Saint John's hosts Crown for the regular-season finale at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 5, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (24-14, 14-6 MIAC) completed the MIAC regular-season schedule with a doubleheader split at St. Scholastica yesterday (Saturday, May 3) in Duluth.

SJU was out-hit 14-4 and committed three errors in a 14-0 loss in the opener, but scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to take game two, 6-5. Both teams left 16 men on base across the two games as the Johnnies batted .231 (3-for-13) with runners in scoring position.

Game 1 – at St. Scholastica 14, Saint John's 0
St. Scholastica (22-18, 9-11 MIAC) scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and broke the game open with six more in the fourth, four in the fifth and two in the sixth.

The Saints were 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position to SJU's 0-for-5 performance in the opener.

Sophomore Carter Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) took the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in 3.1 innings. 

Sophomore center fielder Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) recorded two of his team's four hits.

Game 2 – Saint John's 6, at St. Scholastica 5
Down to its final strike and trailing 4-3, SJU plated two runs on a Texas-league single off the bat of sophomore second baseman Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) and made it 6-4 on an RBI single from junior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial).

Junior left fielder Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.) started the ninth inning with a single and junior shortstop Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) singled with one out. Senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) lined out to the shortstop for the second out before senior first baseman Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) roped an RBI single – his third hit of the game – up the middle to cut the deficit to one, 4-3. Matchey lifted a fly ball to no-man's land in shallow left-center field and the Saints' left fielder dove but could not come up with the catch to plate both Marquardt and freshman pinch runner Hudson Poole (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka). Matchey advanced to second on the throw home, which skipped to the backstop to grant him another base. Hemr then followed with a hard single through the left side for a 6-4 lead.

CSS made it 6-5 on an RBI groundout off freshman Drew Lange (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) but stranded the tying run on second base.

The Saints gained a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning.

Becker cut the Johnnies' deficit to one (2-1) with his record-breaking 14th home run of the season with one out in the top of the fifth inning. 

CSS made it 3-1 in the sixth inning, but Hemr smacked his fifth homer of the season in the top of the eighth. The home team scored an insurance run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth before the Johnnies' comeback.

Senior Kade Bowar (Burnsville, Minn.) gave up one run on two hits in two innings of relief for the win and Lange picked up his second save of the season.

Sophomore Hunter Hoen (Belle Plaine, Minn.) made the start and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings.

Best led the way at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance, while Amrhein, Hemr, Marquardt and Matchey added two hits apiece.

14 DINGERS: Becker's home run in game two at St. Scholastica, the 35th of his collegiate career, broke his tie with former teammate Ethan Roe '22 for the single-season program record with 14. Becker also became SJU's all-time leader in walks with his 83rd in game one and was intentionally walked in the nightcap. Becker is already SJU's all-time leader in at-bats (631), total bases (396), hits (221), games played (179), RBI (176), runs scored (170), walks (84), doubles (48) and home runs (35), and set the season record for RBI with 54 last spring. He is currently tied with Matt Boys '11 for the program record with 11 triples and is one run scored from the season record of 45 set by former teammate Owen Dauk '23 in 2023.

LATER THIS WEEK: The Johnnies will make their 15th-consecutive appearance and 17th overall in the double-elimination MIAC Tournament (established in 2003) this Thursday-Saturday (May 8-10) in Collegeville. Third-seeded SJU faces second-seeded Bethel in the night game at 7 p.m. Thursday following the opener between top-seeded Gustavus Adolphus and fourth-seeded St. Olaf at 2:30 p.m.

STAT COMPARISONS
Batting Average
-SJU, .310
-CC, .296

Slugging Percentage
-SJU, .474
-CC, .440

ERA
-SJU, 4.87
-CC, 5.10

Opponent Batting Average
-SJU, .265
-CC, .288

Fielding Percentage
-SJU, .957
-CC, .938

A LOOK AT THE POLARS: Crown (21-15, 16-5 UMAC) locked up the second seed in this weekend's UMAC Tournament with a 2-1 record at Northwestern on Friday and Saturday. Freshman Kyler Thruston leads the team in batting (.373), hits (50), runs scored (52) and stolen bases (22), while sophomore Bryan Gerbers boasts a .603 slugging percentage thanks to eight home runs and 11 doubles with 50 RBI. Senior Ryan Vondracek is 5-3 with a 2.82 ERA and a team-best 55 strikeouts in 54.1 innings, while graduate student Jacob Van Dam is 6-2 with a 4.48 ERA and 52 strikeouts in a team-best 62.1 innings on the mound.

LAST SPRING: SJU wrapped up non-conference play with a 7-6 loss to Crown last April 29 (2024) in Collegeville. The Polars scored what proved to be the game-winning runs, unearned with two outs, in the top of the eighth inning to hand SJU its fourth one-run loss of the season.

SJU recorded 10 first-pitch outs at the plate and finished 4-for-16 with runners on base and 1-for-10 with two outs in the defeat.

Junior pitcher Vinny Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) made his second start of the season and set down the first 13 batters faced, but did not record the decision. He allowed one hit and struck out four with one walk in five innings pitched. Three relievers surrendered 11 hits and the seven runs (four earned) over the next three frames.

Left fielder Jack Schleper '24 gave SJU a quick 2-0 lead with a two-run homer, his fourth of the season and 15th of his career, with two outs in the bottom of the first inning and senior catcher Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.) made it 4-0 with another two-run shot – his third of the season – in the bottom of the second.

Ashton Long tied the game with a grand slam – a ball that looked to be a routine flyball that the jet stream carried over the fence in right field – in the top of the sixth inning.

Crown gained a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh inning, but the Johnnies answered with two runs in the bottom half for their final advantage of the ballgame. First baseman Jackson Peter reached via error to start the rally and Mellgren was hit by a pitch. Right fielder Rodney Erickson roped his 12th double of the season to plate Peter and Becker gave the home team the lead when he laced a 0-2 pitch to left field for an RBI single two batters later.

The Johnnies, however, left the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. The jet stream failed to aid SJU in the ninth inning as Erickson and second baseman Owen Dauk '23 recorded loud outs to the warning track.

Quinn Krueger took the hard-luck loss, his first of the season (2-1 record), after he allowed the two unearned runs on four hits in the eighth inning.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 4-1 all-time against Crown on the baseball diamond, of which all five games were played in Collegeville. Last year's 7-6 loss was the lone defeat for the Johnnies in the series.