Box Score

COLD SPRING, Minn. – Freshman outfielder Max Jackson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) sent Saint John's baseball to the winners bracket with a walk-off, solo home run in the bottom ninth inning of a 6-5 victory over Hamline in the opening game of the MIAC Tournament on Thursday, May 12, at Cold Spring Ballpark.

The Johnnies (26-12, 13-7 MIAC) return home to face Saint Mary's (26-13-1, 13-7 MIAC), which defeated No. 24/28 St. Thomas by a 7-0 score Thursday, at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 13, at Becker Park in Collegeville.

The No. 9 hitter in the lineup, Jackson went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored. The homer, his third of the season, cleared the right-field fence, which is 348 feet down the line, with plenty to spare.



The walk-off win is the third for SJU this season and the first in the MIAC Tournament since Shawn Schoenberg's walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 4-3 win over Gustavus Adolphus nearly nine years to the date (May 11, 2007 in Northfield).

The Johnnies lost a 3-1 lead Thursday night but battled back with single runs in each of the final three innings to earn the victory. The come-from-behind win is nothing new for SJU in 2016, as the Johnnies were either tied or behind within the final two innings of regulation in seven of their 13 conference wins this spring.

The Pipers (27-14, 13-7 MIAC) found the scoreboard first following three straight singles with two outs in the top of the first inning to gain a 1-0 lead.

Junior third baseman Derek Schiebel (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) came through a with two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the second inning and Jackson made it 3-1 with a two-out, RBI single of his own in the third.

HU cut it to 3-2 with a two-out double in the fifth inning and gained a 5-3 lead with three runs, on three straight singles with two outs, in the sixth inning to chase junior starter Alex Kendall (St. Cloud, Minn./Saint John's Prep) from the game.

Freshman second baseman Cole Weaver (Carlsbad, Calif./Santa Fe Christian) made it a one-run game with a two-out, RBI double in the seventh inning.

Senior shortstop Logan Hershey (Maple Grove, Minn.) singled to start the bottom of the eighth inning for SJU and senior first baseman Patrick Strey (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) extended his season record for doubles with his 19th of the year to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Senior outfielder Mike Stegora (Red Wing, Minn.) tied the game at 5-5 with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat, but Strey was left stranded at third. 

The Johnnies left 14 men on base in the game, including the bases loaded twice and a total of 10 in the first four innings.

Sophomore Nick Noack (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) threw 3.1 of scoreless, one-hit relief to earn the win and improve to 7-1 on the year. Kendall was charged with all five runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out five and walked two.