Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - Late inning heroics helped Bethel earn a pair of victories over neighboring Northwestern College today at Hargis Park, with the Royals winning 2-1 and 4-3 in two hard-fought games.

In game one, John Slick (So., River Falls, Minn.) pitched a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits.  He struck out two and did not walk a batter, nor was the run charged to him earned.

The Royals used a pair of sacrifice fly balls to manufacture their two runs.  The first run scored in the bottom of the first inning when Tim Churchill (So., Mt. Prospect, Ill.) hit a lead off double.  Churchill tagged up and advanced on a Dustin Littlefield (Jr., Rockford, Minn.) fly ball, and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly ball hit by Tyler Kramer (Sr., Maplewood, Minn.).

The Eagles tied up the score at 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning as the result of a hit batter, an error, and a single.

It wasn't until the seventh inning that Bethel was able to push the winning run across the plate.  Dana Hegman (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Mark Therrien (So., Spring Lake Park, Minn.) who then stole second base.  Kirk Darling (Fr., Kalamazoo, Mich.) reached base on a fielder's choice, which also advanced Therrien, bringing up Tim Oesterlin (So., Rochester, Minn.), who flied out to right field to score Therrien, giving Bethel the 2-1 win.

In game two, Bethel again scored first, inducing a see-saw battle with Northwestern.  In the home half of the first inning, Littlefield reached first base after getting hit by a pitch, stole second base, and proceeded to score on a Kramer single. 

Northwestern answered in the top of the second, making the score 1-1.  After a scoreless third inning, the Eagles took a brief 2-1 lead before Bethel knotted the game up in the home half thanks to a bases loaded ground ball by Bob Tokar (So., Elk River, Minn.) to score Oesterlin.

Not to be outdone, Northwestern came back with a run in the top of the fifth inning to go up 3-2.  Ryan Long singled, stole second and third bases, and came in to score on a single by Lee Nelson.  Matt Jollie (So., Shoreview, Minn.) relieved starter Matt Johnson (Fr., Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and got the last two outs to get Bethel hitters back to the plate.

The Royals resiliency payed off again as they evened the score in the bottom of the fifth inning.  With Kramer at second base, Oesterlin doubled to bring in the tying run.

Two scoreless innings passed, sending the game into extra innings.  In the top half of the eighth inning, Northwestern loaded the bases with one out, but was unable to score thanks to a strikeout and a ground out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Stephen Krueger (So., Jordan, Minn.) walked with one out and advanced to second on a single by  Kris Pulford (Sr., Richfield, Minn.).  Krueger later came around to score on a RBI single by Tokar to end the game, giving the Royals the series sweep.

Mike Sharp led the Eagles, batting 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Long also had a pair of hits.

In just his second varsity start, Johnson pitched four and one-third innings, allowing three runs on seven hits before yielding the ball to Jollie, who earned his first collegiate win.  Jollie threw three and two-thirds innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits.  He walked one batter and struck out two.

Kramer led the Royals at the plate, batting 2-for-4 with a RBI and run scored.

The wins help Bethel improve to 11-11 overall, while Northwestern falls to 5-15.  The Royals will stay at Hargis Park for their next game as they are scheduled to take on Augsburg tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. for a conference doubleheader.

*Note - Brandon Carr (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.) pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, a day after being scratched from the lineup due to an eye injury sustained during batting practice in St. Peter.