St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus softball team made it six in a row with a hard-earned sweep over Saint Mary’s University on Saturday afternoon at the Gustie Softball Field. The Gusties came from behind in their final at-bat to take game one 6-5, then shut the Cardinals out 2-0 in game two to complete the sweep. Gustavus improves to 11-10 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC with the wins, while Saint Mary’s drops to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in the MIAC with the losses.
Game One Recap
Facing defeat down 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Gustavus’s Kailey Morgan (So., Mound, Minn.) got a rally started with a double to the right-center field gap. With Alison Eder-Zdechlik (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) running for Morgan at second base, Kate Rentschler (Sr., Lakefield, Minn.) pulled a single through the right side. Eder-Zdechlik stumbled rounding third and was forced to hold up there. With Caitlin Whitney (Jr., Waseca, Minn.) pinch-running on first for Rentschler and Eder-Zdehlik on third, Sarah Rozell (So., Lakeville, Minn.) ripped a single through the right side to bring in the game-tying run. The ball then proceeded to take a funny hop and skip past the Cardinal left fielder. Head Coach Jeff Annis waved Whitney around third and the junior beat the throw to allow Gustavus the 6-5 victory.
Rozell finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a run, and three RBI in the game. Her homer was a one-run shot that tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth inning. To go along with her stats at the plate, Rozell also got the win on the rubber. She threw all seven innings and gave up five runs (three earned) on 11 hits to improve to 5-4 on the season.
Saint Mary’s pitcher Kayler Peterson suffered the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits.
Kate Rentschler and Brittany Brenke (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) also recorded multiple-hit games. Rentschler went 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI, while Brenke finished 2-for-3 with a run.
Game Two Recap
Saturday’s finale turned out to be a pitchers duel between Kate Rentschler and Kayla Peterson.
After two scoreless innings, the Gusties struck first in the bottom of the third. Breanne Rentschler (So., Lakefield, Minn.) started the inning off with a single, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shelby Nosan (So., Baudette, Minn.) singled to right-center two batters later to bring home Rentschler and give Gustavus a 1-0 advantage.
The Gusties added another run in the bottom of the fifth to bring the score to a final at 2-0. Breanne Rentschler got the inning started once again with a bunt single. Kailey Morgan doubled to left later in the frame to plate Rentschler for the insurance run.
Kate Rentschler allowed one hit per inning on the way to her second shutout of the season. The senior recorded 16 ground-ball outs and is now 5-6 on the year. Kayla Peterson suffered the loss after giving up two runs on seven hits.
Breanne Rentschler led the Gusties at the dish by going 2-for-2 with two runs.
The Gustavus softball team will be busy tomorrow with four games scheduled to take place at the Gustie Softball Field. The Black and Gold will take on St. Kate’s in a doubleheader beginning at 10:00 a.m. and Saint Ben’s in a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m.