The Gustavus baseball team picked up its first sweep of the MIAC season on Tuesday, April 12, defeating Augsburg 9-7 in game one and 3-2 in game two. With the wins, the Gusties move to 5-11 overall and 3-3 in the MIAC.
In game one, Augsburg scored in the top of the first inning after Brent Kolbow scampered home on John Demgren’s ground ball to third. The Gusties stormed back in their half of the frame, tallying five runs on four hits and one Augsburg error. Gustavus added to their lead in the second, as Taylor Fish singled to right to open the inning and was driven in by Cody Sukalski’s line-drive double to left center to bring the score to 6-1. From there, the Auggies would chip away, scoring twice in the third and once in the fifth to trim the Gustavus lead to three (7-4) heading into the sixth inning. In the sixth, Augsburg scored three runs on two hits and one error to tie the game at 7-7. Gustavus responded once more, as Mitch Johnson and Fish were able to cross the plate safely for the 9-7 lead. Fish picked up the win on the mound for the Gusties, as he allowed two hits in one and two-third innings of work. Kellan Euerle started the game at pitcher, allowing twelve hits and four earned runs in five innings. Offensively, Gustavus was led by Fish (3-4), Scott Benjamin (1-2, 2 RBI) and David Tranvik (1-2, 1 RBI).
Game two of the doubleheader was a defensive battle, as the teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the second, when Gustavus picked up two runs on two hits and one Augsburg error. The Gusties would add to their lead in the third, as Euerle singled and stole second before scoring on Derek Lieser’s one-out triple to right field. The Auggies wouldn’t go down without a fight, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth. The runs came after an error, a wild pitch, and a walk left the bases loaded. With two outs, Tim Gerding drove a line-drive single to center field that brought the score to 3-2. After the top half of the fourth inning, both teams’ bats would go quiet, as Augsburg registered two hits to the Gusties’ zero in the rest of the contest. Timmy Miller picked up the complete-game win on the mound for the Gusties, scattering six hits and allowing two earned runs. Adam Jacobsen took the loss for Augsburg, allowing five hits and three earned runs in three innings of work. Gustavus tallied five hits in the win, each of them coming from a different player.
The Gusties will return to action on Thursday afternoon, when they will host MSU, Mankato in a nine-inning game in St. Peter. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.