TUCSON, Az. – Two prolonged streaks came to an end on Sunday as James Marsden '26 saw his home run streak end at five games while the Wesleyan baseball team suffered their first defeat of the season as the Cardinals split with St. John's (Minnesota), winning game one 5-2 and falling 4-1 in game two. Wesleyan's 7-0 start was their best since the 2010 campaign.
 
Wesleyan won the opener in the doubleheader behind a complete game gem thrown by AJ Karabenick '24 who tossed a four-hitter in the seven-inning contest, allowing four hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. The outing is the second-longest of his career.
 
Both pitchers dominated for the opening four innings, with neither side putting a run on the scoreboard, until the 5^th when the Cardinals struck for a three-run frame. Jack Nally '24 came around on a Cole Torino '24 RBI groundout before Tyler Cosgrove '25 singled home Ernie Little '26 to make it 2-0 and Marsden legged out a two-out infield single that scored another.
 
Marsden made everyone wait, as he was 1-for-3 with a single going into the 7^th and final inning. He stepped to the plate with two outs and one runner on and blasted a two-run bomb over the center field fence, giving him a home run in five straight games, while the Cardinals now led 5-0.
 
Karabenick saw his bid for a complete game shutout end in the 7^th, as he induced a groundout and fly out on the first two at-bats, but saw three straight Johnnies reach including a two-run double that broke up the shutout bid. With the game-tying run now on-deck, Karabenick bore down and got a fly out to end the game and give Wesleyan the 5-2 win.
 
Torino led the Wesleyan offense going 3-for-4 with a double, 1 RBI, and one run scored. Jack Carpenter '25, Sullivan, and Marsden all finished 2-for-4 with Marsden totaling 3 RBI.
 
Game two saw the Johnnies make a late comeback bid and hold the potent Wesleyan offense in-check throughout in a 4-1 SJU win.
 
Wesleyan's starter David Tirrell '25 escaped trouble in both the 1^st and 2^nd innings, leaving two runners on-base in each frame, allowing the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead on a Matt Halas '24 RBI groundout.
 
Tirrell settled into the game, retiring 9-of-10 batters between the 3^rd and 5^th innings, but the Wesleyan offense was completely stymied by SJU pitching as the Cardinals didn't see a batter reach base in the final 17 at-bats of the game.
 
Despite the incredible pitching effort, the Johnnies still trailed until the 6^th inning when three runs came across followed by an insurance run in the 7^th as SJU claimed the comeback win.
 
Tirrell finished with 5.1 innings thrown, allowing seven hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Joey Light-Rake '25 entered in relief and allowing one run in 0.2 innings before Ned Shapiro '26 and Marsden combined for a scoreless 7^th inning.
 
The Cardinals have an off day on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Carleton and Bates.