Saint John's baseball opens a five-game homestand with a non-conference contest against Minnesota-Morris at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-8, 4-2 MIAC) battled Hamline to a doubleheader split yesterday (Monday, April 8) at CHS Field in St. Paul.

A pinch-hit grand slam with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted Hamline to a 5-1 win in game one but SJU batted 8-for-17 with runners on base and 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the 8-4 victory in the nightcap. The Johnnies left nine men on base and batted only 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position (2-for-13 with runners on) in the loss.

Game 1 (at Hamline 5, Saint John's 1)
An infield single with two outs – a pitch after the umpire flinched on calling strike three to end the inning – came around to score on an RBI single to give Hamline a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

SJU left the bases loaded in the third and fourth innings, and left the tying run on third base in the fifth. The Johnnies final broke through with the game-tying run in the top of the sixth inning. Senior left fielder Jack Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) started the frame with a double and advanced to third on a groundout from senior designated hitter Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit). Junior first baseman Jackson Peter (Elrosa, Minn./Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa) walked before junior catcher Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.) roped an RBI single through the left side of the infield to tie the game at 1-1. A strikeout and groundout ended the threat, however.

The strike zone shrunk for Kody Dalen (Carver, Minn./Chanhassen), as the senior issued three-straight walks to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Jeremy Klick (Maple Grove, Minn.) came on in relief, but pinch hitter Jack Rheineck smacked the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall for the go-ahead grand slam.

Dalen took the loss (2-2 record), allowing four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and walked five. Dalen is now fourth in program history with 161 career strikeouts, 40 from the record of 201 owned by Joel Swenson '99. 

Game 2 (Saint John's 8, at Hamline 4)
SJU broke out of the gate with seven hits and scored six two-out runs in the top of the first inning. Senior center fielder Jordan Amundson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tripled home a run and scored when the throw skipped into the SJU dugout. Schleper followed with his second double of the day (35th of his career) and scored on an RBI single off the bat of senior designated hitter Andrew Mahlke (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen). Peter reached on an infield single and Mellgren tallied his second RBI single of the afternoon to make it 4-0. Sophomore shortstop Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) ended the scoring with a two-run double.

The Pipers loaded the bases with a single and two walks (one intentional) with nobody out in the bottom of the second inning, but senior pitcher Griffin Larson (Edina, Minn.) tallied three-straight strikeouts to end the inning. HU later cut its deficit to 6-4 with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth inning.

SJU tacked on some insurance with another two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning. Marquardt followed a walk from Mellgren with a single, his career-high third of the game, before senior right fielder Rodney Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) made it 7-4 with an RBI single. A wild pitch plated Marquardt for the four-run lead (8-4). The visitors finished 9-for-22 (.409) with two outs on the day.

Larson improved to 3-0 on the year with the win, allowing the four runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked three. Larson entered the day as the NCAA Division III leader in both ERA (0.47) and hits allowed per nine innings (2.37) and was fourth in WHIP (0.68).

Senior Quinn Krueger (Woodbury, Minn.) held HU in check for the four-inning save. He allowed only one hit with five strikeouts in relief.

Marquardt led the Johnnies' bats with a 4-for-7 performance in the twin bill, while Amundson and Mellgren added three hits apiece.

NATIONAL STATS: The Johnnies are currently (through April 8) fourth in NCAA Division III in both hits allowed per nine innings (7.24) and WHIP (1.17), and are eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.85). Larson is fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (4.13), while junior Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) is eighth in walks allowed per nine innings (0.58) and ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.50).

RECORD BOOK WATCH: Becker and Schleper are currently tied for third in school history with 35 doubles, six from the program record of 41 owned by Matt Butorac '11. Becker is also fifth in RBI (103), tied for seventh in home runs (14) and seventh in total bases (234). He is tied with Amundson for eighth with seven triples. The program's all-time leader in hit-by-pitch with 58, senior second baseman Owen Dauk (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) is also tied for second in SJU history in runs scored (132), tied with Erickson for fourth in triples (8), fifth in walks (72) and tied for ninth in doubles (29). Dauk needs two runs to tie Wyatt Ulrich '20 for the SJU record. 

A LOOK AT THE COUGARS: Minnesota-Morris (9-11, 4-2 UMAC) dropped its series opener to Northland (Wis.) by a 15-11 score on Friday but bounced back with a pair of seven-inning wins – 25-9 and 28-17 – on Saturday. UMM hit 14 extra-base hits - nine home runs and five doubles – but allowed 35 earned runs on 30 hits over the three games (23 innings pitched). Sophomore Ashton Pauly leads the team in batting (.421) and runs scored (24), while junior Ben Meuser is batting .377 with a team-best 26 hits and 40 RBI. Meuser leads Division III in RBI per game (2.11) and is ninth in total RBI. He and junior Ryan McGie have six home runs apiece. Freshman Landen Meyerdirk has four homers. The Cougars' pitching staff allows a .302 opponent batting average with a 7.84 ERA.

THE LAST TIME: SJU set a program record with its 14th consecutive win with a 16-3 non-conference victory (in seven innings) over Minnesota-Morris the last time these two teams met on May 4, 2021, in Collegeville.

Catcher Ethan Roe '22 hit for the cycle and drove in five runs as SJU totaled 19 hits in six innings at the plate. The Johnnies batted around in the first two innings and posted 14 runs on 14 hits through the first three frames. The game was called in the seventh inning due to the 10-run rule.

Roe started his day with a two-run triple in the first inning, followed by an RBI double in the second and a two-run homer in the third. The home run, his 12th of the season, tied SJU's single-season record set by former teammate Joey Stock '20 in 2019. Roe completed the cycle with a single in his final at-bat in the fourth inning. 

SJU changed over its entire lineup in the bottom of the fifth (pinch hitters) and top of the sixth (in the field).

Outfielder Soren Roe '22 went 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and four runs scored, while third baseman Zach Selchow '23 went 3-for-3 with three RBI. Designated hitter Max Nyrop '23 extended his hit streak to 14 games with a solo home run, his eighth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Schleper moved his hit streak to 10 games by going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Erickson and shortstop Matt Hayford '23 each added two singles.

The Cougars mustered only four hits, though three came in the top of the first inning off Jack Haring '23. The third hit was a three-run, inside-the-park home run by UMM's Joe Pelle. Erickson slid in an attempt to catch Pelle's bloop, but the ball skipped past him and rolled to the center-field fence. Haring made his first collegiate start and gave up the three runs with three strikeouts in two innings of work.

Southpaw Sam Hanson '22 struck out six in three innings of hitless relief to earn the win. Peyton Yurek '22 allowed one hit in the game's final two innings.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 18-21 all-time against Minnesota-Morris, including a 10-9 record in Collegeville. The record improves to 11-8 (7-2 on the home diamond) since 1980. SJU has won each of the last seven meetings overall with a 77-23 run differential.