ROCHESTER, Minn. – The No. 24th-ranked Bethel University softball team went 2-2 in its second weekend of games. The Royals won a pair on Saturday in the Rochester Dome defeating North Central 14-2 in five innings before taking down Northwestern 3-1. On Sunday the Royals fell to Wisconsin-Platteville, 6-3, and Wisconsin-La Crosse, 5-3.
Bethel 14, North Central 2 (5 innings)
After giving up two runs to the Rams in the top of the first, BU exploded for 14 unanswered runs.
BU batted around in the second where they plated seven runs on four hits. BU added four in the third and three in the fourth.
Autumn Earney highlighted the second with an inside-the-park grand slam.
Mikaela Girard and Sydney Bartels each went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Rylee Blandin got the win in the circle with three innings of shutout relief where she gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two.
Bethel 3, Northwestern 1
BU avenged an early-season 8-0 loss to the Eagles on Saturday. Girard delivered a two-RBI double to the gap in right putting the Royals up 2-0 in the bottom of the third.
UNW got one back in the fourth before the Royals added an insurance run in the bottom half of the frame. Pinch runner
Brianna Tix scored from second as
Julia Helget grounded out on a ball to third.
Dominique Walicke got her second win of the season striking out six and walking one in her complete game effort.
Wis.-Platteville 6, Bethel 3
Errors proved costly for the Royals as only two of the six runs were earned for the Pioneers.
Bethel trailed 2-0 before
Olivia Weinberg brought in a run in the first and Earney in the second evening it up.
UWP put up a four spot in the fourth with the Royals only able to get one back in the home half of the frame.
Bu left them stranded loaded in the fifth and two in the seventh.
Wis.-La Crosse 5, Bethel 3
Bethel led 3-0 after the second with
Molly Closser,
Ellie Baker and Earney all driving in runs.
The Eagles had one hit through their first four at-bats until taking the lead in the fifth with a two-out three-run home run that followed with a solo shot to left.
BU would get just one runner on in its final two at-bats. That came in the form of a walk to
Camryn Thurow in the seventh.
UP NEXT
Bethel, now 3-3 on the year, kicks off a 10-game spring break trip out west in California on Saturday, March 8 in a doubleheader at La Verne.
