Gustavus Baseball kicked off their season with a non-conference doubleheader against Mayville State at US Bank Stadium on Wednesday, March 8.
“You know we’re just really excited to get going and everything like that,” Sophomore Matt Berkner said. “U.S. Bank is going to be a blast. Not only that, but just to play a game again. We’re all super excited to get back on the field to pick up where we left off last year.”
Brad Baker ‘80 returns for his third season as head coach after leading the Gusties to their first winning record (20-18) since 2008 in the 2016 season. Baker previously coached in 1981, leading the Gusties to a 16-10 record.
Just a year after a 14-22 record and a ninth place finish in the MIAC, the 2016 campaign was a big improvement, and saw big sweeps over MIAC foes St. Olaf, Bethel, and No. 15-ranked St. Thomas on route to a sixth place finish in the conference.
Expectations are high for the 2017 season, and the Black and Gold would love nothing more than to continue to improve in the MIAC, but that doesn’t mean the Gusties are setting any specific goals.
“We want to prepare the guys and help them, and put them in best position to win games, but we’re not setting any goals,” Baker said.
The Gusties lose a few key players, most notably All-Conference pitcher Jacob Volness, but the Gusties are hoping young talent and a disciplined attitude can create tallies in the win column.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the depth that we have this year.” — Coach Brad Baker
“We’ve added a couple kids that can help us this year. Last year, we were so late from a recruiting standpoint, but this year we’ve done really well with recruiting. We’ve got a bunch of really good kids coming next year. So as I look at this year, we are going to be really similar talent-wise, but the big difference will be our mental approach, which will be much better,” Baker said.
A surplus of returning players also gives the Gusties the ammunition it needs to continue climbing the MIAC.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the depth that we have this year,” Baker said. “We have at least a half dozen kids that can play the outfield and it will be really competitive out there. We have some good athletes. With the pitching staff, we’ve got six to eight guys that we feel comfortable putting out on the mound.
Seniors Josh Chatfield and Isaiah Welcke lead the Gusties at the plate last year, and look to set the pace again in 2017. Right-fielder Chatfield posted a team high batting average of .389, and Second Baseman Welcke was close behind, hitting .365.
Pitchers such as Senior Connor Kern, and Sophomore Sam Archer will be looked upon to deliver from the mound. Senior Sam Carlson, Sophomore Adam Stockwell, Senior Kyle Pinke, Junior Casey Lewandowski, Senior Jacob Braun, and Freshman Mitchell Nordin will also throw for the Gusties.
Carlson is back at shortstop for Gustavus after recording 117 assists, the third most in program history. He also averaged .314 over 137 at-bats. MIAC All-Defensive Third Baseman Brock Peterson will make his presence known with his glove this season. Peterson had 80 assists and only six errors for a .950 fielding percentage.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the depth that we have this year,” Baker said. “We have at least a half dozen kids that can play the outfield and it will be really competitive out there. We have some good athletes. With the pitching staff, we’ve got six to eight guys that we feel comfortable putting out on the mound.”
The team has taken advantage of some uncharacteristically warm weather, and are happy with how things are starting off.
“Practice has been going super well. We’re so much farther from a fundamental standpoint right now than we were last year at this time. Guys are coming to practice with a mentality to have fun and get better every day,” Berkner said.
