INDIANOLA, Iowa – The St. Olaf College baseball team began its season by sweeping Simpson College by scores of 5-0 and 13-4 on Sunday at McBride Field.

After being forced to wait one extra day to open its season due to cold weather, St. Olaf (2-0) got a 12-strikeout performance from senior Jacob Fickenscher over 5.0 shutout innings in game one and recorded four multi-run innings in game two to sweep Simpson (1-3). Fickenscher's 12 strikeouts in the opener were a career-high total for the lefthander.

The Oles will return to Iowa next weekend for back-to-back doubleheaders at Luther College on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9. First pitch on Saturday is set for 2 p.m.

St. Olaf 5, Simpson 0 | Box Score

Fickenscher held the Storm to two hits and one walk over 5.0 innings in his 12-strikeout outing, which included the senior getting the first nine outs of the game via strikeout. Sophomore Sam Hruska and senior David Scheil finished off the shutout, with Hruska fanning three over 3.0 shutout innings and Scheil adding another strikeout in his scoreless ninth inning. The trio combined for 16 strikeouts in the win.

Seniors Evan Hammonds and Matthew Oberlander both registered three-hit games at the plate, with Hammonds going 3-for-5 with a double, one RBI, and two runs scored. Oberlander was also 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Hammonds and Oberlander also both stole a base.

St. Olaf gave its pitching staff the only run it would need when junior Frank Lavin drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the first inning. Lavin's walk was one of three in the inning, but Simpson starter Trey Castille, an all-region selection a year ago, limited the damage to one run.

In the fourth, the Oles added two runs to their lead, scoring on a one-out RBi double by Hammonds and a two-out infield hit by junior Breckin Hadley. Junior Jack Pettit, who drove in a team-high four runs on the day, delivered a two-out, run-scoring single to score Oberlander in the fifth for the final run of the game.

The only hits Fickenscher gave up were a two-out single in the third and a one-out double in the fifth. Simpson got at least one runner on base in each inning against Hruska and Scheil but could not score.

St. Olaf 13, Simpson 4 | Box Score

St. Olaf completed the sweep by tallying 13 runs on 11 hits while also drawing eight walks in the game-two victory. Junior Mason Buck was 3-for-4 with a walk, one RBI, and three runs scored, while senior Matthew Kulesa, junior Calvin Keesler, and Pettit drove in three runs apiece. Keesler had a pair of hits and drew a walk in a 2-for-4 performance.

Five pitchers worked in the game for the Oles, with sophomore Carter Follman earning the win with 1.0 scoreless innings of relief. Junior Kevin Steel struck out four over the first 3.0 innings, yielding three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks. Sophomore Nick Levasseur also threw 3.0 innings while giving up one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts after senior Jack Alley worked the fifth. Sophomore Kieran Haaland set the Storm down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Simpson scored its first run of the day with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, but St. Olaf quickly responded with three runs in the next half inning. After the Oles loaded the bases with nobody out, Buck moved everyone up one base with a single to left to tie the game and, two batters later, Hammonds singled up the middle to bring in two more. The Storm scored twice in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 3-3, however.

With the score still tied in the top of the fourth, Kulesa put St. Olaf ahead for good with a two-out, two-run double to right center after Buck and Keesler singled earlier in the inning to put two runners on. Keesler added a bases-clearing double down the left-field line in the fifth to give the Oles an 8-3 lead.

Simpson trimmed one run off its deficit with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but St. Olaf broke the game open with five runs in the top of the ninth to build a nine-run cushion. Pettit delivered the big hit of the inning with a three-run triple to left center, as the Oles took advantage of three walks and a hit batter to score five runs on three hits.