Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University baseball team enjoyed the 2014 home opener Saturday, as a 12-7 victory in game one and a 5-3 win in game two helped BU sweep Carleton College at Hargis Park. The Royals overcame two deficits with 12 runs in the first contest and outlasted the Knights in a pitchers duel throughout the second.
 


Matt Conrad and Grant Anderson both enjoyed great achievements at the plate Saturday, as the two finished a combined 10-for-14 at the dish. Matt Conrad started the first game 3-for-3 with a walk and his first collegiate homerun, which resulted in two RBI and two runs scored. He then went 2-for-4 in game two with a run scored and one driven in. The Bethel left fielder and DH finished the day 5-for-7 with nine total bases, three runs scored, and three driven in.
 
Grant Anderson was just as successful at the plate, as he finished the first game 1-for-3 and then was a perfect 4-for-4 in the second. Anderson was also 5-for-7 with two runs batted in and one run scored.


 
Trailing 2-0 in the first matchup against the Knights, shortstop Nik Anderson drove in a two-run single and advanced to second on a throw home. He later scored because of an error to put Bethel ahead 3-2.
 
The Royals scored two more in the third inning thanks to a two-run homerun by Mike Schultz, which was BU's first bomb at Hargis Park and their second this year. Bethel broke the game open in the fourth inning when they scored five runs thanks to RBI at bats by Jarad Watts, Luke Schultz, Bret Neuville, and Grant Anderson.
 
Carleton cut into the Royals 10-5 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth but Matt Conrad's two-run no-doubter in the bottom of the inning squashed any threat the Knights previously posed.

Joe Zorn came in relief for the Royals in the third inning and received the win after allowing just two runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Zorn then started game two and allowed no runs in the initial two innings. Throughout his outing the Stillwater, Minn., native allowed eight hits and no walks, while striking out three.


 
Jake Hanzalik then came in at the beginning of the third frame and allowed two runs in 6.0 innings of relief.  Hanzalik earned his third win of the season with a seven-hit, two-walk, and three-strikeout performance. He and Joe Zorn both worked out of bases loaded jams in the first and fourth innings.
 
Bethel got its first two runs of the game in the third inning, when Matt Conrad hit a two-out single to right field that scored Bryce Marquardt. Then after Conrad advanced to second on a wild pitch, Mike Schultz doubled to left center to score Conrad.
 
The score remained 2-0 until the sixth inning when the Royals scored two more runs on an error by the Knights infield. An RBI base hit by Grant Anderson gave Bethel a much-appreciated insurance run in the eighth inning, which helped BU win by a final of 5-3.
 
Bryce Marquardt finished the first game 2-for-4 with one run, while Nik Anderson scored twice and drove in two RBI on the day.
 
Bethel's sweep over Carleton helps the Royals improve to 13-6 on the year with a 5-1 record against MIAC opponents. BU looks to continue its hot streak against league foe, Hamline University, next Wednesday, as they travel down Snelling Ave. to face the Pipers at Midway Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on April 16.