St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team kicked off its home schedule with a split against Augsburg College on Wednesday afternoon at the Gustie Baseball Field. The Gusties used a four-run third inning to come away with a 5-3 victory in game one, but Augsburg’s bats came alive in the nightcap as the Auggies recorded 10 hits on the way to a 10-2 win. Gustavus moves to 4-8 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC, while Augsburg is now 7-9 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC.
The Gustavus baseball team will be back in action on Saturday, April 12 when it hosts Saint Mary’s University in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Gustie Baseball Field.
Game One Recap
After a scoreless first inning, Gustavus struck first with a run in the bottom of the second. With David Tranvik (Sr., Robbinsdale, Minn.) on second base with two outs, Josh Chatfield (Fr., Apple Valley, Minn.) came through with an RBI single up the middle to put the Gusties on top 1-0.
Gustavus kept on the gas pedal and scored four runs on five hits in the bottom of the third inning. Tranvik jump-started the frame’s scoring with a two-run single to center field that plated Garret Fuchs (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn.) and Sam Warner (So., Chanhassen, Minn.) and gave the Black and Gold a 3-0 lead. Max Fidler (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) followed Tranvik with a one-run single that scored Taylor Bigandt (So., Littleton, Colo.), and Chatfield capped the inning’s scoring with a one-run single that scored Tranvik and gave the Gusties a 5-0 advantage.
Gustie starter Chris Kelly (Jr., Savage, Minn.) allowed just two hits through six complete innings. It wasn’t until the top of the seventh that Augsburg was able to put a rally together. After Kelly retired the first two batters of the inning, Augsburg’s offense began to pick up. Rhett Hebig doubled to left field to bring one run across, and Gary Mariscal doubled to right to bring in two more runs and cut the lead to 5-3. With a runner on second base and the tying run up to bat, Kelly buckled down and struck out Jonesy Buescher to close the game.
Kelly improved to 1-1 on the season with his complete-game effort. He allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Gustavus posted 11 hits as a team. Leading the way at the plate was Josh Chatfield who went 3-for-3 with two RBI. David Tranvik went 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs and two RBI, and Max Fidler went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Danny Carlson (Fr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Sam Warner recorded Gustavus’s only extra base hits with a double each.
Game Two Recap
Following another scoreless opening inning, Augsburg took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double by Rhett Hebig and an RBI single by Gary Mariscal.
Gustavus got on the scoreboard and cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the second when Max Fidler crossed the plate on an RBI double by Josh Chatfield.
The next bit of action came in the top of the fourth inning when Augsburg scored three runs to go up 5-1. Hebig started off the string of hits with a single to left field, and then later scored on a Mariscal’s double later in the frame. Jonesy Buescher kept the hits coming with a one-run single, extending the gap to 4-1.
With the Auggies three runs, Jake Volness (So., Cokato, Minn.) came into the game for Steven Zehms (Jr. Sherburn, Minn.). Zehms picked up the loss, after pitching three and one-third innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits.
After the mid-inning pitching change, Buescher stole second base, advanced to third on a grounder, and then scored on a passed ball error by catcher Sam Warner (So. Chanhassen, Minn.).
The Auggies cracked the game wide open in the top of the seventh inning. Coming into the inning with a 5-1 lead, Augsburg scored five runs on three hits to extend its lead to 10-1. With the bases loaded, Andrew Douglas hit a bases-clearing, three-run-double to left field. Hebig followed Douglas’s three-run gaper with a two-run home run that sailed over the left field fence.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Garrett Fuchs scored on a groundout by David Tranvik to bring the score to a final at 10-2. The Gustie offense was held hit-less after the seventh inning.
Volness left the game after pitching three and two-thirds innings and allowing five runs on four hits. Justin Cunningham (Jr., Red Wing, Minn.) pitched two scoreless innings to close the game.
Augsburg’s starter, Tanner Oakes, went all nine innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits, to pick up the win.