ST. PETER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team set up a winner-take-all game for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular season title with a 14-9 win in game one, but Gustavus Adolphus College scored six times in the eighth to win game two, 10-6, on Saturday at Gustie Baseball Field.

Senior Luke Dahl led off the top of the seventh with a go-ahead solo home run to spark a five-run inning that broke a 9-9 tie to give St. Olaf (24-13, 12-7 MIAC) the opener. Gustavus (23-11, 14-6 MIAC) overcame a 6-4 deficit late in game two, using a six-run eighth to claim its first regular season MIAC title since 1980.

Saint John's also entered Saturday with a chance at the regular season title, but dropped the opener of its twin bill against Hamline, meaning the winner of game two between the Gusties and Oles would claim the title and be the top seed in next week's MIAC Playoffs.

Top-seeded Gustavus will meet fourth-seeded Saint Mary's (Minn.) at 3 p.m. to begin the four-team tournament on Thursday, May 9 at CHS Field. The third-seeded Oles will then take on the second-seeded Johnnies at 6:30 p.m.

St. Olaf 14, Gustavus Adolphus 9 | Box Score

St. Olaf jumped out to a quick lead in game one, scoring seven times in the first inning before Gustavus rallied in the middle innings to go ahead, 9-7. The Oles scored two in the sixth to tie it up before Dahl's solo shot ignited the decisive five-run seventh.

Dylan Blake and Jake Ossell had four hits apiece, with Blake going 4-for-5 with a run and three RBI and Ossell going 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Tommy McDonald went 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs and an RBI.

The Oles scored seven runs on six hits in the top of the first, including scoring five times after the second out. The first four batters of the game reached for St. Olaf, with Blake and Matthew Muller driving in runs with singles. After a consecutive strikeouts, Andrew Nomoto provided an RBI single, a run scored on an error, Ossell drove in two runs with a double and Rogers knocked in a run with a single to center.

The Gusties got one run back in the first but the score remained 7-1 until the fourth. Ethan Mocchi hit a two-run home run in a four-run fourth for the hosts and Dexter Leer added a two-run shot of his own in a three-run fifth that put Gustavus up, 9-7.

Finding themselves behind, the Oles responded in their next at bat to tie it at 9-9 in the top of the sixth. McDonald plated Ossell with a two-out, run-scoring triple to center and Blake followed with a game-tying RBI double down the left-field line.

In his return from injury, Sam Westermeyer tossed a scoreless sixth before the five-run top of the seventh. Dahl hit his team-high sixth home run of the season to left to start the frame and the Oles benefitted from a pair of outfield errors and a passed ball in the inning. Ossell knocked in runs with singles in the frame.

Westermeyer set the Gusties down in order in the seventh to finish off his sixth victory of the season.

Gustavus Adolphus 10, St. Olaf 6 | Box Score

Dahl was 4-for-4 with a run and four RBI to help St. Olaf build a 6-4 lead in game two, but Gustavus batted around in its six-run eighth to secure the MIAC regular season title and the top seed in the MIAC Playoffs.

In addition to Dahl's big game, Nomoto hit his first-career home run as part of a 2-for-4 game and Blake was 2-for-5 with two runs. Muller also added two hits and a run, as St. Olaf out-hit Gustavus by a 14-7 margin but committed five errors in the loss.

After the first two St. Olaf batters were retired to start the game, Blake and Muller singled to keep the inning alive and Dahl followed with a two-run double to left center to plate them both. The Gusties tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second, scoring on a sacrifice fly and an error, before taking a 3-2 lead with a run in the third.

Dahl and Nomoto both hit two-run home runs to account for all four runs in the top of the fifth, as the Oles went ahead, 6-3. Blake led off the inning with a single before scoring on Dahl's second home run of the day with one out. Sam Stuckmayer then drew a walk and scored on Nomoto's first home run as an Ole.

Gustavus benefitted from three St. Olaf errors to get a run in the home half of the fifth. The Gusties threatened for more in the inning with runners on second and third with one out, but Jesse Retzlaff escaped further damage with a pop up to second and a fly out to left.

Thomas Peterson relieved Retzlaff to get the Oles out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the seventh and temporarily preserve the 6-4 lead until a two-out rally in the sixth gave the Gusties the lead. Gustavus had a runner on first with two outs before six-straight batters reached, with Ryan Moriarty breaking a 6-6 tie with a two-run single to center and Mocchi following with a two-run double to left center.

St. Olaf's first three batters of the top of the ninth reached to bring up the tying run. Muller singled to center, Dahl was hit by a pitch and Stuckmayer singled through the right side to prompt a pitching change. Brice Panning earned his first save of the season for the Gusties by striking out the final three batters.

Retzlaff allowed four runs (two earned) in 6.2 innings of work for St. Olaf. After earning the win in game one, Westermeyer took the loss, with Gavyn Walsh earning the win for Gustavus with 3.1 innings of shutout relief.

St. Olaf hosts UW-Superior in a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday, May 5 at 1 and 3 p.m. The Oles will honor their seniors between the two games.