TUCSON, Ariz. - The Gustavus baseball team Tuesday held off a late rally by Division II Minot State, securing a 6-5 win to improve to 5-0 overall.
After allowing one run in the first, Gustie starter
Benny Mcdonald settled in and tossed five consecutive scoreless innings. The Gustie bats responded early in the game with a run in the second and four more in the third.
Tomas Nelson hit a one-out single in the second and later scored on a single by
Sam Schneider to tie the game 1-1. In the top of the third,
Chris Knowles reached on an error and later scored on a single by
Brayden Kohls.
Danny Gavin, who walked, scored on a double by
Brady Schmitz. Kohls also scored on the play. Schmitz advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a groundout by Nelson for a 5-1 lead.
The Gusties gained a five-run advantage in the seventh as Nelson led off with a double and scored on a single by
Luke Siegle. The Beavers cut the lead to three in the bottom half after a two-run single, ending Mcdonald's day. Minot added another RBI single to make the score 6-4 before being caught stealing home to end the inning.
Minot then made it a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth on a sacrifice fly, by
Brevin Goetz ended the game by coaxing a flyout to short.
Knowles (2-4, R, BB), Nelson (2-5, 2 R, RBI), and Siegle (2-5, RBI) each had two-hit performances. Mcdonald earned the mound victory after 6.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Goetz picked up the save with a scoreless ninth.
The Gusties have tomorrow off and then face Bethany Lutheran on Thursday afternoon.
