Saint John's baseball hosts two mid-week doubleheaders in Collegeville, beginning with a 3:30 p.m. twinbill against Northwestern (Minn.) on Tuesday, April 28. The Johnnies return to MIAC play at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, against Carleton. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (20-12, 10-6 MIAC) went 3-0 over the weekend.

at Saint John's 10, Minnesota-Morris 9 (Friday, April 24)
SJU overcame an early 7-0 deficit to edge Minnesota-Morris 10-9 on Friday night. SJU trailed the Cougars by seven by the third inning and began to chip away at the lead with a three-run fourth. The Johnnies scored another in the sixth and three each in the seventh and eighth to seal the victory.

Junior Zach Helfmann (St. Louis Park, Minn.) entered the game in the sixth inning as a pinch hitter and accounted for six of SJU's runs, driving in five and scoring one of his own. He finished 3-for-3 with two doubles.

Morris took a quick lead, getting seven of its first eight batters on base to start the game. The Cougars scored on a pair of RBI singles and one of five Johnnie errors on the day. The Cougars doubled their lead in the third and loaded the bases with no outs but hit into a double play and ended the inning with a groundout to senior pitcher Jack Dobesh (Edina, Minn.) on the mound. 

SJU broke the visitors' shutout after senior third baseman Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) delivered a two-run shot over the right-field fence for his second homer in as many games and third of the season. Sophomore left fielder Grayson Fuchs (Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville Area) grounded out to add another run to the tally, scoring senior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial), who got on base via a single and advanced on a Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North) double. 

Wareham walked to start the sixth inning, setting the stage for Helfmann's first RBI double of the day to make it 7-4. 

The Cougars added an unearned run off sophomore Ben Rudser (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) to their tally in the seventh. 

The Johnnies brought the game within one in the next inning, taking advantage of a pair of Morris errors and three hits to score three runs, all with two outs. Hemr singled and Wareham was hit by a pitch to put two on for Helfmann, who drove two runs home with another double. He scored on a fielding error by the right fielder for the 8-7 score.

Morris added their last of the game on a failed pick-off attempt and throwing error to go up by two in the top of the eighth. 

SJU loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame but UMM sat down the next two batters swinging. Senior left fielder Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.) made his first plate appearance of the game and tallied an infield single to score one and re-load the bases for Helfmann. He was again up to the task, hitting a two-run single to take the lead. 

Junior pitcher Brady Drkula (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) allowed a single in the ninth, but junior Mason McCurdy (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater Area) threw out the pinch runner trying to steal for the second out. Junior Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) made the final out in center field for the comeback victory.

Hemr was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs, and five other Johnnies had a hit. 

Six different Johnnies spent some time on the mound. Freshman Joe Baldus (Farmington, Minn.) made his first collegiate appearance and pitched the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts. Sophomore Dylan Marciulionis (Esko, Minn.) was the only pitcher to throw for more than an inning, going for 4.0 with four runs on four hits and three strikeouts. Senior Noah Jensen (St. Cloud, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) earned the win (2-0 record), surrendering one hit and an unearned run. Drkula collected the save in the ninth. UMM went 0-for-7 with two outs in the game.

Saint John's 7, at Augsburg 3; Saint John's 14, at Augsburg 0/7 inn. (Saturday, April 25)
The Johnnies climbed into third place in the MIAC standings with a sweep at Augsburg – 7-3 and 14-0 in seven innings – on Saturday in Minneapolis. The Johnnies batted .365 (23-for-63) on the day, including 13-for-30 (.433) with runners in scoring position, and four pitchers held Augsburg to a .196 average and nine singles (9-for-46).

McCurdy and freshman shortstop Will Koeppen (Minnetonka, Minn.) both went 4-for-8 in the doubleheader and combined for seven runs scored. McCurdy hit two doubles and drove in three, while Koeppen has now reached base safely in each of his last 20 games.

Game 1 – Saint John's 7, at Augsburg 3
SJU erupted for four runs to open the game's scoring in the top of the third inning. Amrhein and Schwellenbach were both hit by a pitch to start the frame and Koeppen reached to load the bases when his sacrifice bunt turned into a fielding error. 

Hemr brought in the first run with an RBI single in the next at-bat and junior second baseman Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) followed with a fielder's-choice RBI. Matchey stole second base before McCurdy plated Koeppen with an RBI groundout. Marquardt tallied the fourth run with a two-out, RBI single.

The Auggies answered, however, with three runs on two hits and three free passes (two walks and a hit batsmen) in the bottom half of the inning. 

The Johnnies chipped away with single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings. Koeppen padded the visitors' lead with a two-out, RBI single in the fourth and junior first baseman Justin Brooks (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) recorded the same in the fifth. Amrhein ended the scoring with an RBI double with one out in the seventh. 

Junior Matthew Magnuson (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) improved to 5-2 with the win, allowing the three runs on four hits in five innings. The reigning MIAC Pitcher of the week struck out one and issued five free passes (three walks and two hit batsmen).

Senior Vinny Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) allowed two hits and struck out two over the final two innings for his first collegiate save.

Game 2 – Saint John's 14, at Augsburg 0 (7 inn.)
The Johnnies totaled 12 runs – four in the first, five in the second and three in the third – on 12 hits over the game's first three innings. All nine Johnnie starters recorded a hit and/or RBI in the nightcap.

Freshman lefty Dylan Bloom (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) moved to 3-1 on the year with the victory. He surrendered three singles and struck out three over six scoreless innings.

Another southpaw, senior Easton Fleck (Waconia, Minn.), made his second collegiate appearance and completed the shutout in the seventh inning to invoke the 10-run rule.

Koeppen and McCurdy collected three hits apiece. Brooks drove in four with a 2-for-3 performance, while Matchey walked four times and crossed the plate on three occasions.

ANOTHER MIAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Bloom became the third Johnnie to be named the MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week earlier today for his performance at Augsburg. He is now 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA, .207 opponent batting average and 21 strikeouts (to eight walks) in 25.2 MIAC innings. Overall, Bloom touts a 3-1 record with a 2.48 ERA, .238 opponent batting average and 27 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.

STAT COMPARISONS
Batting Average
-SJU, .296
-CAR, .292
-UNW, .283

Slugging Percentage
-SJU, .413
-CAR, .399
-UNW, .369

On-Base Percentage
-UNW, .407
-SJU, .389
-CAR, .380

ERA
-SJU, 3.17
-UNW, 5.53
-CAR, 10.08

Opponent Batting Average
-SJU, .245
-UNW, .287
-CAR, .327

Fielding Percentage
-SJU, .958
-UNW, .952
-CAR, .936

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Northwestern (16-17, 12-3 UMAC) hosts Hamline tonight (Monday, April 27) before traveling Tuesday to Collegeville. Freshman Jack Burns leads the UNW offense in hits (46), doubles (8), triples (5) and RBI (35). Burns knocked in a pair of RBI with a 2-for-2 day at the plate in the Eagles' most recent 12-2 win over Martin Luther. Senior hurler Dreyer Homan carries a 2.79 ERA and a 4-1 record in eight starts with two complete games and a team-best 72 strikeouts.

LAST YEAR: SJU swept Northwestern, the 900th and 901st wins of head coach Jerry Haugen's '76 career, by scores of 10-1 and 3-1 last March 26 (2025) in Roseville. The pair of victories enabled Haugen to become the 27th coach in NCAA Division III baseball history to reach 900 in a career.

The Johnnies' offense was led by Hemr and Marquardt and received complete-game performances from junior Hunter Hoen (Belle Plaine, Minn.) and sophomore Drew Lange on the mound. Marquardt went 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and three walks, while Hemr recorded a 3-for-6 performance with two home runs, four RBI, three runs scored and two walks. 

Hoen and Lange, meanwhile, held UNW to 2-for-20 with runners on base and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position on the day.

Game 1 – Saint John's 10, at Northwestern 1
The Johnnies broke open a 3-1 game with seven runs over the final three innings for the convincing win.

The visitors picked up an unearned run in the first inning and made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly from catcher Blake Mellgren '25 and an RBI double off the bat of Marquardt in the second.

The Eagles erased the shutout with a run in the third inning and SJU pulled away with two runs or more in each of the final three frames.

First baseman Owen Best '25 walked with two outs in the fifth inning and Hemr blasted his second home run of the season in the next at-bat. Amrhein singled to start the sixth inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double from Helfmann. He advanced to third on another wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Marquardt. Mellgren roped a two-run double with two outs in the seventh and a passed ball enabled the Johnnies to score their 10th run.

Hoen collected the complete-game victory, the first of his collegiate career in his second start, allowing the lone run on three hits with six strikeouts.

Mellgren (3), Hemr (2) and Marquardt (2) totaled two RBI or more each.

Game 2 – Saint John's 3, at Northwestern 1
SJU broke through the scoreless stalemate with two runs in the top of the third inning thanks to an RBI single from Hemr and a bases-loaded walk by Matchey.

UNW cut the deficit in half – 2-1 – on a two-out wild pitch with runners on the corners in the sixth inning. Hemr, however, padded the Johnnies' lead with a solo homer with one out in the top of the seventh inning.

Lange posted his first collegiate win in his first start (fourth appearance). He surrendered the one run on three hits with four strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 5-1 all-time against the Eagles on the baseball diamond, including a 3-1 record in Collegeville. 

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (9-22, 6-10 MIAC) fell to Wisconsin-Superior 9-8 in 11 innings, despite a four-run lead going into the eighth inning, on Sunday (April 26). Senior Will Schnepf posted two RBI on a 4-for-5 afternoon. The senior leads the Knights' offense in hits (39) and doubles (7), with a share of first in batting (.351). He also owns a 4.50 ERA, .204 opponent batting average and a 1-4 record through 26.0 innings on the mound.

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies swept Carleton 5-3 and 16-5 in seven innings last April 8 (2025) in Northfield. SJU took advantage of six errors and 15 free passes (10 walks and five hit batsmen) by Carleton, which entered the day with a .965 fielding percentage on the year.

Game 1 – Saint John's 5, at Carleton 3
Second baseman Ryan Janzen '25 broke a scoreless tie with an RBI triple that scored  Helfmann, who reached base on a wild-pitch strikeout in the top of the fourth. The Knights, however, plated three runs to gain a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning.

SJU gained the lead for good with three two-out runs in the top of the sixth inning. Matchey cut the deficit to 3-2 with a pinch-hit, RBI single and a throwing error from the pitcher to first base brought in two more. The Johnnies scored another unearned run with two outs for some insurance in the seventh.

Junior Carter Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) went the distance and improved to 4-1 with the win. He allowed the three runs (two earned) on three hits and struck out five.

Game 2 – Saint John's 16, at Carleton 5 (7 inn.)
Third baseman Joe Becker '24 tripled and scored on an RBI single from Best to give the visitors a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning before erupting for a pair of crooked numbers in the second and third. The Johnnies plated seven runs on five hits in the second inning and added six more on four hits, after Carleton cut the deficit to 8-4 in the bottom half of the second, in the third inning.

Doubles from Best and Hemr, and a sacrifice fly from Matchey ended the Johnnies' scoring in the fourth inning.

Hoen tallied the win after he allowed the five runs on five hits in four innings. Dobesh earned the three-inning save.

Janzen went 4-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBI to lead SJU's bats, while Becker scored five runs and reached base safely seven times thanks to a 2-for-4 performance with four walks and a hit-by-pitch. Best and Helfmann totaled three hits apiece. Helfmann recorded four RBI in game two, including a bases-clearing double in the third inning.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies lead the series over Carleton with a 59-20 record since 1984, including a 32-11 mark in Collegeville. SJU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall.