The Gustavus baseball team kept its playoff hopes alive with a 6-2, 6-1 sweep of Hamline at Midway Stadium in St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon. The Gusties, who are 18-17 overall and 10-8 in the MIAC, have now won eight of their last 11 games.
In game one, Gustavus scored five times in the third inning off Hamline starter Josh Roiger to break a scoreless tie. After a leadoff walk, three straight Gustie hits led to three runs. Left fielder Wade Vrieze’s two-run single gave Gustavus a 3-0 lead. First baseman Ben Sherer and pitcher Andy Schmidt each added RBIs in the inning. Sherer finished the game with two base hits.
The Pipers responded with two rusn of their own in the third inning. First-year shortstop Andrew Bennett drove in both Piper runs with a double to left center. However, Gustie hurler Andy Schmidt shut Hamline out the rest of the way. He allowed six Hamline hits through seven innings while striking out six and walking none. Roiger took the loss for Hamline, giving up five earned runs through 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one.
In the night cap, Gustavus scored three times in the first inning on just one hit. After a hit batter and a walk started the inning, center fielder Ash Larsen scored on a Kyle Foster wild pitch. A successful double steal plated the Gusties second run of the game before Schmidt’s RBI single extended the lead to 3-0. The Gusties added single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth inning. Vrieze added his second home run of the season to lead off the fifth inning.
Hamline tallied its lone run in the seventh on an Aaron Thompson RBI single. Thompson had two of Hamline’s seven hits in the contest. Foster took the loss for the Pipers. he pitched four innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits, while fanning one and walking two. Gustie starter Josh Spitzack scattered seven hits for the win. He struck out four and walked one.
(Story courtesy of Hamline Sports Information)