Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. – Saint John's baseball completed its weekend trip to Arizona with an 8-5 loss to Carthage (Wis.) on Sunday, March 9.
The Johnnies (4-2 overall) committed five errors in the field and collected 11 hits, but went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, 4-for-21 with runners on base and left 10 men on.
Senior third baseman
Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) finished 4-for-5 with a home run, while sophomore designated hitter
Zach Helfmann (St. Louis Park, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a triple. The triple led off the bottom of the second inning, trailing on the scoreboard 1-0, but Helfmann was stranded there.
Becker batted .786 (11-for-14) with an .842 on-base percentage, 2.271 OPS, 10 runs scored, two home runs and seven RBI in the trip's four games.
A solo home run with two outs put the Firebirds ahead in the top of the second inning and the visitors on the scoreboard added a single run in each of the next two innings for a 3-0 lead.
Junior left fielder
Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.) scored Helfmann from first base with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth.
Carthage (5-3 overall), however, answered with three runs in the fifth, added an unearned run in the sixth and tacked on another in the eighth for an 8-1 lead.
Freshman second baseman
Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) started a three-run eighth inning on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. Sophomore catcher
Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North) followed with an RBI double and sophomore center fielder
Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 8-4 with an RBI groundout.
Becker led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo homer – his second of the season and 22nd of his career – but the Johnnies led junior first baseman
Collin Kray (Little Falls, Minn.) at first base with three-consecutive strikeouts to end the game.
Senior
Connor Hartley (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount) took the loss (1-1 record), allowing seven runs (five earned) on 12 hits in seven innings. He struck out three and did not issue a free pass.
The Johnnies travel to the Orlando area for nine games over spring break (March 16-22).