ST. PAUL, Minn. - Gustavus baseball got their first sweep in 20 days on Monday, taking down Hamline twice. The team was on the receiving end of some good luck in the first game to take a 2-1 decision before hitting two home runs at CHS Field in the back half to earn a 7-6 win. 

Gustavus 2, Hamline 1

The first game of Monday's twinbill was a low-scoring duel, with junior pitcher Benny McDonald (Blaine, Minn.) earning the win on the hill, only giving up five hits in a complete-game appearance while striking out five batters. 

Sophomore Jackson Golberg (Savage, Minn.) got the game underway with a hit in the first inning, doubling to left field, but could not capitalize and left the first tied at zero. The Pipers got on the board first at CHS Field, singling to left field with two outs. Junior Andrew Glovich (Sioux Falls, S.D.) got the second hit of the game for Gustavus, singling to center field but he was left on base. 

It took until the fifth inning for the Gusties to find two hits in the same half inning, when senior Ross Hebel (Prior Lake, Minn.) singled to left field and former high school teammate Jackson Golberg (Savage, Minn.) followed suit with two outs and pushed Hebel to scoring position. Yet again, the Gusties could not find the finishing touch, leaving both runners on in the fifth. 

Gustavus was able to do it again in the sixth inning, with sophomore Charles Gearen (Minneapolis, Minn.) singling to right field to get on base. After a sacrifice bunt from junior Isaiah Hasz (Pine City, Minn.) pushed Gearen to second, junior Daniel Dahl (St. Paul, Minn.) brought Gearen just 90 feet from home. Dahl got to second after stealing, but the Gusties stranded two in scoring position. 

That looked like it would be the best chance for the Gusties in the game, down to their last out in the seventh. Junior Simon James (Minnetrista, Minn.) and Gustavus were on the right side of a lucky play, with the center fielder and left fielder for Hamline colliding on a fly ball out to left center. The error was able to score Hebel and James ran to third, which led to a game-winning wild pitch from the Hamline pitcher, helping the Gusties win the first game. 

Golberg and Hebel led the team with two hits each in the win, while Dahl had the only stolen base. McDonald only needed 88 pitches to take down the Pipers, allowing one earned run, striking out five, and walking two. McDonald performed well in crunch time, not allowing a hit after the fifth inning which gave the Gustavus batters more room to operate. 

Gustavus 7, Hamline 6

The second game got off to a rocky start for the Gusties, who used a six-run rally in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to edge past Hamline. 

Sophomore pitcher Logan Feeney (Le Sueur, Minn.) got into a jam in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded, allowing one run with two outs, but kept the damage to just one, forcing a lineout to junior Brayden Kohls (Norwood, Minn.) in center field. A three-run shot in the third ended Feeney's day, going down 4-1 and when sophomore Logan Grinnell (Victoria, Minn.) came in, gave up one more, putting the team down four after three. 

Kohls continued his offensive prowess this season, doubling to left field to cut the deficit to two to score Hebel and junior Dylan Kopesky (Mankato, Minn.). Hamline responded with one in the bottom half, going back up to double of the Gustie run total, but that would not hold for long. Gearen erased that run from the Pipers with a solo home run. Hebel tied the game up later in the inning with a double to left field, scoring both Dahl and Hasz to score runs five and six. 

Kohls scored what would be the game-winning run in the sixth, hitting a solo home run with an 0-1 count to push the Gusties into the lead after trailing by as many as four. Grinnell and Glovich would combine on the mound for four shutout innings to end the game, only allowing three runs. After a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth, Glovich worked out of the potential issue, especially after the runner advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, by forcing a lineout and striking out the final batter on an eight-pitch at-bat. 

Kohls, Gearen, and Kopesky all brought in two hits of the 10 that Gustavus had in Game 2, while Kohls led with three RBI in the second game in five plate appearances. 

The Gusties continue their busy week tomorrow, hosting Carleton for a doubleheader at 2:30 p.m. before an expected four more games this week. 
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