The Gustavus Adolphus College baseball team picked up a doubleheader split with Saint John’s University Sunday afternoon in Collegeville. Eric Bigham (Fr., Robbinsdale, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) went 3-for-4 with a grand slam home run to lead the Gusties to a 9-2 victory in game one, but Gustavus could not complete the sweep, making four errors in a 5-3 loss in game two.
Game One – Gustavus Adolphus 9, Saint John’s 2
Saint John’s grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Brandon Royce-Diop scored from second on a single by John Heinbigner. Gustavus responded with a pair of runs in the fourth as Pat Siering (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) hit a two-run home run to left field that also scored Bigham. The Johnnies knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom half of the frame as Brandon Wolf scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Sufka.
Gustavus retook the lead with three runs in the fifth as Spencer Campion (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) scored on a RBI double by Tony Konicek (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo), Konicek scored on a wild pitch, and Bigham scored as Tyler Kaus (Jr., St. James, Minn.) reached on an error. The Gusties added four more runs in the sixth to take increase their lead to 9-2. Mike DesLauriers (So., Minnetonka, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) singled to left field and Campion was hit by a pitch with one out against Johnnie reliever Bryan Flood. Both runners moved up a base due to a balk by Flood, leaving first base open with Konicek up to bat. Konicek was intentionally walked to load the bases for Bigham’s big fly two batters later. It was Bigham’s first career collegiate home run.
Andrew Hoffer (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) pitched well for the Gusties, scattering four hits and striking out two in five innings before giving way to Charlie Cicalello (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall). Cicalello pitched two innings of perfect relief, striking out one. Saint John’s starter Josh Hollenhorst was tagged with five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Flood pitched the sixth, while Alex Wahl pitched a perfect seventh inning for the Johnnies.
The Gusties outhit the Johnnies 11-4 led by Bigham’s 3-for-4 effort. Kaus finished 2-for-3, while Konicek and Campion each went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Heinbigner, Royce-Diop, Christian McPherson, and Matt Meyer each finished 1-for-3 to lead Saint John’s.
Game Two – Saint John’s 5, Gustavus Adolphus 3
The Gusties wasted little time getting on the board in game two as leadoff hitter Mike DesLauriers rapped a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Konicek two batters later. Eric Bigham would add a RBI single later in the inning that scored Shea Roehrkasse (Jr., Jackson, Wyo./Jackson Hole) from second base.
Saint John’s matched the Gusties’ effort in the bottom of the first as Casey Haugen scored on a John Heinbigner sacrifice fly after leading off the inning with a triple to left center off Gustavus starter Dave Wold (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.). The Johnnies would tie the score on a RBI single by Shawn Schoenberg that scored Jay Kasner from third.
Following a scoreless second inning, the Gusties took a 3-2 lead in the third as Konicek scored on a RBI single to center field by Tyler Kaus. The Johnnies answered back in the fourth, putting together three hits and capitalizing on two Gustavus errors to plate three runs and take a 5-3 lead. Brandon Royce-Diop and Casey Haugen each came up with RBI singles while the final SJU run came as Haugen scored on a throwing error by Wold.
The rally left Wold with his first loss of the season. Wold, now 3-1, pitched four innings allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out a pair of Johnnies. Charlie Cicalello pitched the final two innings scattering four hits and striking out two. SJU starter Dusty Wilfahrt pitched five innings allowing three runs on eight Gustavus hits while striking out four. Wilfahrt improved to 4-1 on the season. Case Paxton allowed one hit in two innings of work to record his third save of the season.
After being held without a hit in game one, Roehrkasse finished 2-for-3 to lead the Gusties. Of the eight other players in the Gustavus batting order, only Spencer Campion was held without a hit. He did, however, reach base after being hit with a pitch in the first inning.
Haugen led the Johnnies in game two, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored. Heinbigner, Meyer, Schoenberg, and Royce-Diop each collected a pair of hits as the Johnnies outhit the Gusties 12-9.
The Gusties (11-7, 5-3 MIAC) host Concordia-Moorhead Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.