Heidelberg Box Score | Misericordia Box Score

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Saint John's baseball suffered its first losses of the 2024 season – 8-3 in 13 innings to Heidelberg (Ohio) and 2-1 to No. 14 Misericordia (Pa.) – on Monday, March 4.

Although the Johnnies (3-2 overall) held the opposition to a .205 batting average (16-for-78) on the day, SJU batted only .125 (9-for-72), including .133 (4-for-30) with runners on base, .083 (1-for-12) with runners in scoring position and .125 (3-for-24) with two outs.

Heidelberg 8, Saint John's 3 (13 inn.)
SJU only mustered three hits and went 1-for-14 with two outs, 2-for-18 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the extra-inning loss. Heidelberg (5-2 overall) broke the 3-3 tie with five runs on three hits in the top of the 13th inning.  

The Student Princes gained a quick 3-0 lead thanks to three-straight hits with two outs in the top of the first inning. SJU answered with a two-run rally of its own in the bottom of the third to plate two runs. Senior right fielder Rodney Erickson (Woodbury, Minn.) reached on an error and senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) followed with a triple. Dauk then scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Senior first baseman Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) walked to start the bottom of the fourth inning and junior shortstop Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) followed with a single. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before senior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

SJU had runners on first and second base with nobody out in the fifth inning, and had the leadoff batter on in the 10th, but could not score.

Senior Wyatt Rudolf (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) gave up three runs on five hits in the no-decision. He struck out eight and walked two in six innings. Senior Jeremy Klick (Maple Grove, Minn.) tallied four strikeouts in three scoreless innings of relief.

Sophomore Vinny Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs on three hits in 3.1 innings. He struck out three but walked four with a hit batsmen. Senior Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) gave up a two-run double in the 13th and recorded the final two outs.

No. 14 Misericordia (Pa.) 2, Saint John's 1
Misericordia (5-3 overall) gained an early 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the top of the first inning.

Freshman catcher Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North) made his first collegiate start behind the plate and started the bottom of the sixth inning with a single. He moved to second on a sac bunt from Erickson and to third on a single from Dauk. Senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) then brought in Wareham with a sac fly to tie the game at 1-1. Becker, however, saw his reached-base-safely streak end at 47 games going back to 2022.

The stalemate was short-lived, however, as the Cougars started the seventh with a triple and regained the lead – 2-1 – with a sac fly in the ensuing at-bat.

Junior Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) took the tough-luck loss after he allowed both runs (one earned) on five hits in seven innings. He struck out three. Senior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) gave up one hit in two scoreless innings of relief.

Dauk led SJU with three hits (3-for-8) on the day and Peter had two (2-for-9).

The Johnnies wrap up the Port Charlotte portion of their spring-break trip with a 10 a.m. ET game against No. 24 Marietta (Ohio) on Tuesday, March 5. SJU then travels southeast for four games March 7-9 in Ft. Myers.