Jack Wiessenberger – Staff Writer
The baseball season is in full swing, and the Gusties are coming off a hot weekend series that saw them sweep the nationally ranked Johnnies. The team is sitting in third place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) with an overall record of nine wins and only one loss. The Gusties are setting their sights high for the rest of the season after a tremendous first few weeks.
“It was a really good weekend for us?you could just look at the box scores. Our guys felt great after getting the sweep, but they also know it’s a small snapshot of a bigger season. Every game is as important as the last one, and everybody is going to want to beat us,” Head Coach Bradley Baker said.
Baker and his team were ecstatic after their three-game sweep of the 22nd ranked team in the nation, St. John’s, last weekend. The Gusties won each game by a margin of 8-3, 9-3, and 7-2, respectively. The team was firing on all cylinders throughout the entire weekend. The defense and pitching have been very solid, and the offense has been close to unstoppable. While the wins were exciting and very promising for the team’s future, Coach Baker has been adamant about keeping his team focused on the bigger picture.
“We want to play as long as we can play. It’s nice to be playing well right now, but what I really care about is how we’re playing at the end of the year. That will dictate how long we get to play. The conference is very good, and every team is capable of beating us. Our toughest competition will always be our next opponent,” Baker said.
Keeping the focus on the next match has been made a priority by the coaching staff. This mindset has spread to the rest of the team where continually improving and never overlooking an opponent have become part of the culture.
“We went into the series with the confidence to play well. The biggest factor was our team’s culture. We want to focus on ourselves?it doesn’t matter who is on the other side. If our team continues to practice well every single day, the games come more naturally. We talk about getting 1 percent better every day and it has been paying off,” Senior Pitcher Charlie Hutchinson said.
No matter how big of a win the Gusties pull off, the culture of the team dictates that they won’t be satisfied until they’ve accomplished all their long-term goals. While this mentality places emphasis on the big-picture, each and every game is still seen as highly important. Hutchinson started on the mound in the third and final game against St. John’s. He pitched for six innings and allowed just one run on nine hits. This solid performance was backed up by good showings from the rest of the defense. The offense was also producing, scoring seven runs in the final game.
“As a team, we played tremendously well last weekend. Pitching and defense were great. Offensively, we were unstoppable. It was a great start to our conference season. I believe we opened some eyes and showed that we are here for the long run. I think sitting at nine and one is a terrific start, but there are still a lot of things we have to work on and a lot of good teams yet to play. We just need to keep playing the game like we do,” Senior Outfielder Jacob Christenson said.
The Gusties are focused on playing the game their way, and through ten games, it has been working. Achieving a sweep over the Johnnies, the team that beat the Gusties in the MIAC Championship two years ago, was an exciting accomplishment.
“This is one of the most talented and excited groups of people I have ever played with. We know we have the talent, but it is the little things that will make us different. Doing each and everything right at practice will lead us to great things,” Hutchinson said.
Talent can be found everywhere you look on the team, but being talented is only half the battle. The team, led by Coach Baker, has done an outstanding job staying true to their goals, even through the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“Coach Baker has handled this season very well and has done his best to keep us safe while allowing us to have fun with the game too. He also reminds us that we are capable of great things this season and that it is on us to make sure that happens. We have an amazing coaching staff in general which we are all truly grateful for,” Christenson said.
The Gusties are hoping to continue their hot start to the season this weekend when they take on Macalaster in a double header. The Scots hold a record of two wins and two losses in the conference. This will be the Gusties’ third series against a conference opponent and will provide an opportunity for the Gusties to climb the ranks in the MIAC.