The Gustavus baseball team suffered a sweep at the hands of Macalester College on Wednesday afternoon in St. Paul. The Gusties fell by scores of 6-0 in game one and 7-4 in game two in what was their first MIAC road doubleheader of the season. Despite taking a 4-3 lead after scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning of game two, Macalester responded with four runs of its own to come away with the three-run win and the sweep. Gustavus drops to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC, while Macalester improves to 14-9 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC.
Game One
The Gustie hitters had no answer for Macalester’s CJ Smith in game one, as the sophomore hurler allowed just two hits while striking out eight on the way to his second win of the season.
The Scots jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Macalester later added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to bring the score to a final at 6-0.
Leading the way at the plate in the game was Macalester’s Ross Bronfenbrenner who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and a double. Kellan Euerle (1-3) and Boyden Lee (1-2) notched Gustavus’ only two hits.
Connor Norris suffered the loss (0-1) for the Gusties, making it just one and two-thirds innings and allowing four runs (zero earned) on five hits. Dan Venn relieved Norris, allowing two runs on six hits in four and one-third innings.
Game Two
Macalester put runs on the scoreboard first in game two as well, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning to go up 3-0. A three-run home run Robert Williams did the damage in the inning.
Not going down without a fight, Gustavus was able to snap a stretch of 19-straight scoreless innings with four runs in the top of the sixth inning to grab a 4-3 lead. A Drew Block RBI single up the middle broke the ice and put Gustavus on the board down 3-1. With two outs later in the inning, Boyden Lee, Taylor Fish, and Max Laureano tallied back-to-back-to-back RBI base hits to bring three runs across home plate and give Gustavus a one run lead.
Macalester responded with a four-run inning of its own in the bottom of the sixth. A two-RBI triple to right by Graham Brown, and RBI singles by Bronfenbrenner and Mitch Glasser put the Scots back on top 7-4.
The Gusties got two runners on the base in the seventh, yet couldn’t find a way to come up with an answer. Tim Miller, Scott Benjamin, Taylor Fish, and Max Laureano all registered a multiple-hit game in the nightcap. Miller and Benjamin both with 2-for-4 with a run, while Fish and Laureano both went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Chris Kelly fell to 1-2 with the loss on the hill. Kelly pitched 5.2 innings and gave up six runs on seven hits. Nick Meerson picked up his sixth win of the season after allowing two runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning. Chase Kahn did the blunt of the work, allowing two runs on seven hits through five an one-third innings.
The Gustavus baseball team will be back in action when it takes on Carleton College Saturday in St. Peter, Minn. First pitch for game one is set for 1:00 p.m.