ST. PETER, Minn. – Thursday’s Gustavus baseball game will be the most highly-anticipated contest in exactly a decade. May 10, 2008 was the last time Gustavus played a MIAC postseason game and that streak ends at 3 p.m. tomorrow as the No. 6 seed Gusties (19-16) face the No. 3 seed Saint Mary’s Cardinals (19-16) at CHS Field in St. Paul.
LIVE STATS/WATCH LIVE | MIAC PLAYOFF WEBSITE
Ticket information: Students $6, Adults $10, and 5 and under free. To order tickets online, go to www.saintsgroups.com and enter the password gustiesmiac
How they got here: Gustavus ended the month of April losing five of six games against conference opponents and its playoff hopes looked bleak. But that’s exactly when the Gusties turned the season around, claiming three consecutive sweeps to set up the regular season finale at St. Thomas with the sixth and final playoff spot on the line. Gustavus needed either a win or a Concordia loss to clinch a playoff berth and it came down to the final game of the regular season as the Gusties dropped game one and the Cobbers won their first game against Macalester. Concordia went on to sweep the Scots, but the Gusties were able to clinch with a 6-1 win behind a complete game pitching performance by Sam Archer.
Saint Mary’s earned a spot in the MIAC playoffs with a split against Hamline last Saturday and closed out the season with a sweep at St. Olaf. Prior to those two doubleheaders, the Cardinals were swept by Saint John’s and split against Augsburg, resulting in four wins in their last eight games. Against conference foes who are in the playoffs, Saint Mary’s is 5-3, including a sweep over the Gusties on April 21.
Gusties in the postseason: Since the MIAC initiated a postseason tournament in 2000, Gustavus has made five appearances and holds a 4-9 all-time record. The 2004 team made it to the championship game, losing to St. Thomas by one run. Gustavus has never made it to the NCAA tournament, which began in 1976.
2008:
lost to St. Thomas 11-3
defeated Hamline 7-3
lost to St. Olaf 15-6
2007:
lost to St. Thomas 9-3
lost to Saint John’s 4-3 (10 inn.)
2006:
lost to St. Olaf 6-4
2004:
defeated Concordia 7-6
lost to St. Thomas 4-2
defeated St. Olaf 7-6
lost to St. Thomas 6-5 (MIAC Championship)
2002:
lost to St. Thomas 9-3
defeated Saint Mary’s 3-0
lost to St. Olaf 4-0
Scouting the Cardinals: The Cardinals offense is paced by Andy Tepp, Zach Slowiak, Joe Seegers, and Justin Weinberg. Tepp has a team-leading .364 batting average and .455 slugging percentage. Slowiak is hitting .342 and is tied for the team-lead with 15 walks along with Seegers, who averages .333 at the plate with a team-high 41 hits. Weinberg has a .330 average and leads the team with 22 RBI. James Green is the ace of the staff with a 1.37 ERA in 52.2 innings. He is 2-2 with eight starts and three complete games. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 43:5 and opponents are hitting .205.
Scouting the Gusties: Offensive leaders for Gustavus include Carter Clemensen, Ryan Moriarty, Ethan Mocchi, and Cole Pengilly. Clemensen leads the team with a .364 average and 16 walks. Moriarty is hitting .333 and leads the team with 37 hits. Mocchi has a team-high 11 doubles and .556 slugging percentage to go along with a .321 average. Pengilly has started all 35 games at shortstop and is hitting .318 with a team-high 54 total bases and eight stolen bases. Sam Archer is the ace of the staff with a 1.32 ERA in 37 innings pitched. He holds a 5-1 record in nine appearances.