ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – It was double trouble from
Kayla Hokanson and
Cortney Hokanson who drove in 11 of Bethel's 18 runs while going a combined 7-for-11. The No. 14th-ranked Bethel University softball team picked up a Saturday sweep of St. Scholastica by scores of 12-2 and 6-1.
The win keeps Bethel in first place of the MIAC standings with a 23-2 overall record and 12-0 in MIAC play. The Royals face off with St. Olaf, who sits second in the MIAC, Sunday afternoon at Ona Orth. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. BU holds a 21-game winning streak which currently ranks as the second-longest active streak in Division III and fourth among all three divisions.
Game 1 | #14 Bethel 12, St. Scholastica 2 (5 innings)
Allie Fauth led off BU's plate appearance with a triple before scoring the next play with a sacrifice fly from
Lexi DeBace.
The Saints would tie it up in the third before the Royals bats came to life putting up a six-spot in the home half of the inning. The first out of the half inning came as
Jamie Axelberg notched a RBI groundout.
Autumn Earney followed that up with a RBI triple before scoring on
Cortney Hokanson's single to center.
St. Scholastica got one back in the fourth but the Royals responded with five more runs in the bottom half.
Kayla Hokanson got things started with the bases loaded as her double to right cleared them.
Kayla Simacek got win No. 21 in the circle tossing four innings where she struck out nine, walked none and gave up two unearned runs.
Ella Roberts out of the pen threw a scoreless fifth.
Game 2 | #14 Bethel 6, St. Scholastica 1
The Saints would score their only run of the game in the top of the second striking first with a RBI double. Simacek kept them off the board the rest of the way striking out eight in the process.
With the bases loaded in the third,
Mikaela Girard drove in a pair on a sharp single to left putting BU up 2-1.
Cortney Hokanson put the Royals up two in the bottom of the fourth as her single to right scored Earney who led off with a double out to left.
The Hokanson's produced all three runs in the fifth. Kayla with a single to left scoring DeBace and Kayla a two-RBI double to right.
Simacek issued her first walk in the last 43 innings of work to start the six. A double for the Saints put two in scoring position before Simacek got a pop out in foul territory on a basket catch by
Kayla Hokanson, followed by a fly out and a strikeout looking.
