NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team fell to Saint John's University, 17-7, and, 9-5, in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader at Mark Almli Field on Friday afternoon.
St. Olaf (15-8, 6-4 MIAC) and Saint John's (23-8, 8-4 MIAC) totaled 28 hits in the first game, but the Johnnies came out on top with 16 hits and a seven-run third inning. In the second game the Oles and Saint John's entered into the sixth inning tied at 5-5, but a four-run sixth inning for the Johnnies secured the victory.
Saint John's 17, St. Olaf 7 | Box Score
The Johnnies had 16 hits, including two home runs from Joey Stock, compared to 12 hits from the Oles.
Dylan Blake had his third game with four hits this season and was 4-for-4 at bat with four RBI and a run.
Ryan Torbenson added three hits, a run and an RBI, and
Tommy McDonald had a hit and two runs.
Saint John's scored three in in the top of the first, but the Oles responded in the bottom of the inning with a single from Blake that accounted for two RBI to cut the Johnnies lead to 3-2 at the end of the inning.
Saint John's and St. Olaf each scored three runs in the second inning, including an RBI single from Blake and a sacrifice fly from
Sam Pressman that sent
Jake Ossell home.
The Johnnies scored seven runs off four hits in the third, including a three-run homer from Stock that made the score 12-5. Saint John's picked up one more run in the inning to extend the lead to eight.
After holding the Johnnies scoreless in the top of the fourth, the Oles scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Blake RBI doubled to center field, followed by an RBI double from Torbenson to make the score 13-7.
Saint John's scored the final three runs of the game off four hits in the top of the sixth, including an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
Saint John's 9, St. Olaf 5 | Box Score
Despite the Oles holding the lead through the first four, and remaining tied after the fifth, the Johnnies had a four-run sixth inning to gain the lead and held it for the remainder of the contest.
McDonald and
Matthew Muller led the Oles with two hits apiece, and Torbenson added a hit, a RBI and a run.
Hanson Devine opened the game at the mound and pitched four innings, and
Elliot Syverson tossed the final 3.2 innings of the contest.
After Saint John's scored a run in the first, St. Olaf answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs. Blake recorded a sacrifice fly, followed by singles from Muller,
Sam Stuckmayer and
Luke Dahl to make the score 4-1.
The Johnnies added a run in the top of the second, and another in the top of the third, cutting the deficit to one run at 4-3.
After Saint John's evened the score in the top of the fifth, the Oles responded with a run as Torbenson RBI doubled down the right field line to regain the lead at 5-4.
In the sixth inning, the Johnnies had four runs off a hit and an error, as they would take an 8-5 lead to end the inning, and scored in the eighth inning to account for the final margin of the game.
Despite the Oles out-hitting Saint John's 11-10, St. Olaf was held scoreless in the last four innings.
St. Olaf returns to action on Saturday, Apr. 20 for a MIAC doubleheader against the University of St. Thomas at Mark Almli Field with the first game beginning at 1 p.m.
