BOXSCORE 1 | BOXSCORE 2 MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg College baseball team dropped a pair of games to Saint John's University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Parade Stadium. Saint John's (12-3 overall, 4-2 MIAC) topped Augsburg (8-12 overall, 2-4 MIAC) 4-2 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game.

Augsburg held a 2-0 lead in the first game, but Saint John's rallied with a four-run effort in the top of the seventh inning to claim the win. Augsburg scored a run in the third inning, when Rhett Hebig (FY, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) singled and came around to score on a double by Tyler "Jonesy" Buescher (FY, Prior Lake, Minn.). Another Auggie run came across in the fifth, when Gary Mariscal (SR, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS) walked and scored on an RBI single by Gordon Kappers (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS).

But Saint John's came back to claim the win in the seventh, sending nine batters to the plate and taking advantage of two Augsburg errors and a double steal to score four runs with just one hit. A three-run triple by Dylan Graves was the big hit of the inning. Graves stole home as part of a double steal later in the inning.

Buescher and Abe Welckle (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) had two hits apiece for the Auggies in the first game, while Graves went 2-for-3 for Saint John's.

Nick Anderson (SO, Prior Lake, Minn.) made jhis first start of the season for the Auggies and was effective, striking out three while walking three and allowing four hits in five innings of work. Joe Stanton picked up the pitching win for the Johnnies, striking out four while walking two in six innings of work.

In the second game, the Johnnies scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings, while Augsburg's lone run came in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Buescher, bringing home Andrew Julkowski (SO, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS). For the Johnnies, Luke Larson plated Logan Hershey on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, Gabe MacDonald doubled and scored on a single by Brett Becker in the second, and Tony Gazich scored on a fielder's choice by Aaron Pfaff in the fourth.

Julkowski had two hits in the game for Augsburg, while MacDonald and Becker had three hits each for Saint John's, with Josh Groth adding two hits.

Both starters had strong outings, with Augsburg starter Jordan Brandt (FY, Eagan, Minn.) throwing 58 strikes among his 97 pitches in five innings of work. John Gallice (JR, St. Louis Park, Minn.) and Ryan Mestnik (JR, Prior Lake, Minn.) pitched two innings of relief each for the Auggies, with both claiming two strikeouts. Johnnie starter Collin Felhaber threw 138 pitches (83 strikes) in seven innings of work, striking out four while walking eight. Justin Thompson picked up the save in both games for the Johnnies.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Sunday (4/13) at 1 p.m., with a doubleheader at Carleton.