SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus baseball team moved into first place in the MIAC Tuesday with a sweep over Bethel, who entered the doubleheader in the top spot. The Gusties cruised to victories of 12-3 and 8-0, improving to 24-11 overall and 15-3 in the MIAC, while the Royals drop to 22-8 overall and 14-4 in the league.
Gustavus 12, Bethel 3 | BOX SCORE
The Royals took and early 2-0 after the top of the third, scoring one in the second after a triple and an error, and another in the third after a triple and sac fly. The lead didn’t last long as the Gusties put up five runs in the bottom half. Bryce Novak (Sr., Cleveland) led off with a double and scored on a single by Jack Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka). After an error, Drake Siens (Jr., Rogers) knocked in Hanson with a single marking Hanson’s 136th career run, becoming the program’s all-time leader in runs.
Logan Bjorkman (Sr., Lindstrom) then reached on a fielder’s choice and Chris Knowles (Jr., New Ulm) followed with a three-run homer, his sixth of the season.
The Gusties added a run in the fourth as Hanson reached on an error and later scored on a ground-rule double by Siens, his MIAC-leading 16th of the season. Siens is now two doubles shy of the program’s single season record.
Knowles led off the fifth with a single and Nick Azar (Sr., Edina) ensued with a double, putting runners in scoring position for Patrick Timmer (Sr., Lakeville) who came in clutch with a two-run single.
Gustavus put the game out of reach in the sixth with four more runs. Siens hit his fourth homer of the season, later followed by RBIs from Azar, Tomas Nelson (Fy., Maplewood), and Luke Johnson (Sr., Paynesville).
Mitch Casperson (Jr., Le Sueur) continued to impress on the mound, picking up his fifth win of the season after throwing six innings with one earned run on six hits and four strikeouts. Sam Baker (So., Lakeville) closed out the game after allowing one run in the seventh.
Siens led the team at the plate, batting 3-for-3 with a run, three RBI, a double, home run, and hit by pitch.
Gustavus 8, Bethel 0 | BOX SCORE
Adam Biewen (Jr., Golden Valley) was the story of game two, tossing a complete game shutout with just two hits allowed and eight strikeouts. Biewen was perfect into the fifth inning, retiring 14 straight before allowing the first hit.
Gavin Baker’s (Sr., Lakeville) MIAC-leading 10th home run in the first inning, a solo shot, was all the Gusties needed, but certainly not all they scored.
Azar hit a two-run homer in the second followed by two more runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Azar hit a sac fly in the fourth followed by an RBI single by Timmer. In the fifth, Novak led off with a walk and Hanson ensued with his sixth homer of the season and the team’s 36th of the season.
Novak plated the final run in the sixth with an RBI single to score Azar.
Biewen put a stamp on the victory in the ninth, closing out the game with a swinging strikeout for his second win of the season.
Timmer led game two at the dish, batting 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Gustavus hosts Crown at 3 p.m. tomorrow for a single non-conference game before closing out the conference season Saturday at home against St. Olaf. A win against the Oles will guarantee at least a share of the MIAC championship and a sweep will win it outright.