WINONA, Minn. - After falling behind in the first game, Gustavus baseball responded with a controlled 7-3 decision over Saint Mary's to earn a key MIAC split near the end of the regular season. Junior Dylan Kopesky did the grunt work in Game 2, going 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI to help earn the split. 

Gustavus 3, Saint Mary's 6

The Gustavus bats were held at bay in the first game, only compiling five hits while the pitching staff gave up 10. Each team gave up an error but the Gusties did well to limit damage, forcing seven Cardinal runners to be stranded. The standout statistic of the game was the difference in extra base hits, with Gustavus not finding a single one while Saint Mary's found two or more bases three times. 

The Cardinals struck first, finding a run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single to right field. After the one run, junior pitcher Benny McDonald (Blaine, Minn.) kept two scoreless innings, allowing Gustavus to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Charles Gearen (Minneapolis, Minn.) found the RBI, reaching on a fielders choice with one out to bring home classmate Jackson Golberg (Savage, Minn.) to reestablish the deadlock. 

The bottom half of the inning proved fatal, starting with a self-inflicted run via an error by McDonald to score the second run of the day. After a sacrifice bunt advanced a runner to third, a double through the left side doubled the Cardinal lead and after a flyout, the score was pushed to 4-1 in favor of Saint Mary's through a single to right field. 

Gustavus responded well, closing the gap to one in the top of the fifth. Senior Tomas Nelson (Maplewood, Minn.) was responsible fot the applied pressure, homering to score himself and junior Dylan Kopesky (Mankato, Minn.) with one out. Junior Daniel Dahl (St. Paul, Minn.) singled after the home run and advanced to third via stolen base and error, but was stranded after a strikeout and pop up. Saint Mary's closed the deal in the sixth, giving themselves breathing room with two more runs to notch their fifth and six runs of the day. 

McDonald ended with 10 hits given up in the loss before reliever Logan Grinnell (So., Victoria, Minn.) came in to relief in the sixth and did not allow a hit. Five different Gusties found a hit in the game, but no one could find more than one, limiting the ability to get the offense going. 

Gustavus 7, Saint Mary's 3

The Gusties responded big in Game 2, earning a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals to help keep MIAC Playoff hopes alive and steal one from a team that sits above them in the MIAC standings. 

Offense rolled right away, scoring two runs in the first inning thanks to a home run by junior Simon James (Minnetrista, Minn.) to score classmate Brayden Kohls (Norwood, Minn.) as well. The 2-0 lead held until the third inning, when Saint Mary's got one back with a double to center field. This was the only run that sophomore Logan Feeney (Le Sueur, Minn.) would give up in eight innings of work, which helped cultivate four consecutive runs of scoring for the Gusties. 

The fifth inning was the first of four in a row for Gustavus, with Kohls singling to center field to score Kopesky with two outs. In the sixth, it was Gearen who brought a runner home, using a sacrifice fly to right field to score Golberg from third. The same situation unfolded in the seventh inning, just this time to left field, when Kohls once again scored Kopesky to bring the lead to four. Kopesky continued to touch home in the eighth, when he hit a two run shot to score himself and Gearen to push the score to 7-1 going into the ninth. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals found two runs, first with a sacrifice fly for one run. The run kept one run on first base, who was stranded until there were two outs, when a double to right field scored a second runner. Esposito got the last batter to ground out to senior Ross Hebel (Prior Lake, Minn.) at short, giving the Gusties the 7-3 win. 

Feeney was credited with the win after going eight innings with just one earned run on six hits, while striking out seven batters and only walking two. Kopesky touched home three times and went 4-for-4 with 2 RBI in Game 2, doing his fair share and more to help the Gusties secure a series split. 

Gustavus plays their last MIAC series at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, traveling up to St. Scholastica for a doubleheader.
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