SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team suffered two losses against Saint John’s on Sunday afternoon. After dropping game one 13-4 and game two 23-11, the Gusties move to 22-9 overall and 9-5 in the MIAC.
Gustavus 4, Saint John’s 13 | Box Score
The Gustie pitching staff battled through the high winds in the opening inning of play and Saint John’s took advantage with a one run lead.
Similarly, the Gusties loaded the bases off of two hits and a walk but couldn’t make anything happen as they trailed heading into the second.
Saint John’s laid the pressure on the Gusties, plating four runs in the second inning,
With a five run deficit, Jayce Luna (Jr., Le Sueur) entered the game for Gustavus in the top of the third and struck out two out of the four batters he faced.
In the bottom of the fourth, Mitch Casperson (So., Le Sueur) hit a triple deep into right center field, scoring Dalton Thelen (Sr., Cold Spring). Bryce Novak (Jr., Cleveland) kept the momentum rolling with a single to short, bringing in Casperson for the second run to cut into the deficit and make it a 7-2 game.
The Gusties silenced the Johnnies in the top of the fifth before finding their groove. Ethan Mocchi (Sr., Champlin) knocked a hard hit double into center field to score Gavin Baker (Jr., Lakeville) for the third Gustavus run. Nick Azar (Sr., Edina) delivered, with an RBI to plate Mocchi.
Saint John’s continued to have the upper hand, stringing together six runs in the sixth and seventh innings to hand Gustavus a 13-4 loss. Luke Siegle (Fy., Blaine) suffered his first loss of the season.
Gustavus 11, Saint John’s 23 | Box Score
The Johnnies kept their bats hot, plating nine runs in the first inning.
Gustavus was able to post one run but faced a locked-down Saint John’s infield that turned out a double play.
Saint John’s tacked on five more runs in inning two and hit for the cycle as a team.
In the bottom of the second, Azar was able to score on a passed ball followed by a Luke Johnson (Jr., Paynesville) sac fly to score Thelen, cutting into the Johnnie lead with a pair of runs.
The Gusties regained control in the third, limiting Saint John’s to one run and retaliating with four of their own highlighted by doubles from Azar and Jack Nelson (So., Cottage Grove).
Gustavus chipped away at the deficit as Siens hit a two run double into right field. An error from the Johnnies helped the Gusties limit the margin to five runs heading into the fifth inning.
The Johnnies kept on the firepower, tallying three more runs in innings five and six before a grand slam in the seventh.
The Gusties entered the bottom of the seventh on the bottom of a 23-11 scoreboard and couldn’t respond as Saint John’s completed the sweep.
Gustavus will continue conference play as they next host St. Scholastica on Tuesday for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00.