The Gustavus baseball team split its doubleheader with second-ranked St. Thomas on Monday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. Gustavus won game one 9-3, and St. Thomas bounced back with a 7-0 victory in game two. Gustavus moves to 16-19 overall and 7-13 in the MIAC, while St. Thomas moves to 31-6 overall and 19-1 in the MIAC.
Game One – Gustavus jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning of game one. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kellan Euerle (St. Cloud, Minn.) tripled to right-center field to score three runs, putting the Gusties up 3-0. David Tranvik (Robbinsdale, Minn.) proceeded to double to right-center, scoring Euerle from third and putting the Gustie on top 4-0.
Gustavus added another run in the second inning after Boyden Lee (Fergus Falls, Minn.) singled to left field to score Max Laureano (Plymouth, Minn.) and give Gustavus a 5-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning, St. Thomas’ Sam Miller doubled to right field, advanced on a ground ball to the pitcher and scored on a passed ball to give the Tommies their first run of the game.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gustavus added two more runs, extending its lead to 7-1. Lee singled, Garrett Fuchs (Cold Spring, Minn.) and Euerle walked, which loaded the bases for Tranvik, who delivered with a single to center field to bring home Fuchs and Lee.
St. Thomas would not go away quietly, scoring two more runs in the sixth inning on a one-out Dylan Thomas home run to right field, cutting he margin to 7-3.
Gustavus responded in the sixth inning when Lee doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning. He later scored on a Fuchs triple to right-center. Fuchs would score on a sacrifice fly to right field by Euerle, extending the Gustavus lead to 9-3.
Leading the way at the plate was Taylor Fish (Brandon Valley, S.D.) and Boyden Lee. Fish went 3-for-4 from with a run, and Lee went 3-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Fuchs rounded out Gustavus’ top hitters by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, RBI and two runs.
Euerle and Tranvik accounted for eight of the Gusties’ nine runs in game one. Tranvik was 2-for-4 with three RBI and a double, and Euerle was 1-for-2 with a run, four RBI, triple, and a walk.
Grant Soderberg (Eden Prairie, Minn.) picked up his third win of the season and improves to 3-5 overall with one of his best outings of the season. Soderberg pitched all seven innings, giving up three runs (one earned runs) on four hits and striking out seven batters.
For St. Thomas, Steven Maher suffered his first loss of the season and is now 10-1 overall. Maher gave up seven runs on ten hits.
Game Two – The Tommies turned the tables in game two, prevailing 7-0 to earn the split.
After a scoreless first inning, St. Thomas put its first run on the scoreboard in the second inning. With one out, Nick Reichert doubled to center field, then was later brought home on a single to right field by Ryan Gerber
After two and a half scoreless innings, St. Thomas exploded for six runs on six hits in the fifth inning, extending its lead to 7-0. With one out and a runner on first base,Thomas and Charles Bruchu hit back-to-back doubles. Three batters later, Gerber hit the third Tommie double of the inning with two runners on base, scoring Nick Reichert. A single by Jon Kinsel down the right field line scored Gerber and John Means to conclude the scoring for St. Thomas.
Gustavus only managed three hits the rest of the game, and the Tommies prevailed 7-0.
Drew Block (Rochester, Minn.) was 2-for-3 to lead Gustavus at the dish. Fuchs, Laureano and Tim Miller (Eden Prairie, Minn.) each added a hit.
On the mound, Kellan Euerle fell to 3-5 on the season with the loss. Euerle pitched four and one-third innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and striking out two batters. Bryce Gapinski improved to 7-0 with the win for St. Thomas. Gapinski threw six shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out three.
Gustavus will play its season finale against Martin Luther College tomorrow afternoon at in New Ulm, Minn. The Gusties will play Martin Luther in a doubleheader slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.