Gustavus vs. Saint Mary’s (DH)
Date: Saturday, April 21
Time: 2:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m.
Location: Collegeville, Minn. | Becker Park (Saint John’s)
Live Coverage: Stats | Video
Gustavus vs. Carleton (DH)
Date: Sunday, April 22
Time: 9:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m.
Location: Collegeville, Minn. | Becker Park (Saint John’s)
Live Coverage: NA
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team returns to action this weekend with two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheaders versus Saint Mary’s University and Carleton College. The Gusties (9-8, 1-1 MIAC) will face the Cardinals (7-10, 1-1 MIAC) on Saturday and the Knights (7-6, 1-1 MIAC) on Sunday. Both games will be played at Saint John’s University.
MIAC Announces Revised Schedule
The athletic directors of MIAC institutions Wednesday approved a new baseball schedule with hopes the entire 20-game conference schedule will be completed for each team prior to league playoffs, which begin Thursday, May 10. MIAC teams will compete in “pods” this weekend, with Concordia hosting Augsburg, St. Olaf, and St. Thomas over three days in Moorhead and Saint John’s hosting Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, and Saint Mary’s in Collegeville.
Last Time Out
The Gusties opened conference play last week, splitting a doubleheader against No. 25-ranked Saint John’s University. The Johnnies kept the Gustie bats quiet in game one, winning 5-0. In game two, Gustavus rallied in the eighth with a game-tying solo home run from Matt Berkner (Jr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) prior to Nathan Lindberg’s (Fy., Bloomington, Minn.) game-winning hit in the ninth to give the home team a 2-1 win.
The Series
Saturday’s games will mark the 153rd and 154th all-time meetings between the Gustavus and Saint Mary’s baseball programs, with the Cardinals owning an 90-62 series advantage. The two teams split last season in Winona, Minn., with the Gusties winning game one 5-1 prior to SMU salvaging a split with a 11-7 game two win.
Sunday’s games will mark the 94th and 95th all-time meetings between the Gustavus and Carleton baseball programs, with the Gusties owning an 58-35 series advantage. Gustavus swept the Knights last season in Northfield, Minn. with 8-7, and 8-5 wins.
Scouting Saint Mary’s
- The Cardinals opened conference play last week with a split versus the University of St. Thomas.
- Senior Joe Seegers leads the SMU offense with 24 hits in 64 at bats, batting .375 with 15 runs scored and nine runs batted in.
- The duo of James Green and Ryan Wolfe have paced the pitching staff, having combined for 45 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched.
Scouting Carleton
- The Knights were swept by Bethel University during their conference opener last week.
- Josh Small and Griffin Bolte rank among the top hitters in the conference, batting .480 (2nd/MIAC) and .468 (3rd/MIAC), respectively.
- Senior pitcher Tyler Rolland owns a 5.02 earned run average and a 3-2 record with a team-leading 28.2 innings pitched.
Gustie Notes
- Half of the team’s runs batted in have come from Gustie first-years, as the freshmen have accounted for 44 of 88 RBI. Ethan Mocchi (Champlin, Minn.) is the RBI leader with 19.
- First year middle infielders Cole Pengilly (Le Sueur, Minn.) and Carter Clemensen (Cologne, Minn.) have started in all 17 games.
- Pengilly is tied for the lead in the MIAC with four triples, while owning a team-best 22 hits in 58 at bats.
- Pengilly was named the Gustavus Student-Athlete of the Month in March.
- Mocchi is currently the conference leader with 11 doubles.
- On the mound, Charlie Hutchinson (Fy., Maple Grove, Minn.) has guided the Gustie pitching staff, recording 14 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched and ranks fourth in the MIAC with a 1.47 earned run average. Fellow freshman Christian Johnson (Bufalo, Minn.) has also made three starts and has recorded 12 K’s in 11 innings pitched.
- Gustavus is hitting .298 (7th/MIAC) from the plate, slugging .424 (4th/MIAC) and holds a .389 on-base percentage (5th/MIAC).
- The Gustie pitching staff holds an ERA of 5.22 (8th/MIAC) with an opposing batting average of .280.