SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus softball team is set to face St. Olaf in the first round of the MIAC postseason tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Gusties are the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season 16-6 in the MIAC (22-18 overall), while the Oles, also 16-6 in the league, claimed the No. 4 seed through tiebreakers.

GUSTIES IN THE MIAC PLAYOFFS

Gustavus is making its league-leading 16th appearance in the MIAC postseason where it holds a record of 19-26 with one championship (2015). This is the third consecutive MIAC Playoff appearance for the Gusties, who made the tourney for 13-straight seasons from 2004 to 2016. Last season, the Gusties hosted the first ever MIAC playoff game at the Gustie Softball Field, defeating St. Catherine 4-1 in a quarterfinal matchup. The Gusties fell to eventual MIAC Champions Bethel in the semifinal, 1-0.

THE SERIES

Thursday's game marks the 97th meeting between Gustavus and St. Olaf on the field with the Gusties leading the all-time series 60-35-1. The Gusties and Oles have met twice in the MIAC tournament, but Thursday's game will mark the first postseason meeting since 2013. The Gusties own the all-time record in the playoffs, 2-0, winning 11-2 in 2013 and 5-2 in 2010

LAST TIME THEY MET

The two teams earned a MIAC series split in the regular season doubleheader on April 27, with the Gusties winning game one at St. Olaf 7-6 before falling 10-2 in the rematch. 

Gustavus 7, St. Olaf 6

A five-run first inning was the difference maker in game one of the doubleheader, as the early lead and 11 hits propelled the Gusties to victory. Madi Mueller set the tone early, leading the game off with a solo home run to left field. A Carly Olson double to left field scored the next Gustie run, bringing in Kayla Herda, who reached on a fielder's choice. Lauren Lambert singled to left to score Caitlin Olafsson, while a fielder's choice and error scored Olson, and a Greta Dahlen ground-out scored Lambert for the fifth run of the first inning. 

St. Olaf got one back in the second, scoring on a solo shot to left to cut the lead to four. The Gusties responded, though, as Olson doubled to left once more in the third, scoring Olafsson, who walked to start the inning. The Oles scored three in the bottom of the third on a two-RBI double and a wild pitch to bring the score to 6-4. The home team tacked on another one in the bottom of the fifth with the game's third left field home run. 

Olson picked up her third RBI double, which proved to be the game-winning play, in the sixth inning, as the first-year scored Olivia Guggenberger who singled to left center in her at-bat. St. Olaf scored another solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but the comeback effort was too little, too late, giving the Gusties their 13th MIAC win of the season.

Olson finished 3-for-4 with three RBI doubles. Dahlen also chipped in three hits to the team's total 11. Maizie Anderson picked up the win, pitching four innings, allowing four earned runs off five hits. Megan Sherwood was able to ensure that the early Gustie lead held, earning her first career save in the circle for the Gusties. 

Gustavus 2, St. Olaf 10

Much like the Gusties had in game one, the Oles used a five-run inning of their own to steal a win and earn the series split. St. Olaf scored at least one run in every inning but the third, picking up 13 hits off the Gusties. St. Olaf scored one in the first off an RBI single, to which the Gusties responded in the second, evening the score 1-1 off a Dahlen RBI double to right center. The Oles added another home run to the tally in the second, this time a two-run shot to right center to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second. 

The Gusties added what turned out to be their last run of the day in the third, as a Herda ground-out scored Madi Mueller, who singled to get on base. St. Olaf scored another in the fourth off an RBI single to right. The Gusties had a chance to make a serious dent in the Ole lead in the fifth, but left the bases loaded after back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. The home team ended game two in six innings, scoring one in the fifth off a solo shot to right center, before adding five in the sixth. St. Olaf scored on a trio of RBI doubles and an RBI single up the middle to end the game. 

Dahlen once again chipped in a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while six other Gusties accounted for the remainder of the hits. Ava Hamsund was credited with the loss, allowing six earned runs of nine hits in five innings of work. 

SCOUTING THE GUSTIES

Gustavus enters the postseason having won its last three games. A 3-1, 3-0 sweep of Carleton last weekend snapped a series of four consecutive splits with MIAC opponents, which began April 20 at St. Scholastica. The Gusties finished the regular season with their best MIAC record since the 2016 season, when the team went 17-5 in the conference. An historic three-way tie at the top of the conference left the Gusties tied for fourth after the regular season. Saint Mary's, Saint Benedict, and Bethel each earned a share of the MIAC Regular Season title. The Gusties won a game against every conference opponent this season, including a sweep of nationally-ranked Bethel, and splits with No. 1-seeded Saint Mary's and No. 2 Saint Benedict. The 2024 season marks the third in a row under Head Coach Coley Ries Welter that the Gusties have finished with double digit league wins. 

ACES UP THEIR SLEEVE

The Gusties have the second-best ERA in the MIAC this season at 2.69, second only to Bethel (2.16).  Maizie Anderson and Ava Hamsund have handled the Gustie pitching duties this season, holding opponents to a .259 batting average. Anderson, the team's ace, ranks second in innings pitched (125.0), third in opposing batting average (.248), fourth in batters struck out (82), sixth in ERA (2.52), and sixth in overall wins (12). The sophomore has had a breakout year in conference play this season, winning nine games, including seven in a row, and suffering only two MIAC losses. Her conference ERA of 1.44 ranks second behind Saint Benedict's Ellie Peterson (1.32) and ahead of Bethel's Kayla Simacek, the 2023 NFCA National Pitcher of the Year.

Hamsund has certainly impressed in the circle in her rookie season, compiling an ERA of 2.50 with a record of 9-8. In all her games this season, Hamsund ranks fifth in the MIAC in ERA (2.50), sixth in opposing batting average (.258), and eighth in both innings pitched (109.1) and batters struck out (63). Hamsund has pitched 12 complete games with two shutouts, and her MIAC ERA sits fourth at 1.71.

THE WINONA WAY

Ava Hamsund and Macy McNally have been a pitcher-catcher one-two punch for the Gusties this season, as both first-years hail from Winona, where they played high school softball together. "It's really great to have this chance to continue to play together," McNally said earlier in the season. "We already have that chemistry built into our play." The duo has the chance to return home for the remainder of the MIAC playoffs, as a win Thursday would send the Gusties to host Saint Mary's in Winona for a semifinal game and a chance at the MIAC Championship.

OLSON'S OFFENSE

Carly Olson has certainly made a strong case for MIAC Rookie of the Year, as the Luverne native has paced the Gustie offense in her first season of collegiate softball. Olson has started every game for the team, splitting time between third base and catcher. She leads the team in batting average (.360), slugging percentage (.464), hits (45), RBIs (26), doubles (13), and total bases (58). Her 13 doubles are tied for the most in the MIAC.  

SCOUTING THE OLES

St. Olaf finished the regular season with an overall record of 25-13. The Oles are making their eighth MIAC Playoff appearance, and sixth consecutive. St. Olaf is 8-12 all-time in the postseason tourney. Roxanne Ring has been the Oles' go-to in the circle, appearing in 19 games with 12 starts. In 84.1 innings pitched, Ring owns a 3.74 ERA with 31 strikeouts. Jaelyn Orth leads the Ole bullpen in wins with 10 in 17 appearances. Orth also boasts a team-leading 47 strikeouts. At the plate, Shreya Ashok leads the offense with a batting average of .409, going 52-for-127 with 18 RBI. The Oles rank second in the conference with 24 home runs this season, including five in the doubleheader against Gustavus.