MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.—The Bethel University baseball team opened their 2026 season with a 20-3 victory over Crown in game one. The Royals led 13-1 through the fourth inning of game two, which was suspended due to time constraints and will be finished at a later date.
Bethel improves to 1-0, while Crown falls to 0-1.
Bethel 20, Crown 3
Every inning outside the first resulted in a run for the Royals, which included a nine-run fourth.
Oran Hinkle and Hayden Bradford each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Hinkle also drove in a pair of runs. Carson Christianson registered a 2-for-4 outing that included a double, five RBI, and two runs scored. Scoring a team-leading three runs was Ben Trucke, who went 2-for-3.Â
Recording doubles for Bethel were Carson Christianson, Michael Koller-Lehman, Isaiah Weber, and Tyler Allshouse. Chris Lavin drove in three runs off three walks and a sacrifice fly, and scored two runs.
Also driving in three runs for the Royals was Drew Girtz, who finished 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs scored. Girtz also pitched the first four innings. He notched seven strikeouts and allowed two hits and four walks. Ted Hohn allowed three hits and tallied five strikeouts over two innings in relief, followed by Krieger's two strikeouts over the final inning.Â
The Bethel pitching staff accumulated 14 strikeouts and allowed just five Crown hits. Caden Esquerra finished 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Polars.
The Royals will face Crown (DH) again at US Bank Stadium on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:35 a.m.
