ST. PAUL—Bethel University's baseball team started their title defense on a good note by defeating Carleton College in their conference opener Wednesday morning at Northwestern. The Royals (15-3, 2-0 MIAC) came from behind to defeat the Knights (7-6, 0-2 MIAC) 5-2 in game one and tossed a shutout in game two en route to an 8-0 victory.
 
Carleton's only two runs of the day came in the first inning when Wilson Battle hit a two-out, two-run home run over the shallow left field fence to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. The Royals responded with a three-run third, then added insurance runs in the fourth and sixth inning for the three-run win.
 
Sam Horner began the third frame with a leadoff single, which was followed by a Carleton error and an Austin Ledin walk. A fielder's choice at third, followed by a passed ball, and a two-out, two-run single by Mitch Butvilas gave Bethel the 3-2 edge after three. John Leach then singled in Jake Schubert in the fourth and Michael Wesner homered in the sixth to complete the five-run outing. Wesner's homerun cleared the light tower and trees beyond the left field fence.
 
Michael Bohlke allowed two earned runs on five hits and zero walks, while striking out one in 5.0 innings pitched. Jake Marsh earned his second save of the season by pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh with three strikeouts and one hit allowed during that span.
 
Michael Wesner, Jake Schubert, and Sam Horner all collected two hits during Wednesday's opener. Wesner finished 2-for-2 with the solo home run and a HBP, Schubert 2-for-3 with one run, and Horner 2-for-4 with one run. Mitch Butvilas was 1-for-2 with two RBI.
 
The Royals did the majority of their scoring in game two in the fourth and fifth frames. Austin Ledin led off the fourth with a HPB, which was followed by Joey Fredrickson's double, Bo Lovdahl's sacrifice fly, John Horner's double, Michael Wesner's triple, and Jake Schubert's single. The last three runs of the fourth were scored with two outs.
 
Ironically, just like the fourth, Austin Ledin led off the fifth inning, however, this time was with a single. Joey Fredrickson ripped an RBI triple and then with two outs, John Horner hit an RBI double and Michael Wesner an RBI single. Brandon Meyer then hit an RBI fielder's choice in the eighth to pad the 8-0 win and two-game sweep.
 
Not only did BU record 12 hits in the nine-inning affair, but starting pitcher Noah Luedtke was on fire throughout the entire contest. Luedtke allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out 10 in 7.0 innings pitched. Brady Leahy and Houston Droel each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. The Royals have now shutout the Knights six of the last eight times the teams have played.
 
John Horner finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, three runs, and two RBI. Michael Wesner was 2-for-3 with one triple, one walk, one run, and two RBI. Joey Fredrickson tallied a double and triple, which led to two runs and one RBI, while John Leach posted two doubles.
 
Bethel's next scheduled opponent is Saint John's University, scheduled for Saturday, April 14 at 1 and 3 p.m. The Royals are also slated to play the University of St. Thomas Sunday, April 15 at 1 and 3 p.m. Both series are questionable, however, due to the anticipated weather. Stay tuned to bethelroyals.com for all schedule information.