Kieran Ripken-
The Gustavus Softball team hosted #10 nationally-ranked Bethel for a doubleheader on Sunday, April 14th, and recorded a sweep—the team’s first against the Royals since 2018. The Gusties won 3-1 in the first of two games before solidifying the sweep with a 4-3 win in extra innings later in the day. Gustavus improved to 14-14 and 8-2 in the MIAC on the season.
In the first game, Sophomore Maizie Anderson earned the start for the Gusties in the circle and held the Royals scoreless with two shutout innings. A Gustie error in the top of the third allowed a Royal to tally a run. It would be their only run.
Junior Kayla Herda responded for the Gusties in the bottom of the third with a clutch two-out single, scoring Sophomore Olivia Guggenberger and First-year Macy McNally to gain a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Sophomore Caitlin Olafsson led off for the Gusties and scorched a triple to left field. In the next at-bat, First-year Carly Olson launched a double to right center and scored Olaffson, pushing the final score to 3-1.
Anderson had a dominant performance in the circle and registered a complete game, striking out five and holding the Royals scoreless for the remainder of the game. Olafsson paced the squad with two hits and Herda led the team with 2 RBI’s.
“I prepared as if we were playing any other team. I knew it was important to take them seriously, but I didn’t want to make the moment seem too big and I know how important it is to trust myself and my abilities as well as my teammates because I know they have my back as well,” Anderson said.
“Since my freshman year, Bethel has been a top of the MIAC team to beat. Our season ended last year when we lost a close 1-0 game to them so it meant a lot for us to come out with vengeance,” Junior Greta Dahlen said.
In the second game, First-year Ava Hamsund earned the start for the Gusties. In the first inning, Hamsund loaded the bases and allowed a run off a Bethel single, but escaped the jam without further damage.
“How I go at any team is to try to get ahead on the batter and get them to chase balls that make it easier on the defense like a popup or grounder. Bethel has a lot of good hitters and bunters so we threw my change up more often to try to get them to swing,” Hamsund said.
In the subsequent inning, a single from Dahlen scored Sophomore Taylor Katzenmeyer to level the score 1-1. Bethel would respond in the top of the third, scoring on a passed ball to regain the lead at 2-1.
Two innings later, the Gusties had a scoring opportunity and capitalized when Guggenberger hit a sacrifice fly, scoring McNally and tying the score at 2 apiece.
In the top of six, Bethel would not go away and tallied an additional run to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. As one might guess, the Gusties once again tied the game in the bottom of the inning. First-year Peyton Stevermer launched a double that advanced First-year Breck Carlson into scoring position. A Dahlen sac fly scored Carlson and re-tied the game at 3-3.
Neither team folded in the seventh, pushing the game into extra innings. Hamsund returned to the circle for an eighth inning of work and did not disappoint. Despite a runner placed on second, Hamsund forced three consecutive groundouts to close the inning. Herda began the inning on second and did not have to wait long before a single courtesy of Olson scored the game-winning run, clinching the Gusties’ sweep of Bethel in the 4-3 win.
“I think that these wins were super important for us. One of our goals before the season was to beat Bethel so it was something that we knew we could do and was something we really wanted to accomplish,” Anderson said.
“It was a big sweep for us to be able to stay at the top of the MIAC and gave the team confidence that we can beat good teams and perform well in big games,” Hamsund said.
While the Gusties were able to perform well on the field and down Bethel twice on Sunday, it has been the team’s approach to the little things that have made all the difference.
“Our support for one another is something that cannot be written in the box score. We notice the small things in one another and emphasize their importance, which has a way of making everyone feel influential. After a long weekend of games, this can be evident in the number of voices lost on the team,” Dahlen said.
The team does not intend to dwell on their successful day with numerous MIAC opponents ahead of the schedule.
“While it’s nice to soak in the sweep against Bethel, we now move into taking every conference doubleheader one at a time. The season is far from over and as we have seen in the recent MIAC scores, anything can happen,” Dahlen said.
Looking ahead, the Gusties have a string of MIAC opponents. The team will travel to Duluth on Saturday, April 20th to square off in a doubleheader against St. Scholastica and will host St. Catherine for another doubleheader on Tuesday, April 23rd.