BOX SCORE GAME ONE | BOX SCORE GAME TWO

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Wednesday afternoon was the home-opener for the Bethel University softball team, as the Royals competed against Gustavus Adolphus College in its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) double-header of the 2012 season. BU dropped both games, as the Gusties overpowered them 9-0 in the first contest and 13-3 in the second.
 
The first game of the double-header was neck-and-neck early as neither team scored in the first three innings. In the second Bethel had an exceptional chance to score with runners on second and third, but two infield fly-balls ended any threat. Gustavus then applied four runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to end the five-inning affair 9-0.
 
BU struck one hit off the Gustie pitcher in the first game, as Kalyn Sorenson (Fr., Maple Grove, Minn.) knocked a double to right field. None of the Royals garnered a walk in the competition; however, Bethel stranded four runners on the base paths.
 
 Anja Erlandson (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) gave up 11 hits in 4.1 innings of pitching, allowing nine runs (five earned). The senior pitcher did strike out five and walked one in the outing. Courtney Saurer (Fr., Chanhassen, Minn.) came into the game for the final two outs, allowing just one hit and zero runs.
 
In the second matchup between the two MIAC opponents Gustavus struck first again in the first frame with two runs, followed by a five-run inning in the second, and one more in the third and fourth inning. Bethel got its first run of the day in the fourth when Cristina Masten (So., Fergus Falls, Minn.) delivered a clutch single down the right field line scoring Rachel Gilbert (Jr., Becker, Minn.). The Royals got two more in the fifth when Logan Ahlness delivered a double that scored Megan Matson (Jr., Mound, Minn.), followed by a fielder's choice by Angie Jackson (Fr., Oakdale, Minn.) that scored Ahlness several batters later. Gustavus poured on four more in the top of the sixth, which ended the second of two games 13-3.
 
Bethel's bats got considerably better in the second, as the Royals finished with eight hits. Cristina Masten led the way with two hits and an RBI, while Ahlness and Jackson had the other two RBI's.
 
Genna Bock (Sr., Circle Pines, Minn.) toed the pitching rubber for BU in game two, allowing 15 hits, five walks, and striking out four batters in 5.1 innings. Alicia Chelberg (Fr., St. Croix, Wis.) pitched the final two outs, allowing no hits and no walks.
 
With the losses, Bethel falls to 6-12 overall and 0-2 in MIAC play. The Royals return to action Saturday when traveling to Winona, Minn. to face Saint Mary's University in a Saturday afternoon double-header matinee.