SAINT PETER, Minn. – One year removed from a 2020 season that featured just one game before the pandemic struck, the Gustavus baseball team is set to begin its 2021 campaign Friday afternoon at home against Crown College (no spectators are allowed for at least the first home game). Since there were no conference games in 2020, the Gusties enter this season as the defending MIAC champions from their 2019 title.
Another league championship is certainly on the minds of the Gusties, but Head Coach Brad Baker acknowledged this year’s team culture has the club aiming beyond the conference playoffs. That mindset starts with the team leaders.
“Leadership is huge and we don’t have captains by design,” Baker said. “Leaders lead and that is kind of interesting because you can see the change in some of them. We tell them that this is their team, we can give you all the tools you need, but at the end of the day it’s their team so they have to figure out how to put everybody on their backs and go lead. With all the stuff that’s been thrown at them this year, I’m really happy with how they’re handling it.”
This season’s top returners in the field include shortstop Cole Pengilly (Sr., Le Sueur), catcher Ethan Mocchi (Sr., Champlin), outfielder Nathan Lindberg (Sr., Bloomington), and first baseman Jack Hanson (Jr., Minnetonka), who all saw significant playing time during the 2019 title season. Pengilly earned All-Conference honors in 2019 after leading the Gusties with a .386 batting average. He led the team with 49 hits, 29 runs, eight doubles, two home runs, 65 total bases, and a .512 slugging percentage. Mocchi batted .267 in 2019 with 20 runs and 19 RBI, while starting 35 of 38 games. Lindberg started in 18 games with a .984 fielding percentage and Hanson started in 34 games with 25 hits and 14 RBI.
Filling out the rest of the field includes Jake Christenson (Sr., Cannon Falls) in left, Bryce Novak (So., Cleveland) in center, Nick Azar (Jr., Edina) at third, and Patrick Timmer (So., Lakeville) at second. Of that group, Azar is the only player with significant experience, playing in 12 games with 28 at-bats in 2019.
On the pitching mound, the starting rotation features a number of familiar faces who all contributed to the 2019 championship. Christian Johnson (Sr., Buffalo) is tabbed as the ace, followed by Weston Lombard (Sr., Stillwater), Charlie Hutchinson (Sr., Maple Grove), and Jack Garrison (Jr., Chanhassen). Johnson and Hutchinson led the team in 2019 with nine starts each. Johnson recorded a team-high 58 strikeouts in 48 innings, while Hutchinson posted a 3.21 ERA in 42 innings. Lombard made 10 relief appearances in 2019 and Garrison made seven appearances.
Top relievers include Damon Rademacher (Sr., Princeton), Gavyn Walsh (Sr., Andover), Jack Hanson, and Ben Brauer (Sr., Minneapolis). Rademacher led the staff with 17 relief appearances in 2019, including a 3.20 ERA and 3-1 record. Walsh was 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in 2019, while Hanson and Brauer will be making their first pitching appearances this season.
“Every year we’ve been here the level of kids we are able to attract continues to rise and it’s for a whole host of reasons,” Baker said. “The school is awesome, the facilities are spectacular, the coaches and their ability to recruit is second to none. It’s a pretty good sell to these kids… come and play a really high level of baseball and get a great education.”
The depth of this season’s team is the largest it’s been in Baker’s seven seasons at the helm with 50 players on the roster. There are 14 first-years and 16 sophomores who will be exposed to their first collegiate competition this season. The depth of this team will be needed throughout a schedule that features 40 games in under two months. Over half of those games will be played at the completely renovated Gustie Baseball Field. The artificial turf was completed in 2017 but the second phase of the project with the grandstand was finalized this past fall, putting a stamp on a full renovation of the baseball complex.
“This is sort of the last piece of the puzzle,” Baker said. “I can’t even remember how long I’ve been here now and it seems like it all just happened. Thanks to the school and the people that helped chip in, but this is a spectacular place.”