Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

FT. MYERS, Fla. - The Bethel Royals continued their annual baseball trip to southwest Florida today with a pair of games against Babson College from Babson Park, Mass. In the first game, the Royals rallied from a 6-0 deficit to take a 7-6 lead, but could not sustain it and lost 10-7. In the second game, Bethel came up on the short end of a 7-2 decision.

In game one, Babson put five runs up on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning against starting pitcher Travis Adams (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.). The Beavers added another run in the top of the fifth before the Bethel bats went to work in the bottom half of the inning.

Sean Flaherty (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.) got things going with a bases loaded single, followed by another from Jay Slick (Fr., River Falls, Wis.). After a pitching change, but with the bases still loaded, older brother John Slick (Jr., River Falls, Wis.) bounced back to the pitcher who forced out the runner at home. However, the catcher's throw to first base was errant in an attempt to turn a double play, allowing Slick to reach and scoring another run. Erik Anderson (So., Arden Hills, Minn.) then doubled to knock Jay Slick in. The hit parade continued as Bob Tokar (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) had an RBI single, followed by a Bjorn Anderson (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) single and a Tim Oesterlin (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) sacrificed fly, which accounted for all of Bethel's seven runs.

The Royals sent 10 men to the plate in the fifth to help erase the 6-0 deficit and to knock starting pitcher Jeff Wojnar out of the game. Ironically enough, Wojnar and Adams worked out together in the fall of the school year when the two were both studying abroad in the United Kingdom.

Bethel went to the bullpen in the top of the sixth inning to try to preserve its lead. After brief stints by Matt Jollie (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.) and Kyle McCraken (Jr., Johnston, Iowa), last year's closer Ben Turnwall (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) entered the game to try to finish the job. Unfortunately, the Beavers mustered a two-out rally to tie the game and later took the lead for good in the top of the 9th inning to defeat the Royals in extra innings.

In game two, the Royals again fell behind and eventually got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning when Tokar hit a shot over the left-centerfield fence for his first home run of the season and second of his career. Oesterlin kept the inning alive by lacing a single and later coming around to score on a wild pitch. Bethel used John Slick and Chris Dent (So., Marietta, Ohio) on the hill.

The Royals played 18 innings of baseball today, and at the end of the day, their record stands at 2-5 overall. The team is scheduled to return to action in the Gene Cusic Classic on Monday against Plattsburgh State University beginning at 10 a.m., Eastern time.