The Gustavus baseball team concluded the MIAC regular season with two heartbreaking losses at the hands of Saint John’s on Saturday afternoon in Collegeville, Minn. The Johnnies won 7-6 in eight innings in game one, and 4-3 in nine innings in game two. Gustavus falls to 15-22 overall and 5-14 in the MIAC, while Saint John’s improves to 20-16 overall and 13-6 in the MIAC.
Gustavus grabbed a 2-0 lead after the top of the fifth inning in game one, scoring one run on three hits in both the second and fifth innings. Saint John’s got on the board with four runs on six hits in the bottom of the fifth inning, taking a 4-2 lead after five complete innings. The Johnnies would add two more runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Gustavus would not go away in the final inning, as the Gusties scored two runs with the bases loaded on hit batters, and one run on an RBI single by Andrew Woitas, tying the game at 6-6.
The Gusties went down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth inning, and Saint John’s Bert Marsnik ended the game with a bases loaded RBI single to left field in the bottom of the inning, giving the Johnnies the extra-inning victory. Andrew Woitas (1-3) suffered the loss on the hill, going all seven and two thirds innings and giving up seven runs on 14 hits. Matt Johnson (2-4) got the win, giving up one hit in one inning. Johnnie starting pitcher Brett Kramer gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
Gustavus jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of game two. Drew Block, Cody Sukalski, and Kyle Rains all had RBIs in the inning. Saint John’s tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning, scoring three runs on three hits. The two teams would play six innings of scoreless baseball until Saint John’s scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Johnnies the sweep. Joe Eiden came across for the game-winning run on an error by center fielder Tim Miller.
Cody Sukalski (4-6) pitched an outstanding game, yet suffered loss, giving up one run (zero earned) on six hits in six and two thirds innings. Hayden Zimmerman (8-1) got the win for the Johnnies, giving up just one hit in four innings.
Andrew Woitas and Cody Sukalski were the top Gustavus hitters on the day. Woitas went 3-for-7 with one run and two RBIs, while Sukalski went 4-for-9 with one run and one RBI.
The Gustavus baseball team will take on Bethany Lutheran in the final doubleheader of the season on Monday, May 10, at 5:30pm in Mankato, Minn.