ST. PAUL, Minn. - In their first game of the MIAC playoff play-in series, the No. 9 seeded Hamline baseball team (14-24) took down the No. 4 seed, Saint John's (27-11), by a score of 2-1 in 10 innings. The series will continue tomorrow, when the Pipers head up to Collegeville for a doubleheader against the Johnnies. The winner of the series will move on to the MIAC Playoff Tournament that begins next week.
 
The game was a pitching duel between sophomore Zach Branson and SJU's Nick Penick. Each pitched nine innings and gave up only one run on three hits. Branson tallied nine strikeouts in the outing. Sophomore Braden Schneider relieved him in the tenth, striking out two batters and keeping the tie intact to allow the Piper offense to earn the win. Schneider would secure the win, improving to 2-3 on the year.
 
Saint John's picked up their run in the second inning, as a batter who was hit by a pitch would come around to score. Hamline retaliated in the bottom of the inning, as Logan Tollefson singled, stole second, was bunted over to third, and would score on a groundout from first year Max Gerstner.
 
Sophomore Stephen Schmidt singled for Hamline in the ninth, and would get all the way to third base, but the Johnnies were able to work out of it to send it to extras.
 
After Schneider's 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 10^th, sophomore Owen Christenson singled through the right side to get a rally started. He was bunted over to second which would allow him to score when first year Braeden Bourne came up with a clutch single down the left field line to win it for the Pipers.
 
Hamline will look to win at least one tomorrow which would allow them to move on to the conference playoff tournament. First pitch for the game tomorrow is set for 4:00 p.m. Game two will begin approximately 20-25 minutes after the completion of game one.