St. John’s baseball team 6-2 to start MIAC schedule

The St. John’s baseball team is looking to avenge their 2024 season. Finishing last year with an overall record of 24-16, and a conference record of 13-7, the third seeded Johnnies earned a spot in the MIAC tournament, the team’s 14th consecutive appearance. There they lost two games in two days, to Bethel and Saint Mary’s, to end their season. This year, the Johnnies look to make a deeper run in the MIAC tournament.

The Johnnies entered this season with head coach Jerry Haugen sitting at 891 total wins in his career. On March 26, in the first game of a double-header sweep against Northwestern, Haugen became the 27th coach in Division III baseball history to eclipse 900 wins.

“It’s awesome to be a part of such a great accomplishment. 900 is quite a feat, and we are all thankful to have made an impact on it,” senior third baseman Joe Becker said via email. Senior pitcher Will Fazio also highlighted how special this was for Haugen as he is retiring from his position as head coach at the end of this season, after 48 seasons at the helm of Johnnie baseball, and how much the team appreciated being able to share the moment with him.

As Haugen is setting records in the program, senior third baseman Joe Becker is breaking them. Already the Johnnies career leader in RBIs and total bases, Becker broke the home run record, held by his former teammate Ethan Roe, with his 26th career homerun in the third inning of a game against Rutgers-Camden (N.J.) on March 20.
Fazio praised Becker’s year-round work ethic.

“The confidence that [he] plays with pushes me to do the same,” Fazio said via email.

More records could be broken this season as Becker currently sits in second place in doubles, hits, runs scored and triples. He also received MIAC Baseball Player of the Week honors on March 10, the third time in his career.

Led by Becker, the Johnnies are having strong performances throughout the lineup. Junior outfielder Brendan Hemr and senior first baseman Owen Best both rank in the top six in the conference for doubles and triples, and sophomore catcher/first baseman Zach Helfmann sits in third for homeruns, one place back from Becker. Fazio has the most strikeouts in the conference and is joined in the top ten for Earned Run Average by sophomore Carter Theisen, who is tied for the most saves. Theisen also ranks top ten in walks allowed where he is joined by senior Connor Hartley, who was named the MIAC Pitcher of the Week on March 31.

Becker praised the team’s first-years for their ability to come into the program and make an impact, specifically pitchers Drew Lange and Dylan Marciulionis. Lange pitched seven complete innings against Northwestern and gave up only one earned run, striking out four opposing batters and not allowing any walks. Marciulionis earned a win against Martin Luther College, pitching one inning without giving up any runs or walks.

“[They] come into the games with a ‘dawg’ mentality and do their job,” Becker said.

The Johnnies have emphasized team bonding and support this season. Fazio explained that a lot of this comes from their early season trips, which he said gave the team a lot of time to be together off the field. The team travelled to Arizona for four games at the beginning of March and Florida for nine games over spring break. While in Florida, the team came out on top in a game against then No. 19 ranked Rutgers-Camden, a win Becker said the team is very proud of.

Both Fazio and Becker noted that the team will look to tighten up their defense and, as Fazio said, “improve on the small, marginal aspects of baseball,” as they aim to cap off their season with a trip to the MIAC conference playoffs.