SAINT PETER, Minn. – Gustavus baseball is set to host a four-team NCAA regional tournament this weekend at the Gustie Baseball Field in its first ever trip to the national tournament. The regional includes Gustavus (36-7), Beloit (30-14), Chicago (26-14), and UW-Oshkosh (31-13). Tickets are available at the gate and are cash only – $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and students, and $5 for children.
SCHEDULE
Friday, May 16
Game 1: 10 a.m. – (2) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh vs. (3) University of Chicago
Game 2: 1:30 p.m. – (1) Gustavus Adolphus College vs. (4) Beloit College
Saturday, May 17
Game 3: 8:30 a.m. – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (elimination game)
Game 4: 12 p.m. – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 5: 3:30 p.m. – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser (elimination game)
Sunday, May 18
Game 6: 11 a.m. – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner (region championship)
Game 7: (if necessary) 45 minutes following Game 6
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
The Gusties are newcomers to the NCAA tournament, clinching the program’s first ever berth after winning the MIAC playoff championship 11-9 over Bethel last Saturday. The Gusties are in the midst of their best season in program history, setting single season program records for wins (36), winning percentage (.837), at bats (1446), hits (506), doubles (96), RBIs (365), runs (396), and on base percentage (.444). The Gusties went a perfect 3-0 in the MIAC tournament with wins over St. Olaf and Bethel twice, capturing the first MIAC playoff title in program history in the 25-year history of the conference playoff.
The Gustavus lineup is potent all the way through, boasting a .349 team batting average, which is the fourth highest in Division III. The Gusties also rank 11th in slugging (.519), 12th in on base (.443), and 19th in scoring (9.2 runs per game). The one and two hitters in the lineup, sophomores Danny Gavin and Brayden Kohls, have combined for 149 hits this season, which are the most by two teammates in the country. The starting rotation of four pitchers has combined to go 23-2 with 193 strikeouts in 213.1 innings.
Nine Gusties were selected All-Conference, highlighted by Adam Biewen earning MIAC Pitcher of the Year. Biewen enters the national tournament with a 6-0 record and owns a 3.22 ERA in 50.1 innings. Biewen has struck out a team-high 63 batters,, while opponents are hitting .223. The fifth-year senior earned D3baseball.com Team of the Week honors on April 24 after striking out a career-high 14 batters in a complete game victory over Hamline. Joining Biewen on the All-MIAC team were Chris Knowles, Luke Siegle, Gavin, Kohls, Drake Siens, Joe Burns, Brevin Goetz, and Benny Mcdonald.
THE MATCHUPS
Gustavus and Beloit will face each other in baseball for the first time ever on Friday. While the Gusties are making their first NCAA appearance, the Buccaneers are making their third straight appearance and fifth overall. Beloit is 0-8 in national tournament games. Last season, the Buccaneers lost 7-3 to Spalding and 5-2 to Transylvania in the Lexington, Ky. regional.
Chicago and UW-Oshkosh are matching up for the fourth time where the Titans lead the series 2-1. They last faced each other on March 16 this season when the Maroons won 11-2. Chicago is making its first ever appearance in the national tournament, while Oshkosh is making its 26th appearance and first since 2018. The Titans are 107-53 all-time in the NCAA tourney and have finished in the top four 10 times, including national championships in 1985 and 1994.
BELOIT NOTES
• After dropping the first game of the Midwest Conference tournament 4-3 to Monmouth, Beloit ran the table with four straight wins, capped by a championship sweep over Monmouth by scores of 16-4 and 11-4.
• Jack Alport leads the offense with a .389 batting average, including 70 hits, 46 runs, 11 doubles, and is slugging at .500. Connor Vogel is next with a .374 batting average, including 65 hits, 28 runs, 12 doubles, six home runs, and 51 RBIs.
• Aiden Phipps needs two wins to tie the Midwest Conference career wins record of 29. Phipps is second in program history with 182 career strikeouts and owns the record with 281 innings pitched. Harvey Peña has 176 career strikeouts, which is third in program history, while Ben Schweit has 83 Ks, which is six shy of the single season Beloit record. Schweit this season leads the staff with a 2.63 ERA and 7-3 record in 13 appearances and 78.2 innings.
• Miles Souza, Connor Vogel, and Jack Alport are three of the top position players. Souza ranks in the program’s top-10 in career games played (153), RBI (116), bases (253), singles (147), at bats (602), and hits (190). Vogel is also top-10 in career RBI (145), putouts (787), home runs (16), bases (273), at bats (541), and hits (181). Alport is another career top-10 player with 44 stolen bases, .455 on base percentage, 221 bases, 137 singles, and 173 hits.
• Earlier this season, head coach Dave DeGeorge won his 558th game to surpass legendary Beloit basketball coach Bill Knapton as the winningest coach in a single sport in Beloit College history. His current record is 585-584-2 in 35 seasons.
CHICAGO NOTES
• The University of Chicago sits at 26-14 overall and 12-8 in the UAA this season. They are just one win away from breaking the program record for wins in a season, set back in 2018.
• Russell Kwinter is just the eighth pitcher in school history to record seven wins in a single season. He has 7-0 with a 2.97 ERA in his eight starts this season. Kwinter was named the UAA Pitcher of the Year and the UAA Rookie of the Year.
• Braden Jirovec, Erik Rindner, and Michael Gladden all joined Kwinter on the All-UAA Team after outstanding seasons.
• Gladden owns a .553 batting average and a .868 slugging percentage over the past two weeks. He is 21-38 at the dish with 17 runs scored, eight extra-base hits, 14 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.
• Jirovec leads the team in hits this season with 59. He is just nine hits from tying Nick Engel’s 2015 record of 68 hits, and he is just three hits from standing alone in second place all-time for a single-season.
• Max Wiesner has had a breakout freshman campaign for the Maroons. His 48 RBIs in 2025 ranks as the fourth-most in school history, just nine shy of Mark Mosier’s single-season record set back in 1997.
• Drew Bryan currently sits at 241 career strikeouts which ranks second all-time in UChicago history, just 55 away from the school record.
• Landon Brice has made 18 appearances on the mound for the Maroons with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has struck out 19 batters in 22.2 innings of work, and his 18 appearances are tied for second-most in school history, trailing only Jim Germain who had 21 in 1992.
UW-OSHKOSH NOTES
• UW-Oshkosh entered the WIAC tournament on an eight-game winning streak and continued that trend with wins over UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville to advance to the championship game. The Titans fell to UW-Whitewater twice in the title matchup.
• Zach Taylor leads the offense with a .408 batting average, including 71 hits, 37 runs, 17 doubles, six home runs, and 38 RBIs. Nick Shiu is next with a .371 average, including 69 hits, 33 runs, 11 doubles, three home runs, and 42 RBIs.
• As a team, the Titans are batting .321, averaging 7.9 runs per game. The pitching staff owns a 5.12 ERA while opponents are batting .266 with 6.7 strikeouts per game.
• Connor Brinkman leads all starting pitchers with a 2.47 ERA. Brinkman is 6-2 with 11 appearances, 73.0 innings, and 58 strikeouts. Josh Jansen owns a 3.89 ERA in 71.2 innings. He is 7-2 with 12 appearances and 69 strikeouts.
