Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's baseball opened its 2024 season with a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin-Superior – 3-2 in 11 innings and 9-1 – on Monday, Feb. 26, at Haugen Field at Becker Park.

The Johnnies (2-0 overall) batted .300 (21-for-70) on the day with 10 extra-base hits (eight doubles and two home runs) and a .406 (13-for-32) average with runners on base. The pitching staff, meanwhile, held Superior (0-2 overall) to a .180 average (11-for-61) and posted 28 strikeouts in 18 innings. The Yellowjackets batted only 3-for-34 (.088) with runners on base and 1-for-19 (.053) with runners in scoring position in the two games.

Senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) and senior right fielder Rodney Erickson (Woodbury, Minn.) led SJU's bats with 4-for-8 performances. Becker totaled three doubles and three RBI, while Erickson hit a solo homer and crossed the plate three times. Becker has now reached base safely in each of his last 45 games going back to the 2022 season.

Game 1
Junior catcher Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.), who made his first collegiate start behind the plate, gave SJU a 2-0 lead in the second inning when he launched a 0-2 pitch over the left-center fence for his first home run. 

Superior chipped away to tie the game with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings off senior Wyatt Rudolf (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen). A leadoff single came around to score on a one-out double from Isaac Fugere in the sixth and a leadoff hit-batsmen – on a 0-2 pitch – moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single from Trey Sybrant in the seventh.

Senior first baseman Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) singled with two outs in the bottom of the 11th and his pinch runner, junior Ryan Janzen (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) scored the game-winning run from first when junior shortstop Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) smoked a 1-0 pitch off the left-center fence for the walk-off double. 

Senior Jeremy Klick (Maple Grove, Minn.) made his first appearance as a Johnnie and earned the win in relief. The former Tommie recorded all six outs via strikeout and allowed one hit with a walk in two scoreless innings.

Senior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) made the start and allowed one hit with eight strikeouts in the no-decision. Junior Kade Bowar (Burnsville, Minn.) struck out two and gave up one hit in eighth and ninth innings.

Becker, Erickson, Mellgren and Peter collected two hits apiece.

Game 2
The Johnnies' offense started a bit earlier in the nightcap as the home team jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first four innings. Becker stroked a two-run double into the right-center gap in the first inning and started SJU's four-run third inning with another RBI double. He scored on the ensuing RBI single from senior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.). A single from senior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) and a walk from Best loaded the bases before Peter brought in another run with a base-on-balls. Mellgren made it 6-0 with a sacrifice-lineout to right field. Erickson led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run, the seventh of his career.

UWS' Nick Fredrikson started the sixth inning with a triple and scored on an RBI groundout for the visitors' lone run of the game.

Freshman third baseman Tanner Hoemann (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) walked to start the bottom half of the sixth and his pinch runner, classmate Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge), scored from first on Erickson's RBI double. Sophomore infielder Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) ended the game's scoring when he brought in Erickson with a double down the right-field line.

Junior Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) made his second collegiate start and earned the win, allowing three hits with six strikeouts over four scoreless innings.

Junior Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) surrendered the lone run in two innings of relief, while senior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) pitched the scoreless seventh.

Amundson, Becker, Erickson and senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) registered two hits each in game two.

The Johnnies travel to Florida for eight games – four in Port Charlotte and four in Ft. Myers – over a span of seven days (March 3-9) next week.