COLLEGEVILLE — It was a tale of two days for the Bethel University baseball team as Saturday's MIAC championship tilt against Macalester College was much different than Friday's games against Saint John's and St. Thomas. The Royals (33-10) received exceptional pitching and defense to defeat both SJU and UST by a combined score of 5-3, but four crucial errors in the second inning and 19 hits for the Scots (26-16) led to a 13-5 loss in the title game.
 
BU's second appearance in the final day of the MIAC Playoffs looked promising at first, as the Royals responded to Macalester's run in the top of the first with an RBI-single from Bret Neuville. Bethel also had runners on first and second with no outs, but the Scots managed to get out of the frame without any more damage.
 
The optimistic start was quickly battered when Macalester scored nine runs—six earned—on eight hits and four errors in the top of the second. The Scots added three more in the third to make the score 13-1, which proved to be more than enough to secure the championship plaque.
 
The Royals scored one in the fifth on a throwing error and three more in the bottom of the ninth when Sam Horner roped an RBI-single to right, John Horner hit an RBI-chopper to third, and Bryce Marquardt laced an RBI-sacrifice fly to left field. But that was all BU could muster in the eight-run loss.
 
Lars Anderson came into the game in the sixth inning and finished 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Bryce Marquardt finished 0-for-2 with one walk, one run, and one RBI.  Six others tallied a base-knock, including Brandon Meyer, Bret Neuville, Ryan Evenson, Sam Horner, John Horner, and Jake Schubert.
 
Five pitchers were asked to throw for the Royals Saturday, but it was Connor Malcom that had the strongest performance for BU. Malcom gave up zero runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out three in 5.0 innings pitched. Brady Leahy also pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
 
Bethel remains hopeful for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Royals were ranked No. 6 in the most recent region ranking, which plays a large part in determining the at-large bids. The NCAA will release the bracket Sunday night at 11 p.m.