ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University baseball team dropped a pitcher's duel between the league's two best arms, 3-0, before bouncing back with a 15-3 run-rule victory over Carleton Wednesday afternoon at Hargis Park.
The split moves BU to 25-7 overall and 11-3 in MIAC play where they stay atop the MIAC standings. Bethel begins a two-series road stretch Saturday at Parade Stadium against Augsburg. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game 1 | Carleton 3, Bethel 0
Scoreless through the first four frames,
Max Sutter for BU had forced Carleton to strand runners in three innings. On the other side Keifer Lord had struck out five.
BU looked to get out of the fifth one-two-three but a line shot to shot was dropped by
Marcus Krupke extending the inning. Carleton took advantage of that error as a triple to center scored one and then a base hit through the right side made it 2-0.
Sutter suffered his first loss of the season in the complete game effort giving up only one earned run which was a solo homer to start the seventh.
Keenan Hodgkin had BU's lone hit with a double to right-center in the second
Game 2 | Bethel 15, Carleton 3 (7 innings)
The Royals bats came alive in the game where they tallied 15 runs on 18 hits in a run-rule victory of what was scheduled nine inning game of the doubleheader. Carleton scored first with a solo homer in the second, but from that point on it was all BU.
Hodgkin got the scoring fest going in the fourth leading off the fourth with a solo shot over the left field fence on a 10-pitch at bat.
Tommy Friesen tallied a sacrifice fly before
Justin Winterfeldt launched a three-run home run over the stall standing batters eye in center.
Bethel tacked on two more for a seventh-run fourth.
They Royals put up a six spot in the fifth where Friesen picked up his second RBI of the game and Winterfield his fourth. Hodgkin notched a double just inside the right field line scoring a pair and bringing his RBI total for the game to three.
Matthew Carlsen tallied his sixth long ball of the year as his two-run shot over the right field fence put BU up 15-3.
Marcus Krupke picked up the win tossing six innings where he struck out four, walked none and gave up three runs.
Blake Williams pitched a perfect seventh striking out one.
