The Johnnie baseball team travels to face Bethany Lutheran for a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday, March 24, at ISG Field in Mankato. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-4, 0-0 MIAC) went 5-2 during its spring-break trip last week (March 14-20) in Florida. The Johnnies started the trip with an 8-4 loss to Ohio Northern and rebounded with a 6-2 victory over Wisconsin-Stevens Point. SJU's doubleheader against Worcester State was canceled due to weather and the Johnnies finished the trip with a 4-1 record over the final five games. SJU defeated Wisconsin-Stout 10-4 before Wisconsin-La Crosse earned a 5-4 walk-off in the ninth inning. SJU then swept Rutgers-Camden (N.J.) - 7-2 and 13-2 -  and capped the trip with a 10-1 win over Ramapo (N.J.).

MIAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Freshman Max Edwards (Rockford, Minn.) and junior first baseman Justin Brooks (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) were named the MIAC Baseball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, today (Monday, March 23).

The MIAC weekly honor is the second-consecutive for Edwards, who had another stellar outing in SJU's trip finale on Friday, allowing an unearned run on two hits in eight innings of the 10-1 win over Ramapo (N.J.). He struck out nine and walked two against the Roadrunners, who went 28-16 and reached the NCAA Tournament last spring. 

Edwards is now 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA, .120 opponent batting average and 24 strikeouts in 22 innings this spring. Opponents are batting .105 (2-19) against him with runners on base and .185 (5-27) with two outs.

Brooks, meanwhile, batted .500 (9-for-18) with a 1.293 OPS, seven RBI, seven runs scored, a home run and a double as SJU went 4-1 last week (Monday-Friday) in Florida. He batted .444 (4-for-9) with runners in scoring position and .500 (3-for-6) with two outs. 

Brooks is batting .517 (15-for-29) with 10 RBI and 10 runs scored during a current 10-game hit streak.

TRIP STATS
Offense: SJU batted .321 and outscored the opposition 54-24 thanks to 20 extra-base hits (nine doubles, three triples and eight home runs). The Johnnies went .378 (48-for-127) at the plate with runners on base, including .321 (26-for-81) with runners in scoring position, and .338 (25-for-74) with two outs. Individually, Brooks led SJU in batting average (.480), hits (12) and runs scored (9). Junior designated hitter Zach Helfmann (St. Louis Park, Minn.) was next in batting average (.409) and led the Johnnies with a .955 slugging percentage thanks to three doubles and three home runs. 

Pitching: The Johnnies' pitching staff posted a 2.93 ERA and a .236 opponent batting average with 61 strikeouts to 15 walks in 58.1 innings. The opposition totaled 14 extra-base hits (11 doubles, a triple and two homers) but batted only .215 (14-for-65) with runners in scoring position in the seven games. In addition to the aforementioned Edwards, junior Matthew Magnuson (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) also made two starts and went 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA and six strikeouts in 11.2 innings.

STAT COMPARISONS
Batting Average
-SJU, .319
-BLC, .318

Slugging Percentage
-BLC, .520
-SJU, .473

On-Base Percentage
-BLC, .448
-SJU, .407

Fielding Percentage
-BLC, .968
-SJU, .953

ERA
-SJU, 3.18
-BLC, 3.93

Opponent Batting Average
-BLC, .218
-SJU, .249

A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Bethany Lutheran (9-2, 3-0 UMAC) hosts SJU Tuesday following a three-game sweep of Martin Luther (13-1/7 inn., 10-2 and 11-3) last weekend (March 21-22). BLC and junior pitcher Aidan Byrd allowed a run in the first inning of game one, but shu tout Martin Luther the rest of the way with four strikeouts. Classmate Nate Hoffman followed Byrd's performance on the mound with a nine-strikeout effort in the second game before the Vikings emptied the bullpen with eight pitchers - who combined for 12 strikeouts - in game three. Freshman center fielder Jayden Knutson batted .500 (5-for-10) with six runs and four RBI in the series. Sophomore catcher Gary Swann hit .600 (6-for-10) with six RBI and seven runs – including two homers and two doubles. 

THE LAST TIME: SJU suffered an 8-6 loss to Bethany Lutheran in the first game of an incomplete doubleheader that started at 5:30 a.m. on March 2, 2022 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. 

Down 5-2 in the top of the seventh inning, BLC scored three runs to tie the game - before an out was recorded - and three more in the top of the ninth. 

The Johnnies built a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs each in the second and fifth innings. A walk and back-to-back singles scored the game's first run – an RBI single from first baseman Zach Selchow '23 – and second baseman Owen Dauk '24 made it 2-0 with a squeeze bunt. 

Designated hitter Max Nyrop '23 extended the Johnnies' lead to 3-0 with a two-out, RBI single in the fifth and shortstop Matthew Hayford '23 scored on a wild pitch. Hayford ended the scoring with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

BLC cut its deficit in half (4-2) with two runs in the sixth, though third baseman Joe Becker '24 gave a run back to SJU with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom half of the inning. 

Kody Dalen '24 made the start on the mound, the fourth of his collegiate career, and struck out five with three hits allowed in four scoreless innings.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 7-2 all-time against Bethany Lutheran on the diamond, but Tuesday's doubleheader is the first between the two programs in Mankato.

-W, 20-1 (April 24, 2006 in Collegeville)
-L, 1-8 and L, 3-6 (March 17, 2010 at the Metrodome)
-W, 7-0 and W, 6-0 (March 6, 2012 in Tucson, Ariz.)
-W, 2-1/8 inn. and W, 2-1/8 inn. (March 10, 2021 at U.S. Bank Stadium)
-W, 5-3 and W, 12-5 (March 21, 2021 in Collegeville)
-L, 6-8/9 inn. (March 2, 2022 at U.S. Bank Stadium)