BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—Bethel University's baseball team enters the 2018 MIAC Playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the six-team tournament. The postseason appearance is BU's sixth in the last seven years and seventh all time. As the No. 2 seed, Bethel earned a first-round bye and will meet the lowest remaining seed following Thursday's single-elimination play-in games. Below is information about location, tickets, parking, entrance, live stats and video, schedule, and game notes. 

MIAC PLAYOFF INFORMATION 

Location: CHS Field
Tickets: www.saintsgroups.com | Password: royalsmiac
Parking: Map (PDF) (Jackson Ramp | Cray Plaza Parking Ramp | 286 6th St E)
Entrance: Broadway Street (PDF)
Live: Stats | Video

MIAC PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 10, 2018 
Game 1: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. No. 6 Gustavus | 3 p.m. | CHS Field |
Game 2: No. 4 St. Thomas vs. No. 5 Macalester | 7 p.m. | CHS Field |

Friday, May 11, 2018 
Game 3: No. 1 Saint John's vs. No. 4/5/6 Seed | 3 p.m. | CHS Field |
Game 4: No. 2 Bethel vs. No. 3/4/5 Seed | 7 p.m. | CHS Field |

Saturday, May 12, 2018
Game 5: Winner Gm 3 vs. Winner Gm 4 | 12 p.m. | CHS Field |
Game 6: Loser Gm 3 vs. Loser Gm 4 | 3:30 p.m. | CHS Field |
Game 7: Loser Gm 5 vs. Winner Gm 6 | 7 p.m. | CHS Field |

Sunday, May 13, 2018
Game 7: Winner Gm 5 vs. Winner Gm 7 | 11 a.m. | CHS Field |
Game 8: If Necessary | 30 Minutes Following First Game | CHS Field |

MIAC PLAYOFF NOTES

Pitching and Defense
Bethel's pitching and defense has been extraordinary in 2018. The Royals are among the nation's leaders in numerous categories, including ERA, WHIP, fielding percentage, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. BU ranks No. 1 among all NCAA Division III baseball teams in earned run average (ERA) with a mark of 1.82. The Royals are the only team among all divisions with an ERA below 2.00. Bethel is also ranked No. 1 in walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) with a figure of 1.05. Moreover, BU ranks No. 4 in walks allowed per innings (2.16) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.27), No. 7 in fielding percentage (.974) and shutouts (7), and No. 8 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.16). Carson Selin ranks No. 15 nationwide in ERA (1.32), while Jake Marsh is currently No. 17 nationwide in saves (8).

In the batter's box
Bethel's batters rank No. 33 (No. 2 in the MIAC) among all NCAA Division III programs in batting average, hitting at a clip of .321. John Leach leads the team with a batting average of .387, while Sam Horner is hitting .370. 

Three is the magic number
Bethel is 28-0 this season when scoring three or more runs in a game. The Royals are 1-9, however, when scoring two runs or less. BU has dropped six one-run games this season, which includes a 2-1 loss to Augsburg, a 2-1 loss to Saint Mary's in 10 innings, and two 0-1 losses to Hamline and Saint John's. 

Big bad John
Bethel's designated hitter John Leach has had an exceptional senior season. The senior from Edina is hitting .387 with an on-base percentage of .420 and a slugging percentage of .631. The 6-5, 230-pound first baseman/pitcher leads the team in triples (4), is tied for the team lead in doubles (10), and is tied for second in home runs (3). Leach is 27-of-57 (.474) in his last 17 games with five doubles, three triples, three home runs, 16 runs scored, and 19 RBI.

New saves leader
Jake Marsh recorded his eighth save of the season in Bethel's sweep over UW-Stout last Sunday. Along with his seven from his rookie season in 2017, Marsh now owns BU's record for career saves (15) as he passed Ben Turnwall, who earned 14 from 2006-09.

Power at cleanup
Austin Ledin has been the power hitter Bethel needed in the cleanup position during his senior season. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has a MIAC and team-best eight home runs this season, along with 81 total bases, 34 RBI, and a .648 slugging percentage (all lead the Royals).

Rubber arm
2017 MIAC All-Conference pitcher Michael Bohlke used last year's momentum and got even better in 2018. The junior from Maple Grove, Minn., leads the team with 59.0 innings pitched. He's posted a 5-1 record with a 1.68 ERA and a 46-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opposing hitters are hitting .219, which is interesting because he's pitched against teams like Wartburg, North Park, Johns Hopkins, St. Scholastica, and Saint John's—all teams that have been or currently are ranked in the ABCA/Rawlings Top 30 poll.