NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team tallied 19 hits through 14 innings en route to sweeping St. Olaf College Tuesday afternoon with 7-1 and 6-5 victories, improving its overall record to 14-15 and 6-8 within the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Nolan Lepel (Sr., Plato, Minn.) led the Gustie offense, going 5-8 at the plate with three home runs and five runs batted in through two games. John Lundquist (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) earned his first start of the season on the mound in game one while notching a three-run eventual game-winning homer in game two.
Back-to-back RBI singles from Ryan Moriarty (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) and Carter Clemensen (Fy., Cologne, Minn.) gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Nolan Lepel (Sr., Plato, Minn.) then followed that up with a three-run bomb to left center, his first of the season, giving Gustavus a 5-0 run advantage.
The visitors added another pair of runs to extend their lead to 7-0 in the fifth inning. Lepel and Clemensen led off with with doubles. A Cole Pengilly (Fy., Le Sueur, Minn.) RBI sacrifice fly scored Lepel and a Brock Peterson (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) RBI single then scored Clemensen.
Lundquist got the nod for his first start of the season on the mound and allowed one run on five hits in four innings. Casey Lewandoski (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) entered the game with a bases-loaded jam and nobody out in the fifth inning. The Oles recorded their first run of the game while Gustavus converted a ground ball double play, cutting the lead to 7-1.
Lewandoski escaped the fifth and then closed the door in the final two innings to seal the win, improving his record to 2-2 on the season.
Lepel (3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI) led the team at the plate.
A four-run sixth inning for the Gusties proved to be the difference in game two as the defense survived an Ole comeback bid in the final three innings.
Gustavus tallied a pair of runs to gain a 2-0 lead through four innings. A solo shot from Lepel in the first and a Peterson RBI single in the fourth gave the Black and Gold the two-run advantage.
St. Olaf came back to score three in the fifth, knocking Gustie starting pitcher Christian Johnson (Fy., Buffalo, Minn.) out of the game. Gavyn Walsh (Fy., Andover, Minn.) came in to relieve Johnson and got the final out to keep the Ole lead at 3-2.
Lepel and Lundquist led the hitting barrage in the top half of the sixth. Lepel led off with his third round-tripper of the day to tie the game at 3-3. Matt Berkner’s (Jr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) second double of the game and an intentional walk to Ethan Mocchi (Fy., Champlin, Minn.) set up the three-run homer from Lundquist, his second of the season to give Gustavus a 6-3 lead.
Walsh came out again and pitched the sixth, allowing one run as the Oles trimmed the Gustie lead to 6-4. After surrendering a leadoff double in the seventh, Lewandoski came in to relieve Walsh and gave up one hit as St. Olaf came within one run, but a strikeout ended the game as he picked up his fourth save of the season. Walsh was credited with the win, his second.
Lepel (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI), Berkner (2-4, 2 2B), Peterson (2-4, 1 RBI), and Lundquist (1-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI) paced the Gustie offense.
Next Up
Gustavus returns to Gustie Baseball Field tomorrow afternoon for another MIAC doubleheader versus Hamline University. Game one is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start.
Comments
One response to “Homers Guide Gusties To Road Sweep At St. Olaf”
Way to go Gusties! Let’s keep this going!!