NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team extended its winning streak to nine games Saturday with a doubleheader sweep at Carleton. The Gusties won game one 4-2 and then mounted a last-inning comeback in game two for an 8-7 victory, improving to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAC. The 13-1 record is the greatest start to a season in program history, which dates back to the first documented season in 1903.
Gustavus 4, Carleton 2 | BOX SCORE
The Gusties hit the ground running in the first inning with a pair of runs on as many hits. Cole Pengilly (Sr., Le Sueur) doubled to left and scored on a single by Ethan Mocchi (Sr., Champlin). After a walk and hit-by-pitch to load the bases, Dalton Thelen (Jr., Cold Spring) hit a sac fly to score Mocchi.
The second, third, and fourth innings went scoreless before the Gusties tagged on two more runs in the fifth. Mocchi doubled to right, Chris Knowles (Fy., New Ulm) walked, and both scored on a triple to right by Thelen. Thelen was thrown out at the plate in an attempt for the inside-the-park home run.
Carleton broke the shutout in the bottom half with a run on two hits and an error. The Knights scored their second and final run in the sixth after a double and single.
Jack Garrison (Jr., Chanhassen) earned the mound win, going five and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with five strikeouts. Damon Rademacher (Sr., Princeton) got the save, recording the final four outs with a couple strikeouts and no hits. Mocchi led the plate, batting 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI, double, and a walk.
Gustavus 8, Carleton 7 | BOX SCORE
Carleton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first on a trio of hits and an error. After a scoreless second and third, the Gusties tied the game in the fourth. Thelen hit a sac fly to score Nick Azar (Jr., Edina), who led off the inning with a walk. Kathan Decker (So., Apple Valley) then doubled to right, scoring Knowles who reached on a single. Decker scored the third run of the frame on an error.
The Knights immediately responded in the bottom half to regain a three-run lead after a couple hits, three walks, and a wild pitch, ending Gustie starter Gavyn Walsh’s (Sr., Andover) day on the mound. Andrew Gustafson (So., Maplewood) came in relief and stopped the bleeding with a groundout.
The Gusties made it a one-run game in the sixth. Decker doubled and scored on a single by Jake Christenson (Sr., Cannon Falls). Pengilly later hit a sac fly to score Christenson, making the score 6-5.
Gustavus then tied the game in the seventh as Decker doubled to left center and scored on a throwing error. Carleton was able to regain a one-run advantage in the eighth after a walk, wild pitch, and a double. But the Gusties put on their rally caps in the ninth. Thelen led off with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Down to the final out, Nathan Lindberg (Sr., Bloomington) came in clutch with a pinch-hit double to score Thelen and tie the game. Bryce Novak (So., Cleveland) then hit an infield single to third with the throw going down the right field line to score Lindberg for the go-ahead run.
Ben Brauer (Sr., Minneapolis) threw the final two and two-thirds innings to earn the win in relief. He allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Decker paced the offense, batting 3-for-5 with three runs, three doubles, and an RBI.
Gustavus concludes the three-game series with Carleton at 1 p.m. Sunday in Saint Peter.