SAINT PETER, Minn. – Ronald Reagan was in office, gas prices were $0.86 a gallon, and "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco was at the top of the U.S. Billboard Charts.
April 11, 1986 was the last time Gustavus defeated Minnesota State-Mankato in baseball and on Monday afternoon a losing streak of 25 games came to an end for the Gusties as they topped the Mavericks, ranked No. 25 in Division II by the NCBWA, 11-7 at the Gustie Baseball Field.
Nick Hentges (Fy., Edina) set the tone for the Gusties as he pitched three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. The Mavericks took the first lead in the fourth on a solo home run, but the Gusties answered in the bottom half as
Luke Johnson (Sr., Paynesville) hit a three-run double to the left-center field fence, which appeared to have cleared the fence, hitting a soccer goal behind the fence and bouncing back into play, but was ultimately called a double.
Gustavus added three more runs in the fifth.
Bryce Novak (Sr., Cleveland) led off with a double and scored on a single by
Jack Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka). Hanson later scored on a single by
Logan Bjorkman (Sr., Lindstrom), while
Gavin Baker (Sr., Lakeville) scored on a wild pitch.
MSU scored its second run of the game in the sixth after two doubles, but the Gusties responded again in the bottom half with five runs on three hits and an error to take a comfortable 11-2 lead.
Hanson hit a one-out triple in the seventh, representing the mercy rule winning run, but the Mavericks got out of the frame and made things interesting in the final two innings. MSU scored three times in the eighth on four hits, and plated another run in the ninth to make it a four-run game with the bases loaded, but
Brevin Goetz (So., Rochester) closed the door with a strikeout to end the game.
Hanson (3-5, R, RBI, 3B) and
Drake Siens (Jr., Rogers) (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B) led at the plate.
Jackson Thielen (Fy., Eden Prairie) earned the win in relief, tossing one inning with one run allowed on one hit. The Gusties used seven pitchers in the victory.
Gustavus, winners of its last nine games and now 12-8 overall, returns to conference action Wednesday afternoon with a doubleheader at Augsburg.
Â
