MINNEAPOLIS – Bethel baseball bounced back from a season-opening sweep at the hands of Wartburg College with a series split against Simpson College late Wednesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Royals came from behind in the final inning to win game one 9-6 and the bats went cold in a 2-0 loss the second time around.
 
The Storm jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and added three more over the next two frames to take a 5-0 advantage, using three RBI singles to drive in runs. Bethel's Nick Kulseth and Marcus Krupke were hit by pitches in back-to-back at-bats while the bases were loaded in the fourth, bringing home the first two runs for the Royals.
 
Simpson added an insurance run in the sixth inning for a 6-2 lead, but there was more left in the Royal tank in the seventh, when Mitch Butvilas suddenly cut the score to 6-5 on a three-run blast. Kulseth singled home Joey Fredrickson for the tie, James Woelfel knocked in two more runs and Kulseth scored on a passed ball to close the frame 9-6. Matthew Bohlke finished the game with a scoreless inning and recorded his first save of the season.
 
The second contest began near midnight and Bethel's offense — after scoring seven in the last inning of the previous game — couldn't continue its hot streak, failing to record a base hit all game. The Royals did cut down on strikeouts Wednesday, whiffing 12 times in two games compared to 19 in the pair of contests against Wartburg. Simpson plated runs on a groundout in the fifth and an RBI single in the sixth for the only scores of the game. Peyton Gallagher threw five innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out three.
 
The Royals are now 1-3 on the young season, with one more doubleheader to be played at U.S. Bank Stadium — this time at a less nocturnal hour. They face UW-Platteville Tuesday, March 3, with first pitch set for 10 a.m.