MINNEAPOLIS – Monday afternoon welcomed the Royals final double-header at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis, as Bethel competed against Grand View University of Des Moines, Iowa. BU split the two-game series, capturing a 8-2 win in the opener and falling 2-0 in a pitchers dual in the second.
BOX SCORE – GAME ONE
After commanding the 2-0 lead throughout the first three innings, Bethel allowed its opponent to even the score at two a-piece until thrashing six runs in the top of the seventh to win the contest 8-2.
The Royals began the first inning with a pair of walks and a
Jay Slick (Sr., River Falls, Wis.) single, which drove in
David Freed (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.).
Matt Rowley (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) plated the second run of the inning two batters later on a single that scored
Travis Piepho (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.), who had walked earlier in the frame.
In the seventh Jesse Nichols (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) started the inning with a single to left field and was advanced to second on a
Chris Davidson (Sr., Plantation, Fla.) pinch-hit sacrifice bunt. After a walk, Freed then knocked in both runners with a misread single by the left fielder that advanced Freed to third with one out. Piepho advanced to first base on a wild pitch on strike three, which scored Freed from third in the next at-bat and later scored when
Mike Sedjo (Sr., West Chicago, Ill.) belted a triple to right center. Rowley drove in his second RBI on a sharp single to center field and advanced to third on a
Ryan Hangartner (So., Watertown, Minn.) single to right. Rowley then scored when Nichols capped off the frame with another single, pushing the sixth run of the inning across the plate.
Matt Rowley delivered two hits in four at-bats for BU, knocking in two runs and scoring another himself. Jesse Nichols and
Jay Slick also had two hits, while
David Freed delivered one hit and a walk in four appearances, helping him drive in two RBI's and score two runs.
Freed threw a quality start for the Royals, finishing a two-run complete game. Freed allowed zero walks in his second win of the season.
BOX SCORE – GAME TWO
Game two proved to be a pitcher's dual, as neither squad was able to manage any runs until the seventh inning. In fact,
Matt Rowley had only allowed one hit going into the top of the seventh, but the Vikings made three hits sting by scoring two runs in the inning, finishing off the Royals 2-0.
GVU proved in game two that the team that scored first was most successful. Bethel scattered five hits over the seven-inning effort, but couldn't manage to drive in any runs.
Jay Slick put himself in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the first on a double to left center, yet the next batter popped out in the infield. The Royals then went down in order over the next four innings, with the exception of a walk in the fourth.
BU tried to muster some runs in the bottom of the sixth, which proved to be the Royals' best scoring opportunity. With two outs
Travis Piepho singled to right, which was followed up with a Slick single to center, but a sharp liner to center was hauled in by the Vikings centerfielder, who was sensational all day. Hangartner and
Luke Schultz (So., Forest Lake, Minn.) got on base in the bottom of the seventh, but an inning-ending double-play ended the 2-0 decider.
Jay Slick finished 2-for-2 in the second with a double and a walk, while Piepho, Hangartner, and
Mike Whartnaby (So., Libertyville, Ill.) finished with a single hit.
Rowley was nearly flawless throughout the entire contest, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up two earned runs, while striking out four, walking one, and allowing four hits.
Bethel will now travel to Ft. Myers, Fla. to play nine different games against teams all across the country in its annual spring break trip. All games will be webcasted live and for more information, check out athletics.bethel.edu.
