Max Fidler went 2-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs in Tuesday's sweep of St. Olaf (Photo courtesy of Maren Zach `16).
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team picked up a pair of wins over St. Olaf on Tuesday afternoon at the Gustie baseball field. The Gusties came out and scored in each of the first three innings on their way to a 3-0 win in game one. Gustavus then began the game two with a four-run first inning and would not look back on its way to a 6-1 victory. With the sweep, the Gusties improve to 10-15 overall and 7-3 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Meanwhile, the Oles drop to 15-12 overall and 4-6 in league play.
Game 1 – Gustavus 3, St. Olaf 0
Gustavus came out to score a run in each of the first three innings of game one to open up an early 3-0 lead. Sam Warner (Fr., Chanhassen, Minn.) got things started in the top of the first. Warner singled and would later score on a two-out double by Kellan Euerle (Jr., St. Cloud, Minn.) to take the 1-0 lead.
The Gusties manufactured another run in the bottom of the second inning when a sacrifice bunt by Max Fidler (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) scored Scott Benjamin (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) from third to take a 2-0 lead. In the third inning, Drew Block (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) led things off with a triple. It appeared as though the Gusties would let it go to waste as two straight Gustavus hitters went down looking, but Benjamin delivered a big two-out single to right field to put the Gusties on top 3-0.
From there, pitcher Grant Soderberg (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) took control. Soderberg sprinkled seven hits over seven innings of work, holding the Oles to no runs and striking out eight compared to allowing just one walk. The only real threat the Oles could mount came in the top of the fourth inning. After back-to-back singles, Soderberg walked the bases full with only one out. The sophomore responded with two straight strikeouts to end the inning and dispose of any scoring threat for St. Olaf. Soderberg cruised through the remaining three innings to stamp the score as final 3-0 and record his fourth win of the spring.
Game 2 – Gustavus 6, St. Olaf 1
The Gustie offense exploded out of the gate in game two, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead. An RBI-single to left field by Drew Block scored Tim Miller (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) from third to get things going. Later in the inning, following a Grant Soderberg walk to load the bases, Max Fidler came through with a two-run single to right center to extend the lead to 3-0, but Gustavus wasn’t done yet. Garrett Fuchs (So., Cold Spring, Minn.) shot a line drive up the middle for a single that scored Soderberg and the damage was done with the score 4-0.
St. Olaf came right back with a pair of singles with one out in the top of the second, but Kellan Euerle dug in to get two straight fly ball outs to put the clamps on the Ole offense. St. Olaf did get on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning, however. The Oles put together a two-out rally with three straight singles to narrow the deficit to 4-1, but it was all St. Olaf could mount as the Gusties tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth and again in the bottom of the sixth to claim the 6-1 victory.
Kellan Euerle was given the win to grab his first victory of the season. The junior finished the complete game, throwing all seven innings while allowing one run and 10 hits. Euerle did not allow a single walk in the contest while striking out four. His counterpart, Alex Lampert, was tagged with his third loss of the season.
Max Fidler led the way from the plate for the Gusties in game two. Fidler went 2-for-3, drove in two runs, and scored once to account for three of Gustavus’ runs. Meanwhile, Drew Block and Garrett Fuchs each went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Gusties will next take to the diamond on Thursday, May 2nd when they host Bethel for a doubleheader in St. Peter, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Nice to see a sweep of the Oles!