MINNEAPOLIS – The Bethel University softball team is off to one of its best starts in program history at 4-0 thanks to a sweep of Edgewood Saturday morning. The Royals took care of business in five innings in both games winning by scores of 15-7 and 8-0.

At the plate Amanda Gemuenden highlighted the day going 3-for-6 with four runs and six driven in. The top of the order in Allie Fauth, Gemuenden and Calli Maki accounted for 10 of Bethel's combined 21 hits and drove in a combined nine runs.

Game 1: Bethel 15, Edgewood 7 // 5 inns.
The Royals went down 4-0 early but showed no panic. In the bottom of the third and with the bases loaded, Kayla Hokanson sent a bases clearing triple down the left field line before being thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into an inside the park home run.

A well-executed double steal by the Royals allowed Jamie Axelberg to cross the plate as the game tying run.

Edgewood pushed a run across in the fourth before Bethel exploded to an eight-run fourth. A triple and a double by Edgewood made it 12-7 before the Royals picked up the run-rule win with a two-RBI double from Sadie Hanzalik.

Rylie Perkins (1-0) got the win in the circle tossing two innings of relief for start Halley Jones.

Game 2: Bethel 8, Edgewood 0 // 5 inns.
A day after tossing her first career perfect game, Kayla Simacek was near perfect again. This time she only gave up one hit despite diving efforts from Allie Fauth to preserve perfection.

Simacek (2-0) struck out 13 coming up one K shy of tying the program's single-game record.

Bethel scored in each of its plate appearances. Gemuenden drove in the game's first run on an RBI groundout before Hanzalik made it 2-0 in the second with a fielder's choice play.

Gumuenden and Hokanson each drove in runs in the fourth before Fauth's infield single scored the game's eighth run in the top of the fifth.

Up Next
BU returns to action next Friday at the West St. Paul Dome where they host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a doubleheader scheduled for 10 a.m.