Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MINNEAPOLIS—A late night at the HHH Metrodome was not an issue for the Bethel University baseball team, as they managed to capture two wins against the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The Royals (5-1) manufactured two come-from-behind victories against the Blue Devils (0-2), who were competing in their first games of the 2013 season.
 
“I'm really impressed, again, in the way we found a way to win tonight,” said head baseball coach Brian Raabe. “We were in two games that saw a lot of routine mistakes—mistakes we shouldn't make—but we put ourselves behind the eight ball. However, we're able to execute enough to get a pair of wins.
 
Bethel trailed early in the first tilt, as UW-Stout took the 3-0 lead after the game's first two innings. But the Royals refused to quit, as they got one run back in the top of the fourth and three more in the fifth. BU allowed the Blue Devils to even the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth, but four sixth-inning runs for Bethel closed the door on Stout—giving the Royals the eventual 8-4 victory.
 
Raabe's squad finished the first seven-inning effort with five hits and six walks, as Mike Schultz (So., Forest Lake, Minn.) was the only BU player to finish with multiple knocks—both a single and a double—alongside a walk. Schultz had help from teammates Matt Rowley (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.), and David Freed (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.), as Rowley finished 1-for-4 with two RBI and three runs and Freed went 0-for-1 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch, which led to two runs scored.
 
Freshman hurler Jake Hanzalik (Fr., New Brighton, Minn.) was awarded his second win of the season after game one's six-inning, seven-hit performance. Hanzalik gave up one walk and three earned runs, but struck out four before Matt Pryor (So., St. Paul, Minn.) finished the game with a one-strikeout 1-2-3 seventh inning.
 
Game two mirrored the first initially, as Bethel fell behind 2-1 after four innings, but rallied again late for a four-run inning in the bottom of the fifth. Just like in the first contest, though, UW-Stout rallied late to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the seventh. Yet, the Royals were able to get a run across the plate in the bottom of the final frame to win game number two of the day.
 
BU finished game two with five hits as well, but showed great patience at the plate—accepting 11 walks in the seven innings. Freed continued his sensational ability to get on base, as he and Grant Anderson (So., Andover, Minn.) went 1-for-2 with two walks, but it was Freed that scored two runs. Jarad Watts (Fr., La Quinta, Calif.) also batted well, going 0-for-1 with three walks and a run scored. Other key contributors included Luke Schultz (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and Jesse Nickols (Sr., Arden Hills, Minn.), who each had two runs batted in.
 
With three double-headers completed at the Metrodome, Bethel will take a 10-day rest before competing in 10 games throughout a stretch of seven days in Fort Myers, Fla. Coach Raabe expressed his enthusiasm moving forward, “We're excited to go to Florida 5-1. We could be 1-5 or 6-0, but the bottom line is that this team has had a resilience about them that allows them to find a way to win.”
 
Bethel will take on Wheaton College in a double-header on its first day of competition, with both games being played at Terry Park 1. All games will have live stats and video available.