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Jackson Gutta
Justin Hayworth/Grinnell College
3
Winner Grinnell GRINNELL 0-0
0
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS 0-0
Winner
Grinnell GRINNELL
0-0
3
Final
0
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS
0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Grinnell GRINNELL 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 4 0
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2

W: Gutta, Jackson (1-1) L: C. Schweppe (0-1) S: M. Nakamoto (2)

5
Winner Grinnell GRINNELL 0-0
3
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS 0-0
Winner
Grinnell GRINNELL
0-0
5
Final
3
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS
0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Grinnell GRINNELL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 5 8 0
Westminster (Mo.) WESTMINS 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 8 0

W: Griffin, Ajay (1-0) L: J. Escobedo (1-1) S: K. Kajita (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell wraps up weekend series at Westminster with doubleheader sweep

FULTON, Mo. - In a battle of stingy pitching staffs, Grinnell College's Jackson Gutta '27 and Matthew Nakamoto '25 emerged on top as the Pioneers shut out Westminster College 3-0 in the opening game of a doubleheader Sunday.

The Pioneers finished off the sweep immediately after, rallying in the ninth inning on Connor Goodson's '26 three-run homer for a 5-3 victory.

In the opener, Gutta surrendered just two hits and struck out 10 over eight innings in getting his first victory of the season. Nakamoto fanned one and issued just one hit to close things out for his second save, preserving Grinnell's first shutout since 2023.

The teams combined for just seven hits, with Grinnell getting four of them while playing errorless ball on defense. After five scoreless innings, Ethan Crawford '25 belted a homer to right in the sixth. It was his team-high fourth round-tripper of the campaign.

The Pioneers added a run in the seventh when Stuart Cash '27 scored on a wild pitch, and Jacob Gaynor '28 added an RBI single to plate Brandon Chung '27 for a run in the ninth.

The Pioneers managed eight hits in the second game, with Crawford leading the charge with a pair. The Blue Jays went up 2-0 in the second, but Ben Kelly's '25 solo homer to left in the third cut the margin in half.

Westminster took a 3-1 lead in the sixth, but the Pioneers countered in the eighth when Sean Tashjian '25 came across on a passed ball. In the ninth, Mac McCain '25 and Crawford each singled before Goodson blasted his round-tripper to left-center for a 5-3 lead.

After the Blue Jays put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, Kenji Kajita '25 entered to get a flyout and strikeout to preserve the victory.

Ajay Griffin '27, the fourth Grinnell pitcher, tossed hitless ball for 1.1 innings for the victory and Kenjita earned the save.

McCain and Crawford moved up numerous Grinnell career categories during the weekend. McCain now ranks seventh in RBIs (90), eighth in at-bats (470) and 11th in runs scored (98). Crawford is fifth in putouts (581), sixth in chances (640) and ninth in RBIs with 86. Ian Feld '25 earned his 11th career pitching victory Saturday, which is ninth in GC history.
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