ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – For the third time in seven full seasons, the Bethel University baseball team are MIAC regular season champions earning the No. 1 seed in the MIAC Playoffs that begin Thursday at CHS Field. The Royals were able to get the picture-perfect pile around the mound following a game one sweep of Concordia, 4-0.
The Royals completed the senior day sweep with a 12-4 victory in game two concluding the regular season 30-4 overall and 16-4 in MIAC play.
BU opens up the MIAC Playoffs Thursday at CHS Field against the No. 4 seed with a 3 p.m. first pitch.
Game 1 | Bethel 4, Concordia 0
Ty Kohen couldn't have asked for a better final regular season start tossing 5.2 innings of shutout ball while striking out six. Senior
Blake Williams picked up his third save of the year combing for the shutout throwing the final 1.1 innings in relief.
James Woelfel kicked off the second with a single up the middle before the Cobbers got the next two outs.
Caleb Brandt broke the scoreless tie sending a 2-1 pitch to the gap in right allowing Woelfel to score from first while he trotted into third.
Woelfel caught a runner stealing to end the third putting the Royals back at the plate.
Nolan Jurgenson led off the home half frame legging out an infield single. Two batters later
Justin Winterfeldt belted his team-leading ninth homer of the year over the right-center fence making it 3-0.
Concordia tried to threaten in the fifth putting two on and both moving into scoring position on a passed ball. But Koehn shut the door picking up a strikeout ending the threat.
Keenan Hodgkin dialed in on the long ball giving Bethel an extra insurance run with a blast to right.
Williams in the seventh gave up a two-out hit before a fly out to left near the line sent the championship pile on the mound into full swing.
Game 2 | Bethel 12, Concordia 4
The bats didn't go away in game two where BU scored its 12 runs on 18 hits.
Bethel went up 6-0 after five innings of work.
Nick Kulseth had the two-RBI double in the fifth while
Keenan Hodgkin,
Tommy Friesen and
Nick Kulseth all had RBI singles earlier in the game.
Concordia put up a two spot in the sixth but the Royals got those two runs back in no time. Friesen drove in another this time with a bases loaded single through the right side.
Not much long after Justin Winterfedlt belted his second home run of the day, this one going down as a grand slam to right.
The Cobbers put up a crooked number this time in the eight. Matthew Carslen picked up his lone RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to right.
Jordan Krupke got the win on the mound throwing 5.1 innings giving up two runs, seven hits and striking out one.
