Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's baseball swept Carleton thanks to a pair of well-pitched games and earned its 16th-consecutive berth in the MIAC Tournament on Wednesday, April 29, at Haugen Field at Becker Park.

The Johnnies (23-13, 12-6 MIAC) won the seven-inning opener 3-0 in a snappy one hour and 29 minutes thanks to freshman Max Edwards' (Rockford, Minn.) complete-game effort in 76 pitches. He allowed three hits and struck out five to improve to 6-1 on the year with a 1.16 ERA, .156 opponent batting average and 56 punchouts in 54.1 innings. Both teams recorded three hits in the opener.

Junior Hunter Hoen (Belle Plaine, Minn.) followed Edwards with a near-complete game – 8.2 innings – in SJU's 2-1 win in the nightcap. Hoen cruised through the first two outs of the ninth inning but ran out of gas with two-straight walks and finished with 120 pitches. Senior Vinny Schleper (Shakopee, Minn.) relieved him and coaxed a flyout to seal the victory with his second save of the season. The nine-inning game lasted one hour and 56 minutes.

Carleton (9-24, 6-12 MIAC) batted .130 (7-for-54) on the day, including 1-for-13 (.077) with runners on base and 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.

Game 1 – at Saint John's 3, Carleton 0
The Johnnies scored their first run, unearned, with two outs in the second inning and tacked on one each in the third and sixth innings. Junior first baseman Justin Brooks (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) reached on an infield single with two outs in the second inning and came around to score when the Knights' pitcher overthrew first base on a knuckling chopper off the bat of junior designated hitter Will Wareham (Lakeville, Minn./North).

Junior center fielder Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) walked to start the bottom of the third inning, stole second base and scored on a two-out single from junior second baseman Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area). Matchey led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double, advanced to third on a flyout from junior catcher Mason McCurdy (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater Area) and scored on a wild pitch.

Eleven of Edwards' 21 outs were induced with two pitches or less, including six on the at-bat's first offering.



Game 2 – at Saint John's 2, Carleton 1
All of the game's scoring came in the sixth inning. The Knights manufactured the first run when Reese Wellsandt led off with a bloop single that Hemr just missed with a diving effort. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single off the left-field fence from Sam Gossard.

Schwellenbach started the bottom half of the frame with a bunt single, stole second and moved to third base on a groundout before senior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) blasted a home run to straightaway center field. The homer was Hemr's team-leading sixth of the season and 12th of his career.

Brooks, Matchey and Schwellenbach led SJU's bats with two hits in the doubleheader. Brooks stole three bases and Schwellenbach swiped two to climb into seventh in program history with 35.

The Johnnies host Bethel (28-7, 16-2 MIAC) for Senior Day at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2, in Collegeville.