WINONA, Minn.—The Bethel University baseball team swept Saint Mary's University at the end of the 2015 season, which secured the team's first-ever MIAC championship. The Royals (19-19, 9-11 MIAC) hoped at the beginning of the week that another sweep over the Cardinals (25-13-1, 13-7 MIAC) would result in their fifth consecutive postseason appearance, but a pair of losses earlier in the week turned Sunday's goal from sweep to spoiler.
 
Bethel's 4-2 win over SMU in game one prohibited Saint Mary's from a shot at the conference title. The Cardinals, did however, knock off the Royals in game two by a final score of 14-6, which barred BU from reaching 20 wins for the first time under the direction of head coach Brian Raabe.
 
Finishing the season with a bang was Bryce Marquardt, who finished Sunday's opener with a pair of hits. Coming into the day BU's centerfielder needed one hit to tie and two to break Bethel's record for hits in a single season. Marquardt was the only player on the Royals' squad to post multiple hits in game one, which put him alone atop the BU record book. He also tallied an RBI and a stolen base in the seven-inning affair.
 
Senior pitcher Tyler Heitmann put a cap on his collegiate career with a brilliant performance on the bump. Heitmann struck out six and walked none, while holding the Cardinals to two runs—both unearned. The Baldwin, Wisconsin, native allowed six hits in the complete-game victory.
 
Five other players recorded a hit throughout the contest, including Esteban Velasco, who went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI, and Jake Shubert, who was 1-for-2 in his first collegiate start with one run scored and a sacrifice bunt.
 
Saint Mary's quickly responded in game two, as the Cardinals posted one run in the first, seven in the second, and two in the third, which had Bethel playing catch-up in the remaining six innings. BU finished with five hits, five walks, and five hit-by-pitches collectively, while SMU drummed up 19 hits and four walks in the Royals' season finale.
 
Seven different pitchers threw for Bethel in the nine-inning game. Matt Herringshaw was credited with the loss, which ended his season with a 2-2 record and career with a 10-5 mark.
 
Bret Neuville led the Royals at the plate, as the junior from Green Bay, Wisconsin recorded the only multi-hit performance of game two. Neuville finished 2-for-3 with a walk, hit-by-pitch, run, and RBI. Logan Lisle was 1-for-4 with two runs batted in and Austin Ledin went 1-for-3 with two hit-by-pitches and one run scored.
 
2016 comes to a close following Sunday's split with SMU. The Royals say goodbye and thank you to eight seniors, who not only pushed Bethel to an 96-55 record during their four years, but also helped the team win it's first-ever MIAC Championship.