Saint John's baseball opens its 2024 season by hosting Wisconsin-Superior for a non-conference doubleheader at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats | Live Video

SCHEDULE CHANGE, AGAIN: The Johnnies' doubleheader with Superior was moved from April to this Sunday (Feb. 25), but was rescheduled again for Monday. The temperature forecast for Sunday is in the low 40's, compared to upper 50's on Monday (likely 15 degrees warmer).

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's baseball tied for second in the MIAC with a 14-6 record (23-16 overall) and made its 13th-consecutive appearance in the MIAC Tournament in 2023. 

SJU finished with six All-MIAC honorees last spring, of whom three return in 2024: senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.), senior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) and senior pitcher Wyatt Rudolf (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen). Senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and senior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) were All-MIAC in 2022 and return this spring thanks to an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's a look at the 2024 Johnnies:

Season No. 47
The 2024 season will be head coach Jerry Haugen's 47th at the helm of the Johnnie baseball program. He has compiled an 935-704-5 (.570) career record, including a 252-121 (.677) mark over the past 10 seasons. 

Bulk of Rotation Returns
SJU returns three of its four main starting pitchers from last year's rotation who combined for a 2.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio (140 strikeouts to 54 walks) in 2023. Rudolf led the pitching staff in innings (48.0) and strikeouts (57), and finished 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA over 11 appearances (seven starts) in his first season as a Johnnie. Opponents batted .226 (24-for-106) with Rudolf in the stretch (runners on base).

Senior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) went 3-2 with a 3.16 ERA, .233 opponent batting average and 42 strikeouts in just 31.1 innings pitched (seven starts) last spring. He was named to the 2023 MIAC All-Playoff team after he struck out a career-high 11 batters, including seven looking, and allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings for the no-decision in the Johnnies' season finale, a 3-2 loss to Gustavus Adolphus in the MIAC Tournament. Dalen enters his senior season with a 12-3 record, 3.80 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 125.2 career innings (32 appearances, 19 starts).

Junior lefty Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) tied Casey Trapp '23 for the team lead with eight starts and was second in innings pitched (37.2) in 2023. He finished with a 3-4 record, 41 strikeouts and a .253 opponent batting average. Trapp is currently a graduate transfer at Division I Creighton.

Four With 100+ Hits
Four Johnnies reached the 100-hit milestone for their careers last spring and all four return in 2024: Becker, Dauk, Schleper and senior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury). The foursome is destined to be joined by Amundson, who starts the season with 75 hits as a Johnnie and 80 overall (five hits in 14 games over two seasons, 2020-21, at St. Thomas). 

Familiar Faces in the Infield
The Johnnies' infield will feature a number of familiar faces this season. Becker started and reached base in all 39 games last season, extending his streak to 43 going back to 2022, and led SJU with 37 RBI and nine multi-RBI games overall. He also led SJU with a .423 average (22-for-52) with runners in scoring position and finished second on the team in batting average (.374), hits (55), runs scored (36), doubles (14), slugging percentage (.558) and on-base percentage (.453).

Dauk returns to second base after starting all 39 games last season. He batted .269 but posted a .443 on-base percentage and led the team in runs scored (45), walks (27), hit-by-pitch (15) and stolen bases (11-for-11). He batted .407 (11-for-27) with runners in scoring position and .387 (12-for-31) with two outs. In the field, Dauk recorded a .993 fielding percentage with one error in 151 chances.

Junior Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) played all 39 games, with 34 starts (32 at shortstop and two as the designated hitter), and batted .323 with a .412 on-base percentage, 28 runs scored and 22 RBI last spring in his first season as a Johnnie. 

Senior first basemen Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) and Andrew Mahlke (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) are expected to again see time for SJU at first and designated hitter. Best hit an even .300 last season with a .413 on-base percentage in 30 games (27 starts), while Mahlke hit .356 (16-for-45) in 16 games (10 starts). 

A position where the Johnnies will be a bit unfamiliar is catcher. The team needs to replace Matt Herold '23 (22 starts) and Zach Selchow '23 (17 starts) due to graduation. SJU is expected to turn to junior Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.) and Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North), who is one of nine freshmen on the SJU roster who were Play Ball! MN All-Stars.

A Veteran Outfield 
All three starting outfielders are set to return for SJU in 2024. Amundson started 37 games in center field and batted .278, with a .375 on-base percentage. He finished second on the team in stolen bases (8-for-11) and third in RBI (33).

Schleper started all 39 games in left field and batted .333, including .413 (31-for-75) with runners on base and .451 (23-for-51) with runners in scoring position. He finished second on the team in RBI (34) and third in hits (46) and runs scored (30).

Erickson started 37 games in right field, where he registered a team-best four outfield assists. He batted .283, including .351 (13-for-37) with runners in scoring position, and finished second on the team with four homers. Becker, Dauk, Peter and Schleper all hit three home runs last spring. 

Depth on the Mound
SJU returns five pitchers who made five appearances or more in 2023. Junior Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) leads the group. He made nine appearances, with one start, and went 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA, .194 opponent batting average and 19 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. Junior Kade Bowar (Burnsville, Minn.) made nine relief appearances and totaled 14 strikeouts to three walks in 13.1 innings. 

Senior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) appeared in six contests, with two starts, while classmate Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) and junior Tien Foudray (Excelsior, Minn./Holy Family Catholic) saw the mound in five each. A transfer from Division I St. Thomas, senior Jeremy Klick (Maple Grove, Minn.) is expected to join the fold after he totaled 49 strikeouts in 48.1 innings (37 appearances) for the Tommies.

The 2024 Non-Conference Schedule
The Johnnies' 38-game schedule includes 18 non-conference contests made up of 14 different opponents. The 14 teams combined for a 290-230 (.558) record in 2023, of which four recorded 25 wins or more. Misericordia (Pa.) went 40-15 and reached the NCAA Division III World Series after it eliminated Marietta (Ohio, 37-13 record) in the Super Regional.

Following the Feb. 25 season opener against Wisconsin-Superior, SJU travels to Florida for eight games – four in Port Charlotte and four in Ft. Myers - over a span of seven days. The Johnnies then travel March 16-18 to Tucson, Ariz., for four games before returning home to host Northwestern March 25. SJU hosts Minnesota-Morris April 10 and Crown April 29 to complete the non-conference schedule.

The MIAC (Home) Schedule
The Johnnies open MIAC play April 3 against Bethel in Collegeville and are scheduled to host doubleheaders against the following MIAC opponents:

-Bethel (Wednesday, April 3)
-Carleton (Saturday, April 13)
-Saint Mary's (Saturday, April 20)
-St. Scholastica (Saturday, April 27)
-St. Olaf for Senior Day (Saturday, May 4)

The double-elimination MIAC Tournament will be held at CHS Field in St. Paul. The four-team tournament is scheduled for May 9-11. 

EARLY OPENER: Monday's home opener will be the earliest in program history, surpassing the 2021 season opener held on March 7 (a 13-10 SJU win over Crown).

A LOOK AT THE YELLOWJACKETS: Wisconsin-Superior ended the 2023 season with a 21-15 record (16-5 UMAC) and finished second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Superior's top returners include junior outfielder Payton Steiner, senior catcher Isaac Fugere and sophomore infielder Noah Dagostino. Steiner was named to the All-UMAC first team a year ago after hitting .344 with seven doubles, five triples, a home run, 36 runs scored, 23 RBI and 17 stolen bases. An All-Region honoree in 2022, Fugere was also an All-UMAC first-team selection last spring after he batted .325 with 12 doubles, five homers, 28 runs scored and 27 RBI. Dagostino was All-UMAC honorable mention with nine doubles, 29 runs, 18 RBI and a team-leading 23 stolen bases. Junior Ben Welle is the only returning pitcher who started more than five games last season. He went 3-4 with a 5.30 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 11 walks. The Yellowjackets were picked to finish second in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll released yesterday (Feb. 22).

THE LAST TIME: SJU swept the Yellowjackets – 8-1 and 6-4 – to open the 2022 season the last time the two teams met on March 1 (2022) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Johnnies clubbed five home runs, batted .500 (12-for-24) with two outs, .556 (5-for-9) with runners in scoring position and recorded 10 RBI with two outs in the two games.

SJU broken open a scoreless game one with five, two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and overcame a 4-3 deficit with three runs in the top of the seventh inning in game two.

Game 1
Becker started the five-run fifth inning with a two-out, two-run double – a ball that the UWS center fielder lost in the lights – and scored on a triple off the bat of Erickson. Erickson scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0, moments before shortstop Matthew Hayford '23 hit his first collegiate homer. 

The Johnnies padded the lead with a two-run homer from Dauk and a solo shot from Becker in the sixth inning.

Nathan Brandecker '22 allowed four runs and struck out two in five scoreless innings for the win. Herold pitched two innings of relief and allowed the lone run, unearned, in the seventh.

Becker finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, and right fielder Soren Roe '22 was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Game 2
Trapp recorded his first six outs via strikeout, but the Yellowjackets started the bottom of the third inning with a double, triple and sacrifice fly to gain a 2-0 lead. 

The Johnnies answered, however, with a pair of two-out runs in the next half-inning. Schleper singled and Ethan Roe '23 brought him in with a double. Soren Roe tied the game with an RBI single. 

A pair of doubles gave the lead back to Superior in the bottom half of the fourth, but first baseman Max Nyrop '23 – a 2021 All-American and 2022 Preseason All-American – tied the game in the sixth with a solo homer.

UWS took advantage of two walks and re-gained the lead on a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth.

Dauk led off the seventh by crushing a full-count pitch to right field for his second home run of the day, and fifth of his career. Becker singled with one out and scored on a double from Erickson, who came around to score on a two-out double from Nyrop.

Krueger earned the win in relief, allowing one run on one hit in two innings. Jack Haring '23 pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for his first collegiate save.

Trapp was tagged with three runs on five hits in the no-decision. He struck out eight and did not issue a free pass in four innings on the hill.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 10-4 all-time against Superior on the baseball diamond, including a 3-1 record in Collegeville.