Saint John's baseball travels to Florida for eight games – five in Davenport and three in Winter Haven – over a span of seven days from March 14-20.
 
THE TRIP
-Saturday, March 14: Ohio Northern, 9:45 a.m. ET (Winter Haven, COL #4) 
-Sunday, March 15: Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 10 a.m. ET (Davenport, NERP #3) 
-Monday, March 16: Worcester State (Mass.) – Doubleheader, 3:30 p.m. ET (Davenport, NERP #2) 
-Tuesday, March 17: Wisconsin-Stout, 9:15 a.m. ET (Winter Haven, COL #4) 
-Wednesday, March 18: Wisconsin-La Crosse, 5 p.m. ET (Davenport, NERP #4)
-Thursday, March 19: Rutgers-Camden (N.J.), 4 p.m. ET (Winter Haven, COL #3) 
-Friday, March 20: Ramapo (N.J.), 10 a.m. ET (Davenport, NERP #1)
 
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-2 overall) won its second-straight, three-game series last weekend (Feb. 7-8) at Simpson (Iowa). 

Game 1 – at Simpson 5, Saint John's 4 (Saturday)
The Johnnies loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning but proceeded to go down on strikes on six-straight pitches to end the game. SJU batted 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-9 with two outs in the loss.

The Storm took advantage of two errors for the game's first run, unearned, in the first inning and tacked on two more in the second for a 3-0 lead.

The score held until the top of the seventh inning when junior Justin Brooks (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) slapped a pinch-hit, two-run single with two outs. Simpson responded, however, with a single run in the bottom half of the inning to gain a 4-2 cushion.

Freshman shortstop Will Koeppen (Minnetonka, Minn.) and junior catcher Mason McCurdy (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater Area) singled to start the eighth inning and senior third baseman Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) walked with one out to load the bases. Junior second baseman Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) followed with a ground ball to the third baseman, who attempted the force-out at home but the throw missed the mark and two runs scored to tie the game.

The Storm again, however, answered with what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Junior pinch-hitter Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North) was hit by a pitch to start the ninth inning and his pinch runner, senior Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.), advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior center fielder Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) in the next at-bat. Koeppen walked and both runners moved up on a wild pitch before McCurdy was intentionally walked to load the bases. Simpson's Dylan Schlee clamped down, however, and struck out the next two Johnnies on three pitches each.

Junior Carter Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) allowed four runs (three earned) in the no-decision. He allowed nine hits and struck out three (to two walks) in seven innings.

Sophomore Ben Rudser (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) took the loss, allowing the deciding run on three hits.

Game 2 – Saint John's 20, at Simpson 9 (Sunday)
The Johnnies, similar to the previous day's 5-4 loss to the Storm, fell behind 3-0 after the first two innings. This time, however, the visitors batted around three times with five crooked innings – five runs in the third and fourth, and six in the sixth – to blow open the game.

The Johnnies' top-three hitters in the lineup combined to go 10-for-17 with eight runs scored, four RBI and five extra-base hits.

Wareham collected a career-high four hits (4-for-7) with two RBI, while senior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) went 3-for-6 with a double, home run, five RBI and three runs scored.

Senior Noah Jensen (St. Cloud, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) was awarded his first collegiate win in relief, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts over the game's final four innings.

Junior Hunter Hoen (Belle Plaine, Minn.) made the start and surrendered six runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings. He struck out six and issued four free passes (two walks and two hit batsmen). 

Senior Vinny Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) gave up two runs on three hits in 1.2 innings, while classmate and fellow student teacher Jack Dobesh (Edina, Minn.) forced an inning-ending double play.

Game 3 – Saint John's 4, at Simpson 1 (Sunday)
Junior Matthew Magnuson (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts in six innings to lead SJU to the Sunday sweep. Simpson scored its only run of the game on a solo homer in the fifth inning.

Schwellenbach got SJU on the board, scoring on a wild pitch after smacking his second triple of the season in the third inning. He added an RBI single in the top of the fifth to score Amrhein, a pinch runner. Matchey drove in another on a two-out RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

After a pair of strikeouts opened the eighth inning, SJU singled in four-consecutive at-bats, capped with an RBI from Brooks for the 4-1 final.

Freshman Max Edwards (Rockford, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate save with no hits and a strikeout in three innings of work.

25 HITS: SJU tied a program record with 25 hits – set in a 21-1 victory over Minnesota-Morris on March 29, 2016 in Collegeville – in last Saturday's 20-9 win at Simpson. Ten of Saturday's 25 hits – six doubles, three triples and a home run – were for extra bases.

5 HITS: Matchey batted .500 (7-for-14) with a 1.349 OPS, four runs scored, three RBI, two doubles, two stolen bases (2-for-2) and a triple last weekend at Simpson (Iowa). He became the fifth Johnnie to record five hits in a game – the first since Dominick Schleper '18 on April 29, 2018 at St. Scholastica – with a 5-for-6 performance and nine total bases (two doubles and a triple) at the plate in Sunday's 20-9 win. Matchey has a hit or more in all six games so far this season and is batting .393 (11-for-28). 

THE OPPONENTS 
-Ohio Northern: The Polar Bears are 6-1 overall and will have five invitational games under its belt before playing SJU on Saturday morning…ONU is batting .279 so far this season, while the pitching staff maintains a 3.79 ERA…Ohio Northern placed second in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with a 13-3 record (23-17 overall) last spring…Saturday's matchup is the first meeting between SJU and ONU since 2015, where the Polar Bears won 14-8 (ONU leads 4-2 all-time). 

-Wisconsin-Stevens Point: The Pointers are 2-2 overall and open their trip with SJU Sunday (March 15)…UWSP is batting .259, while the pitching corps touts a 3.35 ERA and .233 opponent batting average…the Pointers finished sixth in last year's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings with a 10-18 record (15-25 overall)…Sunday's meeting is the third between SJU and UWSP…the Pointers won the most recent showdown, 12-5, on March 11, 2013 at the Metrodome. 

-Worcester State (Mass.): The Lancers are 0-1 in the early season and face Benedictine (Ill.) and Mass.-Dartmouth Sunday before Monday's (March 16) tilt vs. SJU…WSU mustered six runs off 12 hits, while the pitching staff notched eight strikeouts in a 12-6 loss at Springfield (Mass.) on March 7…the Lancers placed fourth in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), going 12-9 (23-14 overall) in 2025…Monday's meeting is the first between the two schools. 

-Wisconsin-Stout: The Blue Devils are 0-2 to start the 2026 season and play three games before facing the Johnnies on Tuesday (March 17)…Coe (Iowa) handed UWS a sweep – 11-0 and 15-1 – on Feb. 21 in Jacksonville, Ill…the Blue Devils went 12-16 (14-26 overall) to finish fifth in the WIAC last spring…the Johnnies are 5-2 against Stout on the diamond, including a doubleheader sweep (7-1, 9-8) in the most recent meeting on March 14, 2011, in Chandler, Ariz. 

-Wisconsin-La Crosse: The Eagles are 1-2 overall and play three games before squaring off with the Johnnies on Wednesday (March 18)…the Eagles finished second in the WIAC behind Wisconsin-Whitewater with a 23-5 record (35-11 overall) and reached the NCAA Tournament last season…SJU is 2-8 against the Eagles…the last meeting was a late-night, doubleheader split – a 1-0 win and no-hitter from Nick Noack '18, and a 6-0 loss – on  Feb. 26-27, 2017, at U.S. Bank Stadium. 

-Rutgers-Camden (N.J.): The Scarlet Raptors are 3-4 to begin the 2026 campaign and play five games, including No. 21 Mount Union on Saturday, before battling the Johnnies on Thursday (March 19)…Camden is batting .310, with four players registering 10 or more hits…the Scarlet Raptors went 8-10 (30-17 overall) and finished sixth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) last season, but reached the NCAA Tournament with four wins in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament…last year's 11-0 win for SJU was the first meeting.

-Ramapo (N.J.): The Roadrunners are 6-1 overall and play six games, including MIAC-foe Bethel, before taking on SJU on Friday (March 20)…Ramapo finished fifth, just ahead of Rutgers-Camden, in the NJAC with a 10-8 record (28-16 overall) and reached the NCAA Tournament…Friday's meeting is the first between the two schools.

LAST YEAR'S TRIP: SJU went 4-5 during last year's spring-break trip on March 16-22 (2025) in Florida. The Johnnies started the trip with a 6-0 shutout of Simpson (Iowa) and swept Martin Luther (18-2, 16-0) before dropping its next two games to the College of New Jersey. The Johnnies blanked then-No.19 Rutgers-Camden (N.J.) 11-0 and closed the trip with three-straight losses to then-No. 2 Johns Hopkins (Md.), then-No. 7 Denison (Ohio) and Union (N.Y.). 

Offense
SJU batted .294 and outscored the opposition 66-52 thanks to 25 extra-base hits (15 doubles, two triples and eight home runs). The Johnnies went .303 (44-for-145) at the plate with runners on base and .272 (28-for-103) with runners in scoring position. Individually, third baseman Joe Becker '24 led the way with a .393 average (11-for-28), including four doubles, three homers, 12 RBI and nine runs scored. First baseman Owen Best '25 was next at .364 (8-for-22) with a homer, three doubles and five runs scored. 

Pitching
The Johnnies' pitching staff posted a 6.50 ERA – thanks to 57 free passes (45 walks and 12 hit batsmen – despite a .272 opponent batting average with a total of 55 strikeouts in 63.2 innings last week. The opposing teams totaled 22 extra-base hits (17 doubles, one triple and four homers) in the nine games. Will Fazio '25 pitched 8.2 scoreless innings (two appearances/one start) and registered a .038 opponent batting average with 11 strikeouts (and nine walks) on the trip.