Arden Hills, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team’s conference struggles continued on Saturday afternoon at Hargis Park on the campus of Bethel University. The Gusties suffered their fourth consecutive sweep at the hands of the Royals, falling 5-2 in game one and 8-0 in game two. Gustavus drops to 5-17 overall and 2-12 in the MIAC, while Bethel improves to 16-5 overall and 9-1 in the MIAC.
Game One Recap
After two complete scoreless innings, Bethel grabbed a 3-0 lead with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning. Matt Conrad singled through the left side to bring in one run, and then later scored when Mike Schultz ripped a triple down the line. Schultz brought the inning’s scoring to a close when he touched home plate on a wild pitch by Gustavus starter Chris Kelly (Jr., Savage, Minn.).
The Gusties responded in the top of the fourth inning with a pair of runs to cut the lead to 3-2. Taylor Bigandt (So., Littleton, Minn.) kicked off the inning with a single through the right side. After being sacrificed to second on a bunt by Isaiah Welckle (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), Bigandt was brought home by Josh Chatfield (Fr., Apple Valley, Minn.) on a double to right-center field. Chatfield later scored on a one-run single by Cody Christensen (So., Luverne, Minn.), cutting the Bethel lead to one.
After Gustavus’s two run fourth inning, Bethel shut the Gustie offense down over the remaining three frames. The Royals went on to add two runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jarad Watts tallied the two-run base hit that brought in the runs.
Chris Kelly suffered the loss, falling to 1-3 on the year, after six complete innings. Kelly allowed six hits and recorded two strikeouts.
Matt Herring improved to 2-0 with the six-inning victory. Herring gave up two runs on nine hits with four Ks. Chris Hall picked up the save after sitting the Gusties down in order in the top of the seventh.
The Gusties finished the game with nine hits compared to Bethel’s seven.
Game Two Recap
Bethel starter Jake Hanzali was too strong for Gustavus in game two. He improved to 4-1 after going seven innings and allowing just three hits to go along with five strikeouts. Sean Glenn allowed two hits and shut the Gusties out over the final two frames.
It took the Bethel offense two innings to get on the scoreboard. The Royals scored three runs in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth, and brought the game to a final with one run in the sixth. Bethel outhit Gustavus in the contest 13-5.
Gustavus starter Justin Cunningham (Jr., Red Wing, Minn.) suffered the loss (0-2) after giving up four runs on six hits through three and one-third innings.
The Gustavus baseball team will take a break from MIAC play on Monday with a non-conference doubleheader scheduled against Dakota Wesleyan University at the Gustie Baseball Field. The twin bill is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.