The Gustavus baseball team got the bats rolling in a doubleheader sweep over non-conference opponent Martin Luther College by scores of 10-6 and 20-3 on Monday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. Andrew Woitas and Adam Bren registered wins on the mound for the Gusties, as Kyle Rains was the top Gustavus hitter, going 7-for-8 with three runs, four RBIs, and a double on the day.
Gustavus jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings in game one, scoring one run on one hit in the first inning, and two runs on three hits in the second. Martin Luther got on the board with a run in the third inning (3-1), yet Gustavus responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, making the score 5-1. Starting pitcher Andrew Woitas went three innings, giving up one run on four hits for his first win of the season.
The Gusties broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on five hits. Drew Block had a two-RBI home run, and Alan Woitas had an RBI triple in the inning. Hikaru Tomizawa (0-5) suffered the loss for the Knights, giving up six runs on seven hits in three innings of work. Gustavus was 12-for-28 at the plate, while Martin Luther was 8-for-26.
Hitting was contagious in game two, as the Gusties went 19-for-33 at the plate, their highest single-game hit total of the season. Gustavus got out to a fast start, scoring five runs on three hits to take a 5-0 advantage after one complete inning. Martin Luther responded with one run on three hits in the second inning, but the Gusties put eight runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning to take a 13-3 advantage. Eight straight Gustavus hitters reached base in the inning, as Alan Woitas hit his first career grand slam home run. He was 1-for-3 with three runs and four RBIs in the game.
Gustavus would add three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Adam Bren improved to 2-2 on the season, going five innings and giving up three runs on six hits. Martin Luther’s Stephen Gurgel (0-2) got the loss, going one third of an inning and giving up five runs on two hits. Andrew Woitas also had big game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs. Gustavus improves 15-19 overall, while Martin Luther drops 7-30 overall.
The Gustavus baseball team will travel to Minneapolis to play a doubleheader against Augsburg on Wednesday, May 5, at 2:30 p.m.