ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a late rally and walk-off win earlier in the day, the St. Olaf College baseball team bowed out of the 2019 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Baseball Playoffs with a 9-4 loss to Saint John's University (Minn.) on Friday evening at CHS Field.

Third-seeded St. Olaf (27-15) and second-seeded Saint John's (30-12) were tied at 4-4 after seven innings before the Johnnies scored the final four runs on the game to defeat the Oles for the second time in as many days. Saint John's meets top-seeded Gustavus for the title on Saturday, with the Johnnies needing to defeat the Gusties twice.

St. Olaf, which was ranked No. 8 in the Midwest Region in the latest set of NCAA Regional Rankings, will find out if it has earned an NCAA Tournament berth on Monday, May 13 at noon Eastern time via a selection show on NCAA.com.

The Johnnies started the game with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners, before Wyatt Ulrich was caught stealing home, as the Oles got out of the inning. Tommy McDonald doubled with one out in the bottom of the inning and came around to score on a throwing error after a two-out infield single by Luke Dahl for the game's first run.

Saint John's took the lead with two runs in the second and stretch its lead to 4-1 with two runs in the fourth, but St. Olaf answered with three in the bottom of the fourth to tie it up. Matthew Muller had a two-run single to score Andrew Nomoto and Dahl before Sam Stuckmayer drove him in with a two-out single to right.

The score remained tied at 4-4 until Saint John's pushed across the eventual game-winning run in the top of the eighth. The Johnnies filled the bases with one out on two singles and a walks before Wyatt Ulrich lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring in the go-ahead run.

St. Olaf got two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the inning for Ryan Torbenson, who eventually flied out to center after a lengthy at bat. Saint John's extended its lead to 9-4 in the top of the ninth, benefitting from five walks and an error.

Seven Oles had at least one hit in the game, led by Dahl and Stuckmayer's two-hit efforts. Thomas Meland had a game-high three hits and two runs scored for Saint John's, while Ethan Roe was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and two RBI.

Bennett Wiggins threw a complete game for the Johnnies, allowing four runs (three earned) on 10 hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Four pitchers worked in the game for the Oles, with Max Marshall suffering the loss after throwing 2.1 shutout innings and earning the win earlier in the day against Saint Mary's.