Steffensen’s monster night, Gamm’s late-game heroics spark Huskies to game one win over Mary

Thursday, May 13

St. Cloud, MN

6:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

21-12

University of Mary

21-19

University of Mary

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Steffensen’s monster night, Gamm’s late-game heroics spark Huskies to game one win over Mary

5/13/2021 9:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

St. Cloud State (21-12, 18-9 NSIC) outfielder Paul Steffensen (3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) had a three-hit evening while shortstop Max Gamm (1-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB) delivered the go-ahead two-run single to give the Huskies a 6-4 Opening Round game one victory over the University of Mary (21-19, 18-14 NSIC) on Thursday evening.

"Whew!!!" said head coach Pat Dolan, "That was playoff baseball at its best and a pretty well played games with two really good lefthanded pitchers dominating the first five innings. We knew we had our work cut out for us with Wagner and Mary in general as Tanner's done a great job with his program. Right back at it tomorrow bright and early at 11:00 am to hopefully get the series sweep and move on!"

Huskies ace Matt Osterberg fired 5.1 innings of three-hit, three-walk baseball with 10 strikeouts, dueling with Marauders feature arm Austin Wagner through the game's first three-and-a-half innings. Osterberg would go on to allow just two runs in a no-decision.

Scoreless entering the home half of the fourth, Steffensen blasted a long solo home run to deep left, opening the scoring at 1-0 SCSU on the Huskies' first hit of the game.

Gamm reached on a one-out fielder's choice in the fifth, stole second then moved to third on a wild pitch. Steffensen struck again with a single roped through the left side, providing the Huskies with a 2-0 advantage.

U-Mary responded with a two-run sixth, setting the stage for an exhilarating final three frames. The Marauders collected a moonshot two-run homer in the seventh to take their first lead of the game, then Steffensen smashed a one-out triple to deep right center in the home half. Jake Shusterich (1-for-3, BB, R, RBI, SF) brought him home with a lineout sacrifice fly, setting the stage for Matt Quade (1-for-3, BB, R, HR, RBI) with two outs and the bases empty. SCSU's rightfielder rocketed a game-tying solo home run to left, knotting things at four a piece.

Nick Brauns came on for the eighth and fired a one-two-three frame. Tate Wallat (1-for-3, BB, R) and Drew Bulson (0-for-2, 2 BB, R) worked back-to-back walks to begin the home half then were advanced 90 feet on a Parker Savard (0-for-0, SAC) sacrifice bunt. After a lineout, Gamm roped a go-ahead two-run single through the hole on the left side, giving the Huskies their decisive 6-4 advantage.

Brauns closed out the ninth, earning the win with 2.0 innings of one-hit shutout relief, striking out two.

The Huskies and Marauders play game two of their series on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. CST at Joe Faber Field. Game two will be broadcast on 97.5 FM RadioX and the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by SCSU.