WINONA, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team Wednesday split a doubleheader at Saint Mary’s, winning game one 14-2 and losing the night cap 7-3, snapping a 10-game winning steak. The Gusties are now 22-10 overall and 13-5 in the MIAC, holding a one-game lead in the league standings with two games to play.
Gustavus concludes the regular season with a home doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday against St. Olaf. One win would secure at least a share of the MIAC championship and a sweep would guarantee an outright title.
Gustavus 14, Saint Mary’s 2 | Box Score
The Cardinals took the game’s first lead with a run in the first after three hits, but the Gusties answered in the second to tie the score. Dexter Leer (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) hit a sac fly to score Ryan Moriarty (Sr., Le Sueur, Minn.).
The four-team MIAC playoff field is set, but seeding will be determined Saturday.
Saint Mary’s regained a 2-1 lead in the bottom half on a couple hits, but the floodgates opened in the third as the Gusties scored seven runs on six hits and took advantage of four Cardinal errors.
The Black and Gold put up five more runs in the fifth on just three hits. Sam Archer (Sr., Zimmerman, Minn.) highlighted the inning with a two-run single. Gustavus added one more insurance run in the sixth.
Adam Stockwell (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) picked up his fifth win of the season after lasting six innings on the mound. He allowed seven hits with seven strikeouts. Jack Garrison (Fy., Chanhassen, Minn.) pitched a scoreless seventh with a pair of Ks.
Carter Clemensen (So., Cologne, Minn.) led the team at the plate, batting 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and a double. The Gusties collected 15 hits as a team.
Gustavus 3, Saint Mary’s 7 | Box Score
After two scoreless frames, the Cardinals took a one-run lead in the third on a couple hits. The Gusties answered in the fourth to tie the game as Matt Berkner (Sr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) singled home Clemensen.
The home team went ahead 3-1 in the seventh. A one-out double ended Gustie starter Charlie Hutchinson’s (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) day on the mound, and the Cardinals took advantage of the pitching change with an RBI triple and a sac fly.
Once again the Gusties immediately responded with a pair of runs in the eighth. Leer and Brice Panning (Jr., Hamburg, Minn.) hit consecutive singles. Cole Pengilly (So., Le Sueur, Minn.) then hit a sac fly to score Leer, and Berkner roped a single to plate Panning.
The Cardinals put the game away in the bottom half, though, scoring four runs on five hits and one error.
Damon Rademacher (So., Princeton, Minn.) suffered the loss in relief. Hutchinson posted a quality start with 6.1 innings, two runs allowed, and six hits. Berkner led at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a couple runs batted in and a stolen base.