TUCSON, Ariz. - The Gustavus baseball team wrapped up their spring trip to Arizona with a split against Aurora, winning via a walkoff walk in the second game. Sophomore
Charles Gearen (Minneapolis, Minn.) led with three hits and a run across the two days while senior
Joe Burns (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had three RBI in the second game, including the discipline at the plate to earn an eight-pitch walk for the win.
GUSTAVUS 5, AURORA 6
Aurora got on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in each of their first three innings to take a 3-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, graduate student
Isaac Becker (Columbia Heights, Minn.) responded with a two-run shot with a 3-1 count to bring the Gusties back within one.
Aurora pushed back, though, in the bottom half of the inning, doubling their run total with two outs. The Spartans used two errors by the Gusties to get runners on first and second, where a bases-clearing double brought the lead back to three. A single to center field added to the lead in the inning, bringing the score to 6-2 through four in the first of two seven-inning games.
Neither team scored in the fifth or sixth inning, setting up a pressure-filled seventh inning with the game on the line. With runners on first and second with no outs, junior
Brayden Kohls (Norwood, Minn.) hit a bases-clearing double for himself, setting up a runner on second and the tying run at the plate with no outs. After a strike out, junior
Simon James (Minnetrista, Minn.) was walked, putting runners on first and second with one out. Gearen singled to third on the first pitch of his at-bat, loading the bases with one out. Senior
Tomas Nelson (Maplewood, Minn.) drove home Kohls with a sacrifice fly, but Becker could not tie or win the game, flying out to right field.
Gustavus had seven hits in the loss, but committed four errors, pushing themselves further away from the desired result. Aurora scored runs in the first four innings of the day, waking up quicker than the Gusties.
GUSTAVUS 5, AURORA 4
Just like the first game, the Gusties gave up three runs first, this time all coming in the first inning with three consecutive singles. Each team went silent for one trip to the plate after that, but in the bottom of the second, Gearen hit a solo home run with an 0-2 count to bring the Gusties back to life and bring the game within two runs.
After two more scoreless innings, the Spartans added one more in the top of the 5th, singling to left field to erase the deficit that Gearen cut into in the second inning. The bottom half of the inning was where the Gusties threw their best punches on the day, starting with senior
Ross Hebel (Prior Lake, Minn.) touching home via a single to center field by junior
Daniel Dahl (St. Paul, Minn.). Burns returned the favor for Dahl later in the inning, singling to left field to score Dahl and sophomore
Jackson Golberg (Savage, Minn.) to tie the game. Sophomore
Logan Grinnell (Victoria, Minn.) came in for classmate
Logan Feeney (Le Sueur, Minn.) in the top of the sixth and did not give up a run, only allowing one hit in his two innings of work. This allowed the Gusties to make their mark, as
Joe Burns was walked in to bring the Gusties their first win in four games, going 5-3 in Arizona.
Gustavus is scheduled to play this weekend against Bethany Lutheran in Saint Peter, with two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday.
