COLLEGEVILLE — The St. John's University baseball team gets to play on its home field at the MIAC Tournament.
The Johnnies (14-6 MIAC, 25-14 overall) earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and will play second-seeded Bethel (15-5, 28-11) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, at Becker Park in Collegeville.
St. John's went 0-2 against Bethel during the regular season. The Royals beat the Johnnies 4-0 and 5-4 in a doubleheader on April 19 in Arden Hills. Bethel is coached by former Minnesota Twins utility player Brian Raabe.
"We had two good games against them down there," St. John's head coach Jerry Haugen said. "We had a 4-1 lead in the second game and let it get away. Bethel has solid pitching and plays good defense. We've seen their best arms. They didn't see ours. That's a plus. But we know they don't make a lot of mistakes. We have to play solid to keep moving on."
Haugen is in his 48th and final season on the job at SJU. St. John's has yet to name his replacement and Haugen didn't offer up any favorites to win the job during an interview Wednesday, May 7. However, Haugen is more worried about the next couple of days then who the next person up is for the Johnnies.
"I'm not trying to think too much about this being it," Haugen said. "There will be a time I sit down and look back on everything. But right now, the conference tournament is coming up. It would be great to keep this season going by winning the (MIAC) tournament. It's always more fun when you win, right?"
Haugen, who will still be around as a coach emeritus next season, said the university has a search committee in place for the Johnnies' next head coach. He said he hasn't been asked much for his input during the search.
"I'm not on the committee and they haven't asked me a whole lot," Haugen said. "I hope they're of the mind-set that we've done a pretty good job with the guys we have here already. Hopefully they can continue building on what we've established here. St. John's has a process and I respect that. But whoever they pick has to fit the bill. Hopefully they come up with a guy who can do that."
The MIAC Tournament is double-elimination and features top-seeded Gustavus hosting St. Olaf to open things up at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in Collegeville. Gustavus is ranked 18th in Division III entering the tournament.
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The champion will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
SJU is led offensively by fifth-year senior Joe Becker. Becker is hitting .400 entering the postseason with 14 home runs, 40 RBI, 48 hits and 46 runs scored. Becker is slugging .875 and has an on-base percentage of .547. Becker leads the team in home runs, RBI, hits and walks (30).
"Joe has been the locomotive that drives the train this year," Haugen said. "When he's having a good day, so are we. When you look at those numbers, it's kind of amazing to think about. He's the catalyst fort his team and we all expect him to have a good tournament."
Haugen said senior Connor Hartley will get the start on the mound for the Johnnies. Hartley is 6-4 this season in nine starts. He's thrown 52-plus innings and has a 3.96 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 12 walks.
"Hartley's been solid for us and he's had some tough-luck losses," Haugen said. "He lost 1-0 down at St. Mary's. He's consistent and a strike thrower. He's got decent velocity and he can raise it up when he needs to. He gets ahead of hitters and pitches to contact."
Alex Matchey is hitting .362 with 21 RBI for the Johnnies, first baseman Owen Best is hitting .344 with a home run, 21 RBI and 44 hits, Brendan Hemr is hitting .341 with five homers and 38 RBI and Reed Marquardt is hitting .338 with three homers, 22 RBI and 47 hits.
Haugen said St. Cloud Cathedral graduate and senior infielder Ryan Janzen was lost for the season when he injured his elbow on April 29 against Concordia. Janzen was hitting .315 with nine RBI this season before the injury.
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Senior Will Fazio has been the Johnnies' most consistent pitcher this spring. He's 6-1 in 10 appearances with a 1.88 ERA. Fazio has throw 48 innings and has 51 strikeouts with 17 walks.
Sophomore Carter Theisen is 5-3 on the season for SJU in 43-plus innings of work. Theisen has struck out 30 and walked 11. Holdingford native Drew Lange has made nine appearances for SJU this spring. He's 2-1 in 23 innings of work with nine strikeouts and eight walks.
MIAC Tournament
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: No. 1 Gustavus vs. No. 4 St. Olaf, 2:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Bethel vs. No. 3 St. John's, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, noon
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 3 p.m.
Game 7: If necessary, 25 minutes after Game 6
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