ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team is off to Arizona to begin its 2018 season at the Tucson Invite with seven games in four days against four different teams at the Kino Sports Complex.
Friday, March 2
Noon – vs. Howard Payne (Doubleheader)
Saturday, March 3
10 a.m. – vs. Carthage (Doubleheader)
Sunday, March 4
4 p.m. – vs. Concordia Nebraska
Monday, March 5
3 p.m. – vs. North Central (Doubleheader)
* All times Mountain Standard Time
“It’s always exciting to start back up again,” said Head Coach Brad Baker. “We had a good fall practice season and had a good chance to take a look at the new guys. Then it is really exciting to start up in February, but after the first week you sort of run out of stuff to do so we’re excited to get down to Arizona and get going.”
About the Gusties
Head Coach Brad Baker is in his fourth season at the helm of the Gustie baseball team. Baker returned to coach to the Gusties for the second time in 2016, having previously coached in the 1981 season. Last year, Gustavus turned in a 9-11 conference record for the second consecutive season, finishing in seventh place. The 21 overall wins was the most by a Gustie squad since 2008.
The Gusties lost 10 key contributors to graduation last season while returning 19 players from last year’s roster and welcoming in 20 first-years.
“We have some kids that have some huge upside,” said Baker. “They really have no ceiling of how good they can get over the years so I am really excited about that. Of the 28 guys we have going down Tucson, 17 are pitchers. We brought in a bunch of freshman pitchers and many have played in good competition. We’re going to throw some young guys out there and may get knocked around a bit, but we’re going to stay the course and I’m excited to see how they’ll be come conference time. We’ll see which ones can step up and help us. From a coaching standpoint, we care less about our win/loss record. We want to see how the kids develop going into conference season, that is our focus. We want to be in the conference playoffs this year, which we haven’t been in a long time and with the right bounces and breaks, we can do that.”
Returning to bolster the pitching staff include Casey Lewandoski (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska), Sam Archer (Jr., Zimmerman, Minn.), Adam Stockwell (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), and Mitch Nordin (So., Mahtomedi, Minn.). Lewandoski, a 2017 All-Conference honoree, set a program-record with 19 appearances out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.95 earned-run average and a 5-1 record after 36 and two-thirds innings of work. The trio of Archer, Stockwell, and Nordin combined for nearly 100 innings pitched.
Senior catcher Nolan Lepel returns as the slugging and on-base leader from last season. Lepel started in 34 of 35 games played last year and led the Gusties with a .500 slugging percentage with four homers, nine doubles, and 30 runs batted in.
“We’ll be solid defensively and we’ll be able to hit,” Baker said. “We have guys that can really battle at the plate with the combination of fundamental skills and we have some battlers. The question mark might be pitching, where we have never had the depth.”
Also headlining the returners include 2016 All-Defensive Team recipient Brock Peterson (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.), John Lundquist (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), Matt Berkner (Jr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) and Brice Panning (So., Hamburg, Minn.). Peterson finished second on the team in 2017 with 41 hits while starting in all but one game, Lundquist batted .316 last season with 20 RBI, Berkner added 19 RBI with a .313 batting average, and Panning led all Gustie first-years a year ago with 27 hits in 94 at bats.
Gusties picked to finish eighth in MIAC
Gustavus was voted to finish eighth in the MIAC 2018 standings, as voted on by MIAC coaches. No. 19-ranked St. Thomas is the preseason pick of conference coaches to finish atop the standings, while Saint John’s University finished second and Bethel University third.
The 2018 season features a 40-game schedule with 20 non-conference and 20 league games. The non-conference schedule includes the seven matchups in Tucson, along with contests against Luther College, Mount Mary, Minnesota-Morris, St. Scholastica, and Wisconsin-Superior. Conference play begins March 31 versus Macalester College at the renovated field Gustie Baseball Field.
“We have a much tougher non-conference schedule this year. We want to see who can really compete. The physical talent is there, but we need to see what they can do in game situations. We have a great core of upperclassmen and we know what they can do, but what is really going to turn the whole program around is this freshman class,” Baker commented.
Good luck 2018 Gustie Baseball. Planning to be at MIAC baseball tourney inSt Paul. Just watched #3 Texas Tech and UTSA here in San Antonio. Tech has great pitching and is off to a 9-0 start. Coach Baker is right…good pitching is the key to a winning season…