in the sixth inning was his second in as many days and fourth of the season.

Sophomore Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) made his first collegiate start and improved to 3-1 with the win. He struck out two and allowed one run on five hits in five innings. Haring pitched the final two innings and gave up the other run on three hits. 

Erickson went 3-for-3, while Becker and Peter added two hits apiece.

Game 2
The Johnnies plated two runs on a throwing error in the first inning of game two and tacked on two more in the second on an RBI groundout from Becker and an RBI single off the bat of junior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.). Schleper doubled to start the bottom of the third and scored on a two-out single from Erickson to give the home team a 5-0 lead.

STO cut the gap with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth, but the Johnnies totaled five runs over the next three innings thanks to a solo homer in each frame. Schleper started the bottom of the fifth with his second dinger of the spring, and 10th of his career, and Erickson tripled with two outs. He scored on Dauk's double in the next at-bat. Peter homered with two outs in the sixth inning and senior catcher Zach Selchow (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) crushed one to right in the seventh. Erickson, Dauk and Becker followed Selchow with three-straight singles and Nyrop ended the Johnnies' scoring with a fielder's choice.

Sophomore Kade Bowar (Burnsville, Minn.) increased his season record to 3-0 with the win in relief. He surrendered the two unearned runs in two innings. 

Junior Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) made his first start of the season and struck out four in three scoreless innings. Junior Jordon Huwe (Lakeville, Minn./North) pitched the scoreless sixth and seventh innings, and junior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) followed suit in the eighth. The Oles hit two doubles off Alex Gwost (Little Falls, Minn.) for their final run in the ninth.

Erickson completed his perfect day at the plate with a 4-for-4 performance and Schleper went 3-for-4.

Becker extended his on-base streak to 39 games going back to last season (last four games of 2022, all 35 games in 2023). He has now scored a run or more in each of the Johnnies' last 13 games and is batting .388 (19-for-49) with 14 runs, 12 RBI, five doubles, two triples and two homers during a current 12-game hit streak.

SJU completes its regular-season schedule with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Augsburg (8-21, 5-12 MIAC) on Saturday, May 6, at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.



 
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