SAINT PETER, Minn.- After their season opening win over the weekend, the University of Northwestern Baseball team knew that they had a tough test in front of them on Monday afternoon. The Eagles went on the road for the first time in 2024 and played two seven inning games against Gustavus Adolphus who was receiving votes in the D3Baseball.com Top 25. The Gusties lived up to their billing, defeating the Eagles 12-2 and 22-2.
Game One
The Golden Gusties were playing their first games of the 2024 season on Monday and their offense was clearly chomping at the bit to start the season. The Eagles went down scoreless in the top half of the first before the home team came up to hit.
Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph), the Eagles' starting pitcher, found himself in some trouble early on facing runners on first and second with only one out. The right hander would induce a ground ball hit right at the third baseman
Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights), who fed
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) at second, who fired a strike to
AJ Kazel (Esko, Minn./Esko) at first base for an inning ending double play.
Despite keeping the Gusties off the board in the first inning, the Eagles' pitching staff would not be able to sustain that success as the boys in the home dugout scored runs in each of the next four innings. GAC got one run in the second frame thanks to an RBI single; but after that, it was the long ball that did the damage for the Gusties.
Gustavus would use a two run homerun in the third, two more two run homeruns in the fourth, and a three run blast in the fifth to stretch out the lead. The Gusties scored one in the second, two in the third, five in the fourth, and four in the fifth to take a commanding 12-0 lead.
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) would take the mound and pitch very effectively out of the bullpen for UNW. The junior pitched an inning and a third of scoreless relief, holding down the high powered Gustie offense in the sixth inning.
The Eagles got their only two runs of the game in the seventh and final frame.
Evan Dobitz (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park),
Cannon Jackson (Mauldin, S.C./St. Joseph's Catholic), and
Jackson Sonquist (Minneapolis, Minn./Patrick Henry) would all draw walks to load the bases.
Logan Karnowski (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) would then wear a pitch that drilled him, bringing in Dobitz for UNW's first run of the game. The Gusties would make a pitching change but
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary) would draw one more walk to give the Eagles an additional run. UNW would not score again in the frame and the game ended with a score that favored GAC, 12-2.
Game Two
An early inning ambush by the Gusties was the story in game two of the doubleheader. Gustavus scored 22 runs in the game and 18 of those runs came in the first two innings.
Once again, GAC used homeruns to build their lead. They hit three run and two run homeruns in the first inning followed by another three run homerun in the second inning amongst a handful of other run scoring base hits.
Once again, both of UNW's runs came in the same frame. Also similar to the first game of the doubleheader, it was the Eagles' patience at the plate resulting in walks that helped them push a pair of runs across the plate. Hautajarvi drew a leadoff walk and then ended up on third base thanks to a wild pitch and a passed ball.
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) then drew a walk before
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) would pinch hit for the Eagles. He was retired on a groundball to the shortstop, but Hautajarvi scored and Hixon moved to second base on the play. Hixon would score on a double to right field by
Mark Bligh (Sydney, Australia/Magdalene Catholic College). UNW did not score again and GAC won the contest 22-2.
Bligh along with
Benji Bruce (Minneapolis, Minn./Maranatha Christian) were each 2-2 at the plate for the Eagles.
Alex Luepke (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) and
Andrew Simon (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Mounds View) were the two most effective Eagle pitchers in a game in which it was difficult to record outs. Luepke went two and two thirds innings giving up three runs and picking up a strikeout. Simon pitched an inning and two thirds giving up one run and also picking up a strikeout.
Up Next
For the remainder of the week, the Eagles will be at the friendly confines of Reynolds Field where they are 1-0 this season. UNW's next action will be against Macalester on Friday, March 1
st at 4:00 PM.
