Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
WINONA, Minn. – The Bethel Royals continued their winning ways with a pair of victories, 4-1 and 7-4, over Saint Mary's on the road today. The Royals have now won six conference games in a row for the first time since the 2004 season.
In game one, the Royals broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning when Brandon Carr (Sr., Fergus Falls, Minn.) singled home Tim Churchill (So., Mt. Prospect, Ill.), who reached base after being hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and stole second. Churchill has now been hit by a pitch 17 times this season.
Bethel tacked on two more runs on a double by Dana Hegman (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), scoring Sean Flaherty (So., Shoreview, Minn.) and Carr. The following inning, Kris Pulford (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) led off the inning with a walk and came around to score by way of a Churchill sacrifice fly, putting Bethel up 4-0 in the fourth inning.
Saint Mary's answered with a solo home run by Andrew Warren, but was unable to score any more runs off of Bethel pitching. John Buteyn (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) pitched three and one-third innings before being relieved in favor of Kyle McCracken (So., Johnston, Iowa), who came on with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning.
McCracken forced hitter Kyle Ryan to hit into an inning ending double play, squashing any comeback attempt. He allowed just three hits and one walk, while striking out three in three and two-thirds innings to record his third win of the season.
In game two, the Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead by scoring in the bottom of the first inning. The Royals answered in the top of the third inning when Bob Tokar (So., Elk River, Minn.) struck out, but reached first base on a passed ball. He then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher on the play. With one out, Flaherty hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield to bring the run home.
The Cardinals regained the lead in the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run off the bat of Brady Knudsen. However, starting pitcher Ethan Formo (Sr., Granite Falls, Minn.) settled in and went on to retire 10 out of the next 11 Saint Mary's batters before turning the ball over to Ben Turnwall (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Royals put themselves on top in the fourth inning when Hegman led off the inning with a double and came in to score on a John Slick (So., River Falls, Wis.) single. Pulford hit a sacrifice fly ball to score Tyler Kramer (Sr., Maplewood, Minn.), who walked earlier in the inning.
Hegman put Bethel up 5-2 with a two-run RBI single the very next inning, scoring both Carr and Flaherty with one out.
Saint Mary's would not go quietly, though. Single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings reduced Bethel's lead to just one run before they added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Flaherty hit a lead off triple and was singled home by Carr, who eventually scored on an error by the Cardinals second baseman with Slick batting.
Turnwall pitched the final inning and two-thirds to earn his eighth save of the season. Each of his five outs in the game came by way of a strikeout, giving him 23 in 12 and two-thirds total innings pitched.
Formo pitched five and one-third innings for his second win of the season. He allowed just two earned runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out five.
Kyle Ryan and Zach Olberding each had a pair of hits, while Knudsen had two RBIs to lead the Cardinals at the plate. Saint Mary's went through six pitchers in game two, but one of the more effective pitchers they used was Sam Levison, who, much like former major leaguer Jim Abbott, only had the use of one arm. He allowed just one hit in the inning he pitched.
Overall, Carr was a combined 4-for-8, which raised his season batting average to .408, and maintained his conference batting average at .500. Hegman also raised his season average to above .400 by batting 3-for-7 with four RBI.
The wins help Bethel improve to 20-14 overall and 10-7 in the MIAC. Saint Mary's drops to 7-21 overall and 3-14 in the conference. The Royals now find themselves tied for the fourth and final conference playoff spot heading into the last week of competition. They are scheduled to take on Simpson College of Iowa in a non-conference doubleheader this Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. for their next games. This season's eight graduating seniors, as well as retiring Bethel University president, George K. Brushaber, will be honored at the games.
