ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University baseball team dropped a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests to St. Olaf Wednesday evening at Hargis Park. The Oles showed their powerful hitting ways taking the opener 14-5 before continuing their offensive success in game two, 10-2.

The Royals drop to 19-15 on the year and 8-10 in MIAC play while being officially eliminated from conference playoff contention. BU continues its six game homestand to close out the season tomorrow hosting the University of Wisconsin-Superior in a non-conference single game. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Game 1: St. Olaf 14, Bethel 5
The visiting Oles were swinging hot bats in the opener scoring early and often. St. Olaf made its way through the order in the second sending all nine hitters to the plate putting up a five spot.

Freshman Caleb Brandt brought in Bethel's first run in the bottom half of the frame as his sharp single to center scored Joey Fredrickson.

Starter Marcus Krupke (3-2) kept the Oles off the board in the third before the bats came right back alive in the fourth. St. Olaf put up three more on Krupke before forcing the Royals to go to the pen. Krupke departed giving up three earned runs, eight hits and two strikeouts.

A pitching change didn't faze St. Olaf as they plated three more runs in the fourth taking a 10-1 lead.

The teams went identical in the fifth and sixth when it came to scoring runs. Responding to the Oles three runs in the fifth, Mitch Jerde snuck one inside the right field line scoring Nick Kulseth – who led off with a double – and Krupke. Jerde came around to score on a two-out double off the bat of Fredrickson.

A double and a single led St. Olaf to score in the sixth making it 14-4 before Krupke's RBI ground out cut the deficit down to single digits.

Game 2: St. Olaf 10, Bethel 2
Even after recording 18 hits in game one, St. Olaf found a way to stay consistent at the plate recording 15 hits in game two. An error filled first inning by Bethel allowed the Oles to plate two runs while an error in the second put St. Olaf up 4-0.  

A fly ball that was dropped in left extended an already long third inning aiding the Oles to put up a six spot. 

Ty Koehn (1-1) made it through two innings giving up one earned run. Out of the pen, Connor Malcolm in 0.2 innings of work gave up two earned runs while walking three.

Thomas Friesen led off the home half of the third with a double to right and moved to third as Brandt singled through the left side. Friesen scored the Royals first run of the game on a deep fly to center off the bat of Kulseth.

In the seventh, Bethel took advantage of a St. Olaf error which scored Jerde who led off with a single through the right side before Keenan Hodgkin moved him into scoring position.

Freshman Logan McDonald kept St. Olaf off the scoreboard through the remaining 6.1 innings and worked out of bases loaded jam in the seventh.