Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team suffered its second consecutive MIAC sweep on Tuesday afternoon, falling to St. Olaf College by scores of 2-0 and 9-1 at Carlander Stadium. Gustavus has dropped four games in a row and is now 5-13 overall and 2-8 in the MIAC. St. Olaf improves to 16-9 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC with the wins.
Game One Recap
St. Olaf starter Jake Mathison proved to be too much for the Gustavus hitters in the afternoon’s opening game. Mathison went the distance in the shutout, allowing just two hits to go along with three strikeouts. Isaiah Welckle (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and Garrett Fuchs (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn.) recorded the only hits that blemished Mathison’s stat line.
St. Olaf did its scoring damage in the bottom of the second and third innings. Dylan Porter singled to score Jake Schechinger in the second, and Sam Maus brought in Chris Paradise with a single of his own in the third.
Gustie starter Jake Volness (So., Cokato, Minn.) suffered the loss (0-2) after allowing two runs on five hits through three innings. Michael Strelow (Jr., Braham, Minn.) took his place and threw the remaining three frames without allowing a run.
Game Two Recap
The Gusties were done in by a St. Olaf scoring surge in the middle innings of game two. After the Oles scored in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, Gustavus responded with a run in the top of the second. Garret Fuchs was the only Gustie to score in the game, leading off the inning with a double to center field and then later coming across home plate on an infield ground ball hit by Logan Thomas (Fr., Lake City, Minn.).
Steven Zehms (Jr. Sherburn, Minn.) started and made it through four and two-thirds innings before being replaced by Dan Venn (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.). Zehms, who is now 1-3 on the year, allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits with five walks. Venn went one and one-third innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit. Jacob Meger (Fr., Belle Plaine, Minn.) gave up three runs on four hits over the remaining two innings of the game.
The Oles scored three runs on one hit to go up 4-1 in the fourth inning, then added two more runs on one hit to extend their lead to 6-1 in the sixth. The home club continued to add to its lead by scoring two runs on one hit in the sixth, one run on one hit in the seventh, and two runs on three hits in the eighth.
Gustavus finished with six hits compared to St. Olaf’s eight in the contest. John Connell earned the win after giving up one run on four hits in five innings. Trent Friedrich finished the game with four shutout innings during which he allowed two hits.
Scott Benjamin (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) and Fuchs both turned in a multiple-hit game. Benjamin went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, while Fuchs finished 2-for-3 with a double, run, and a walk.
The Gustavus baseball team will look to get back on track Wednesday afternoon when it plays host to Macalester in a doubleheader set to begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Gustie Baseball Field.