The Gustavus baseball team improved its record to 4-0 with a sweep of Martin Luther early Sunday morning at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Gusties prevailed 6-0 in game one behind a complete-game, two-hitter by Josh Spitzack (Sr., West Concord, Minn.) and completed the sweep with a 12-3 win in game two behind an eight-run second inning.
Game 1 – Gustavus 6, Martin Luther 0
Gustavus took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Tony Konicek (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) scored on a Shea Roehrkasse (So., Jackson Hole, Wyo.) rbi single. The Gusties extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded walk to Mike DesLauriers (Fr., Minnetonka, Minn.), driving in Jake Bohnen (Fr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.), and a 3-rbi double by Konicek that brought in Tyler Kaus (So., St. James, Minn.), Aaron Madson (Sr., North Mankato, Minn.) and DesLauriers.
The Gusties added another run in the fifth with Bohnen scoring on a rbi single by Pat Siering (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.). Bohnen had reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Spitzack moved to 2-0 on the season after tossing a complete-game, two-hitter. The senior struck out ten and walked one while facing the minimum number of batters in four of seven innings and didn’t allow a runner past second base. Spitzack recorded six of the last nine outs by way of strikeout.
Konicek and Siering each picked up a pair of hits in game one, while Bohnen, Roehrkasse and Ben Sherer (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.)each added a hit. David Frey and Jeff Dolan picked up the two MLC hits. Frey picked up the loss on the mound for the Knights.
Game 1 – Gustavus 12, Martin Luther 3
The Gusties jumped on Martin Luther early in game two, scoring eight runs on six hits and three Knight errors in the bottom of the second inning. Kaus, Konicek, Roehrkasse and Wade Vrieze (Jr., Richfield, Minn.) each registered a rbi single, while Trevor Gunderson (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) added a rbi fielder’s choice and Madson drove in a pair with a single. Madson scored the inning’s other run on a passed ball.
The Knights manufatured a run off a Brett Krause sacrifice fly in the top of the third, but the Gusties added three more runs in the bottom half of the frame to extend the lead to 11-1. Madson pushed the first run across with a rbi single that scored Kaus. Mike DesLauriers, who had earlier reached on a single, scored from second base on a rbi single by Konicek. Madson, who was at first base, scored on the same play after the ball was misplayed by the Martin Luther left fielder.
Following a scoreless fourth inning, each team scored a run in the fifth. Ben Sherer opened the Gustie half of the fifth inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Following a Roehrkasse ground out to third base and a walk to Pat Siering, Vrieze drove in Sherer with a rbi single. A Gunderson ground out moved the runners to second and third, respectively, but a ground out by Kaus ended the inning.
The Knights scored the game’s final run in the top of the seventh inning off Gustie reliever Chad Schnettler. Lead-off hitter Josh Janke reached for MLC after being hit by a pitch and moved around to third base courtesy of a couple of balks by Schnettler. Following a walk by Dustin Uhlenbrauck, Jeff Dolan grounded into a double play which allowed Janke to score from third base. Brett Krause flied out to Konicek in center field to end the game.
David Wold picked up three strikeouts in three innings of work before giving way to a trio of Gustie relief pitchers. Spencer Barron picked up the win by pitching the fourth and fifth innings, allowing one run on three hits. Justin Boelter and Schnettler pitched the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, combining for a strikeouts and two walks.
The Gusties pounded out 14 hits, led by Aaron Madson’s 4-for-5 performance with three rbi and a pair of runs scored. DesLauriers went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot, scoring twice and picking up the Gusties’ only extra-base hit with a double in the fourth inning. Wade Vrieze and Tony Konicek each finished 2-for-4, while Ben Sherer, Shea Roehrkasse, and Tyler Kaus each collected a single.
Gustavus will next be in action March 25-30 when they participate in the RussMatt Greater Phoenix Invitational in Arizona. The Gusties will face Allegheny (Pa.), Luther (Iowa), North Carolina Wesleyan and Williams (Mass.) in doubleheaders and UW-Whitewater in a single game while on Spring Break.