The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team went 1-3 this past weekend against Mount Marty College.
YANKTON, S.D. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team played in two doubleheaders against Mount Marty this past Saturday and Sunday. The Gusties lost closely contested games (0-1, 1-3, 4-5) in their first three matchups with the Lancers, but bounced back in their fourth and final game to earn a 5-1 win, their first victory of the season. Gustavus is now 1-3 overall, while Mount Marty moves to 7-2 on the year.
Game One: Mount Marty 1, def. Gustavus 0
Gustavus senior pitcher Grant Soderberg (Eden Prarie, Minn.) pitched seven scoreless innings, scattering eight hits, striking out two and walking just one. However, his efforts were not enough, as the Gustie batters managed just four hits against Mount Marty starter Alex Mogensen, forcing the game into an extra eighth inning. There, Danny Carlson (So., Plymouth, Minn.) managed a two out single, but was not able to advance. In the Lancer’s half of the inning, a Zac Hollenback single turned into the game-winning run after two intentional walks and a balk from the Gusties.
Game Two: Mount Marty 3, def. Gustavus 1
In the teams’ second game, Gustavus’s offense still proved slow as they managed just six hits and left six on base.
In the top of the third, Isaiah Welckle (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) hit a one out single and promptly stole second. Then, Josh Chatfield (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) lined a double that scored Welckle and gave Gustavus its first lead of the series.
However, that lead proved to be short-lived as Mount Marty scored in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.
The Lancers then scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a permanent 3-1 lead and earn their second victory of the day. Jared Nelson earned the win for Mount Marty after pitching scoreless sixth and seventh innings, while Michael Strelow (Sr. Braham, Minn.) suffered the loss for Gustavus after going five and two-thirds and giving up three earned runs.
Game Three: Mount Marty 5, def. Gustavus 4
On Sunday, the Gustie bats awoke. Despite a 5-4 loss in their first game of the day, Gustavus was able to find positivity in its 10 hits and four runs.
The Gusties got on the board quickly, when in the top of the first, Carlson hit a leadoff double. Welckle then followed with a single to score Carlson and give Gustavus an early 1-0 lead.
But similar to the previous game, the Lancers did not wait long to rebound, as they erupted in the bottom half of the first for four runs off three hits and a walk against Gustavus senior pitcher Chris Kelly (Savage, Minn.). However, Kelly settled down after his rough first inning to pitch three scoreless in the second through fourth frames.
Gustavus got back on the board in the fifth with a run from John DeMarais (So., Winona, Minn.) to cut the Mount Marty lead to 4-2. But the Lancers again had an answer in their half of the inning and retook a 5-2 lead going into the sixth.
The Gusties would manage two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings and Jacob Braun (So., Wayzata, Minn.) and John Lundquist (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) pitched scoreless bottom half of the innings for Gustavus. But the visitors could not manage to bring the game-tying run across the plate and Mount Marty earned the 5-4 victory.
Game Four: Gustavus 5, def. Mount Marty 1
In Gustavus’s fourth and final game in Yankton, the Black and Gold were finally able to combine effective pitching with productive offense and ended their weekend on a high note in a 5-1 victory. Connor Kern (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) pitched six innings and gave up only one run while striking out three. Garrett Fuchs (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.) had two hits, two RBI, a walk, run, and stolen base, while Chatfield added a double, RBI, and run of his own to help lead the Gustie offense.
Four of the Gusties’ five runs came in a big fifth inning. Cody Christensen (Jr., Luverne, Minn.), Carlson and Welckle got the frame started with singles to load the bases with no outs. Chatfield then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Christensen and advance Welckle and Carlson. Carlson also ended up scoring on the play thanks in part to a throwing error from Lancer shortstop Alex Mueller. Fuchs then singled to score Welckle and stole second during the Gustie’s next at-bat from Soderberg. Soderberg eventually singled to score Fuchs and give Gustavus a permanent four-run lead.