Saint John's baseball plays host to Saint Mary's for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 20, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (18-9, 7-3 MIAC) offense started slowly in a doubleheader split with Augsburg yesterday (April 18) at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis. The Johnnies issued seven free passes (four hit batsmen and three walks) and committed three errors in game one's 4-3 defeat. The visitors recorded only three hits in the loss, two from junior catcher Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.), and went 0-for-7 with two outs. 

SJU erupted, however, for 18 runs on 16 hits in the 18-5, 10-run rule victory in the nightcap. Senior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) ended the day 5-for-8 with six RBI and five runs scored on the day. 

Game 1 (at Augsburg 4, Saint John's 3)
Augsburg gained an early 1-0 lead with an unearned run and left the bases loaded in the first inning.

Schleper started a three-run rally in the top of the second inning with a one-out single. Senior designated hitter Andrew Mahlke (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) reached on an error and junior first baseman Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) walked to load the bases. Mellgren followed with a two-run single up the middle to give SJU the lead and sophomore shortstop Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) brought in Peter with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.

The Auggies cut their deficit to 3-2 in the third and loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth, but senior Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen) induced a dribbler back to him for the force out at home and struck out two to escape the threat.

Augsburg's Stanley Regguinti, who entered the doubleheader as the MIAC leader in batting average (.439), singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. He scored on wild pitch – a 0-2 count – to tie the game at 3-3.

Senior Jeremy Klick (Maple Grove, Minn.) plunked the first batter faced on his first pitch of the bottom half of the seventh inning. A sac bunt moved the baserunner to second and a groundout to first base, following an infield single, gave the Auggies runners at second and third with two outs. A throwing error pulled Peter off the bag at first to allow the game-winning run to score.

Dalen allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits in the no-decision. He struck out six but walked three and hit three in four innings. The six strikeouts enabled Dalen to pass Connor Cline '13 for third in program history with 167.

Senior Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) entered the game with a 2-0 count and a runner on first base with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth inning. He gave up an earned run on two hits in two innings. Klick took the loss (1-1 record).

Game 2 (Saint John's 18, at Augsburg 5; 7 inn.)
Senior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) started the nightcap with a single and scored on an RBI double from senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) for a quick 1-0 lead.

Peter walked with one out in the top of the second, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out, RBI single from Marquardt for a 2-0 advantage.

The lead would then go on exchange possession over the next four half-innings. The Auggies answered with three runs, two with two outs, on three hits in the bottom of the second. The lead was short-lived, however. Senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) singled with one out in the top of the third inning and Schleper smacked a two-run homer with two outs for a 4-3 lead. The long ball was Schleper's second of the season and 13th of his career. 

The lead swung back into the home team's favor – 5-4 – when it plated two more runs, one earned, in the bottom of the third.

The Johnnies broke open the game with seven runs on five hits in the top of the fourth inning. Marquardt walked with one out, followed by singles from Erickson and Dauk to load the bases for Becker's grand slam. Senior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) doubled in the next at-bat and scored on an RBI single from Schleper to make it 9-5. Senior designated hitter Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) was hit by a pitch and three wild pitches brought both baserunners in for an 11-5 advantage.

A ground-rule double from Schleper, the 40th of his career, gave the Johnnies a 12-5 lead in the sixth and he scored on a two-out single from Peter. Schleper is now one double from the SJU record of 41 owned by Matt Butorac '11. The four runs scored in game two were a career high and his four hits (4-for-5) tied a career high.

Marquardt walked to start the seventh inning and scoring on Erickson's 10th triple of his career. He is now tied with Wyatt Ulrich '20 for second-most in SJU history, one from the record of 11 held by Matt Boys '11.

Dauk walked and stole second before Schleper dropped a two-out, two-run single to center for his fifth and sixth RBI of the game. Schleper advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Best to give SJU a 17-5 lead. Mellgren ended the game's scoring when his deep drive forced the left fielder to jump and the ball bounced out of his glove.

Senior Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) improved to 4-0 this season with the win, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits. He struck out three and walked four in five innings.

Junior Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) did not allow a hit in the final two innings of relief.

NEW RBI KING: Becker's grand slam to right-center in the top of the fourth inning of game two broke SJU's program record for RBI – 122 set by former teammate Max Nyrop '23 – with 123. The grand slam was Becker's second in the last three games and his 10th home run of the season. The home run was the 19th of Becker's career, which ties him with Matt Ode '98 for fourth in program history. The 10 homers are tied for fifth-most in a single season, three from the record of 13 hit by former teammate Ethan Roe '22 in 2021.

RECORD BOOK WATCH: In addition to his new record for RBI and current standing on the home-run list, Becker is fourth in program history in both doubles (36) and total bases (260), fifth in runs scored (113), tied for ninth in triples (7) and 10th in hits (153). J. Schleper is second on SJU's all-time doubles list with 40, one from the record of 41 held by Matt Butorac '11, and seventh in total bases (243). Erickson is tied for second in triples (10), one from the record of 11 owned by Matt Boys '11, and is eighth in runs scored (108). SJU's all-time leader in runs scored (144) and hit-by-pitch (61), Dauk is fifth in walks (73), tied for fifth in triples (8), eighth in doubles (31), ninth in total bases (232) and tied for 10th in stolen bases (27). Dalen is third with 167 strikeouts, 34 from the record of 201 owned by Joel Swenson '99. He is also 10th in program history in both pitching appearances (39) and starts (26).

ONE HIT AWAY: Amundson needs one hit to become the 39th Johnnie to reach 100 in a career. He recorded his 100th collegiate hit, thanks to the five he collected as a St. Thomas student-athlete from 2020-21, last Saturday (April 13) against Carleton. He is currently tied for fifth in program history in triples (8) and is sixth in walks (53).

NATIONAL STATS: SJU is currently (through April 18) seventh in NCAA Division III in WHIP (1.23), eighth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.66) and 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.60). Individually, junior Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) is fourth in walks allowed per nine innings (0.71) and sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.33), and Larson is 10th in hits allowed per nine innings (4.97).

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU leads the MIAC in slugging percentage in conference play, while Saint Mary's is second in batting average and third in fielding percentage.

Batting Average
2. SMU, .325 (.296 overall)
5. SJU, .293 (.298 overall)

Slugging Percentage
1. SJU, .495 (.481 overall)
5. SMU, .429 (.396 overall)

ERA
4. SMU, 3.91 (5.17 overall)
6. SJU, 5.17 (4.16 overall)

Opponent Batting Average
5. SJU, .263 (.228 overall)
6. SMU, .266 (.287 overall)

Fielding Percentage
3. SMU, .972 (.957 overall)
5. SJU, .959 (.954 overall)

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (16-10, 9-3 MIAC) split its second-straight doubleheader at home to Gustavus Adolphus yesterday (April 18) in Winona. SMU cruised to a 13-2 win in game one, but totaled only four hits with three errors in the field in game two's 4-1 loss. Senior Cameron Weber leads the team in batting (.367), runs scored (25) and RBI (20). He is also 11th in Division III in stolen bases per game (0.92) thanks to a 24-for-27 performance on the base paths in 26 games. Senior Dylan Westcott is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 31 innings (nine appearances with two starts), while senior Addison Hochevar is 3-3 with a 4.96 ERA and 18 strikeouts in a team-best seven starts (32.2 innings).

LAST SPRING: SJU opened the 2023 MIAC schedule with a sweep of Saint Mary's, 6-0 and 10-3, last April 7 in Collegeville.

The Johnnies hit a grand slam in each game – the first from catcher Matt Herold '23 in the second inning of game one and the second off the bat of Becker in the fifth inning of game two – and batted .409 (27-for-66) on the afternoon.

Game 1 (at Saint John's 6, Saint Mary's 0)
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. Peter singled for his third-consecutive at-bat and scored, unearned, in the fifth and Best brought in Dauk 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.

Dalen 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). 

Game 2 (at Saint John's 10, Saint Mary's 3)
A leadoff double came around to score, unearned, for SMU's 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 senior 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 Schleper 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.

Southpaw Casey Trapp '23 evened his season record at 2-2 with the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out five.

Jack Haring '23 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. Junior 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.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 57-43 against Saint Mary's on the baseball diamond since 1974, including a 32-20 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 12 of the last 15 meetings overall, of which all three losses were decided by two runs or less, and eight of the last 10 at home.