TUCSON, Ariz. – The Gustavus baseball team started its season Saturday with a decisive 18-3 win over Caltech at the Tucson Invitational. The Gusties collected 16 hits and didn’t commit an error on defense.
Adam Stockwell (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) got the win on the mound after five innings of work. He allowed three runs on four hits and struck out seven.
The Gusties gave Stockwell run support from the start, putting up three runs in both the first and second innings and another in the third for a quick 7-0 lead. Caltech ended the shutout in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs, but Gustavus tacked on three more runs on just one hit and three errors in the fifth.
The Beavers made it 10-3 in the bottom half before the Black and Gold erupted for eight runs in the seventh after six hits to put a stamp on the victory.
Cole Pengilly (So., Le Sueur, Minn.) led the offense, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs. Ryan Moriarty (Sr., Le Sueur, Minn.) hit 3-for-6 with three runs. Carter Clemensen (So., Cologne, Minn.) (2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB), Sam Archer (Sr., Zimmerman, Minn.) (2-5, R, 4 RBI, HBP), Ethan Mocchi (So., Chanplin, Minn.) (2-4, 2 R, RBI), and Dexter Leer (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) (2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI) also contributed multi-hit performances.
Christian Johnson (So., Buffalo, Minn.) and Damon Rademacher (So., Princeton, Minn.) each pitched one scoreless inning.
The Gusties face Jamestown in a doubleheader Sunday at 3 p.m.