NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The No. 8th-ranked Bethel University softball team earned two away game wins against St. Olaf, 3-0 and 9-5, on Sunday afternoon. The victories move the Royals to 21-3 on the season and they remain undefeated in MIAC play at 10-0.
Backed by a solid offensive effort of 12 runs scored on the day, Bethel pitcher
Kayla Simacek pitched the entirety of the two games with 14 total innings pitched, giving up five runs with 13 total strikeouts.
Kayla Hokanson was a consistent threat at the plate going 4-for-7 with a run, double, RBI and a stolen base, she is currently on a nine-game hitting streak.
Game 1 | #8 Bethel 3, St. Olaf 0
Game one was quiet early on, with both teams being held scoreless through four innings before Jordyn Rudolph hit an RBI single down the left-field line to put the Royals up 1-0.
Bethel added two more runs to its lead in the top of the sixth when Autumn Earney hit an RBI single through the right side and Izzy Wilhelm hit an RBI double through the right side to expand the Royals' lead to 3-0.
Kayla Simacek held the Oles scoreless through the rest of the game as the Royals earned the 3-0 victory.
Game 2 | #8 Bethel 9, St. Olaf 5
Bethel got on the board early in game number two, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning after K. Hokanson grounded out to second but earned an RBI, and Izzy Wilhelm hit an RBI single through the left side to put the Royals up 2-0 early.
St. Olaf struck back in the bottom of the first inning with a run of their own to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Ole's momentum was halted in the top of the third inning when the Royals scored two runs after Mikaela Girard stole home and Allie Fauth-Kilgore hit an RBI single to put the Royals up 4-1.
St. Olaf scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 4-2 but Bethel responded in the top of the fifth with two runs of its own coming off of an Allie Fauth-Kilgore RBI single up the middle and a Sidney Bartels RBI single to left field to put the Royals up 6-2.
The Royals scored three more runs in the top of the seventh inning after a number of errors by the St. Olaf fielders. Autumn Earney, Abbi Bates, and Ellie Baker all crossed the plate in the inning.
St. Olaf got a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, but Simacek held the Oles to that score as the Royals earned the 9-5 victory.
UP NEXT
Bethel has an away matchup against Hamline on Tuesday, April 25 where they will play a doubleheader with game times scheduled for 3:30 and 5:30 P.M.
