DAVENPORT, Fla. – Junior Sam Gossard hit a pair of home runs to lead the Carleton College baseball team to a 9-5 victory over Elmhurst University, but the Knights were walked off in the nightcap against Knox College, losing 4-3.
 
Game 1 — Carleton 9, Elmhurst 5
Gossard hit a pair of towering solo shots in the first and third innings, and a Sam Chutkow sacrifice fly and Will Schnepf RBI double in the third gave Carleton (6-4) a 4-0 lead. Elmhurst (5-11) pawed a run back in the fourth off Knights starter Mark Fernandez, who had stranded the bases loaded in the opening frame then rolled through the next two.
 
Gossard reached base for the 11th consecutive time - dating back to Saturday against Fredonia State - in the sixth with a two-run single down the third base line, extending Carleton's lead to 6-1. Over his spell, Gossard went 7-for-7 with four walks, two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI. The streak was snapped in his next at-bat with a warning-track flyout.
 
The Bluejays pushed three runs across in the fifth after back-to-back hit by pitches and two seeing-eye singles, setting the score to 6-4. In the bottom of the sixth, Jack Hommeyer stung a ball to deep right-center and Elmhurst committed a three-base error, and an Andrew Sellers' groundout swiftly drove the senior in. Another miscue set the table for a two-run homer by Chutkow that gave the Knights a 9-4 cushion. This was Carleton's fifth three-home game since 2005 (see chart below).
 
Ananth Iyer had entered from the bullpen in the top of the sixth, and scythed through the final four innings to preserve Carleton's third straight win.
 
Fernandez tossed 4.0 innings, giving up four hits and a run. Iyer (2-1) chucked 4.0 relief innings to earn the win, conceding just an unearned run and fanning a career-high seven.
 
Gossard finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBI. This was the eighth two-home game by a Knight since 2005, and he is now tied for sixth in recorded team history with eight career home runs (see charts below).
 
Schnepf went 2-for-4 with a double, Sellers went 2-for-3 with a walk, run, and RBI, and Chutkow had two knocks and three RBI.
 
Game 2 — Knox 4, Carleton 3
Schnepf continued his season-opening tear on the mound, carving through the Knox (7-6) lineup and trading zeroes with Prairie Fire righty Leo Dircks. The Knights finally broke the seal in the fourth with a pair of walks and a Nathan Barnhart RBI single, John Hurtubise RBI ground ball, and Iyer stinging a single to center to make it a 3-0 game.
 
Knox used a double and three consecutive free passes in the sixth to start their scoring. Rookie Tyler Vandersall made his collegiate debut on the mound after that sequence, entering with the bases loaded and no outs, and a run already in. The right-hander induced a double-play grounder that scored another run, and after a game-tying single, escaped from the jam admirably to keep the game tied.
 
Vandersall threw another zero, but Carleton failed to solve the Knox bullpen through their final turns at bat. In the bottom of the ninth, Henry Scholes drew a walk, Tony kemp pinch ran and stole second base, and pinch hitter Seth Baumann hit a walk-off double to hand the Prairie Fire a win.
 
Schnepf twirled 5.0 innings of one-hit scoreless ball, striking out seven. The junior has now tossed 14.0 scoreless innings to begin his year. Vandersall threw 2.0 innings, giving up no runs and K'ing one. Ryan Chang took a hard-luck loss, giving up the walk-off hit after 1.2 innings where he punched out two.
 
Barnhart went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads back to Minnesota to start its MIAC slate. The Knights are currently scheduled to open conference play at home on Saturday, March 29 against No. 24 Gustavus Adolphus College.
 
3+ home runs in a game for Carleton
3 – May 6, 2008 – vs. Minnesota-Morris
3 – March 24, 2015 – vs. Oberlin College
3 – April 22, 2015 – vs. Hamline University (game 1)
3 – April 27, 2002 – vs. Bethel University (game 2)
3 – March 24, 2025 – vs. Elmhurst University
 
2-home games by a Knight (since 2005)
April 28, 2005 – Ben Cooprider – vs. Bethany Lutheran
May 6, 2008 – Russ Fujisawa – vs. Minnesota-Morris
April 12, 2014 – Ray Yong – at Bethel University (game 1)
Feb. 14, 2015 – Hayden Tsutsui – vs. Hardin Simmons University
April 22, 2015 – Hayden Tsutsui – vs. Hamline University (game 1)
May 3, 2015 – Cody Bohlman – at Lawrence University (game 1)
May 3, 2015 – Hayden Tsutsui – at Lawrence University (game 2)
March 24, 2025 – Sam Gossard – vs. Elmhurst University
 
Most Home Runs in RECORDED Team History
26 – Marvin Stoltz – 1988-91
26 – Hayden Tsutsui – 2013-16
18 – Jay Melson – 2006-09
14 – Tony LePage – 2000-03
10 – Steve Gorka – 1995-98
8 – Ben Cooprider – 2003-06
8 – Sam Gossard – 2023-present
7 – Grant Bowen – 2008-11
7 – Cody Bohlman – 2013-16
7 – Ryan Chang – 2023-present