The Gustavus baseball team kicked off its MIAC schedule with a pair of wins against Saint Mary’s by the scores of 6-0 and 6-5 in eight innings on Thursday in Winona. Cody Sukalski pitched the complete game shutout in the first game, while Derek Eddie earned the win in the second game after pitching 4.2 innings in relief. Tory Herman and Chad Eul combined to go 8-for-15 from the plate with five RBI. The Gusties improved to 9-9 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
Gustavus rattled off three consecutive hits to build a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Gusties added two more runs in the top of the fourth after beginning the inning with hits from Tory Herman and Andrew Woitas. Coach Mike Carroll’s squad manufactured two more runs before the end of the game, which was more than enough run support for Cody Sukalski, who scattered five hits through seven innings. He also struck out six and walked one for his second win of the season. Herman went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Matt Morgan went 3-for-4 and Mike DesLauriers went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
In game two of the doubleheader, Saint Mary’s grabbed its first lead of the game in the second inning at 2-1 when Tyler Kruse hit a two-run home run. Gustavus responded with three runs on three hits for a 4-2 advantage. However, the Cardinals rallied for three runs of the own in the next at-bat to make the score 5-4. In the top of the seventh inning, the Erik Sveen and Chad Eul hit consecutive two-out singles to drive in Andrew Woitas, who represented the tying run. Nate Ruff led off the top of the eighth inning with a double down the right field line. Andrew Woitas completed the comeback for the Gusties when he hit a fly ball to left field, allowing Ruff to tag up to score. Saint Mary’s leadoff hitter reached with a walk, but Tory Herman struck out the final two batters looking to earn the save.
Adam Bren started the game for Gustavus on the mound as he went 2.1 innings giving up five earned runs on five hits. Derek Eddie picked up the win in relief after recording 4.2 innings of work as he held Saint Mary’s to three hits and no runs. Tory Herman appeared n the eighth inning to pick up the save. Offensively, Chad Eul drove in three runs as he went 3-for-4. Andrew Woitas went 2-for-3, scored two runs, and drove in the game-winning run.
Gustavus is now scheduled to play St. Olaf at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. before hosting Saint John’s on Tuesday.