SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team hosted its home opener on a chilly Sunday afternoon where it swept Wartburg 13-4 and 11-6. With the wins, the Gusties improve to 3-2 overall.
The Gusties got out to a hot start in the first inning with Jack Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka) hitting an RBI double to score Bryce Novak (Jr., Cleveland) before Ethan Mocchi (Sr., Champlin) reached base on a fielders choice to to score Hanson for the second Gustie run.
Luke Siegle (Fy., Blaine) faced three Knight batters before the Gusties headed into the second inning with the lead.
Wartburg responded in the third with three runs to put the pressure on Gustavus.
The Gusties erupted in the fourth inning. Hanson set the tone leading off with a homer to right field to even up the scoreboard. Drake Siens (So., Rogers) knocked an RBI single to right field scoring Mocchi for the Gusties to take back the lead, and Dalton Thelen (Sr., Cold Spring) added an RBI double to make it to a 5-3 game. Mocchi extended the lead adding a pair of insurance runs with his third home run of the season, lifting the Gusties to 7-3 heading into the fifth inning.
In the top of the fifth, Thelen hit a double deep into left field before stealing third and scoring off of an error for an 8-3 edge.
Wartburg responded with a run in the top of the sixth before making a pitching change.
Hanson hit a double to left center to score Novak for the ninth Gustie run and Hanson came in on a wild pitch to bring the Gustavus score to double digits. The Gusties tacked on three more runs before closing out the sixth.
Brevin Goetz (Fy., Rochester) faced the final three Wartburg batters before the 13-4 final.
Mocchi was dialed in at the plate throughout, going 3-for-3 with two of the hits tallying RBIs in the process. Jayce Luna (Jr., Le Sueur) was credited with the win allowing one hit and one run in his three innings pitched.
Wartburg retaliated in game two plating two runs, before Azar hit a standup double to score Novak as the Gusties trailed 2-1 after the first.
Hanson erased the deficit, finding the left side gap for an RBI single. The Gusties added two more runs before heading into the third on top of a 4-2 lead.
In the third inning Johnson hit sac fly to drive in the fifth run and Novak extended the lead to 6-3.
The Gusties asserted themselves on the base paths in the sixth inning, stealing three times including Johnson stealing home. An Azar single to right center brought in Mocchi for an 8-3 advantage going into the seventh.
Wartburg grounded out in all three at bats in the top of the seventh before newcomer Connor Wiberg (Fy., Eagan) led off with his first career home run. Novak hit in a triple deep in right field before coming in off a Hanson RBI single.
The Knights rallied in the eighth with three runs but couldn’t catch up to the Gusties in the 11-6 final.
Andrew Gustafson (Jr., Maplewood) was credited with the win pitching three innings, striking out four batters, and allowing one earned run.