WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Bethel University softball team kicked off its spring break trip with a pair of wins Saturday evening. The No. 11 Royals picked up their third straight nationally-ranked win knocking off No. 7 Rowan, 3-1. They followed it up with their first shutout of the year blanking Babson, 4-0.
 
#11 Bethel 3, #7 Rowan 1
• Freshman Autumn Otterness broke the scoreless tie in the fourth driving in Lexi DeBace, who reached on an error, and pinch-runner Maddi O'Connor with a single up the middle.
• Kayla Simacek had only given up one hit through three innings. Rowan led off the fourth with a single up the middle before a double and a sacrifice fly brought in the Profs' only run.
• Autumn Earney led off the sixth with a single and moved into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt from DeBace. Kayla Hokanson won a nine-pitch battle roping one up the middle scoring Earney and giving the Royals a 3-1 lead.
• Simacek retired three of the final nine batter via strikeout finishing with seven for the game.  
 
#11 Bethel 4, Babson 0
• Mary Hajduk picked up her first collegiate win throwing six innings of shutout softball. The Bloomington, Minn. native gave up a scattered four hits while striking out one.
• Earney crossed the plate first for the Royals doing so on a wild pitch in the opening frame.
• A walk and an error put two aboard for the Royals in the bottom of the fourth. Sydney Bartels and Mikaela Girard each notched back-to-back RBI singles making it 3-0. Bartels scored two batters later on a wild pitch.
• Babson put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, something they hadn't done since the first. But Simacek, who entered in the seventh, capped out the win with a strikeout.
 
UP NEXT
Improving to 5-1 on the year, BU is back in action on Sunday taking on Farmingdale State at 11:15 a.m. CT and Lasell at 1:45 p.m. CT.

 
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