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| Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
ST. PAUL, Minn – Bethel won its third consecutive MIAC championship Saturday evening with a 12-1 win over Saint Olaf.
The Royals took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning of game one, before allowing two runs in the bottom half of the inning to lose by a 6-5 final.
Jackson Hunter took the mound for the Royals in game two and after allowing the Oles to take the lead on an RBI single in the second, completed six innings, allowing nine hits and striking out nine. Isaac Call gave the Royals the lead on a solo shot to left in the fourth and never looked back, winning 14-1.
Game one Bethel 5, Saint Olaf 6:
Jordan Krupke brought home the game's first run on a bases-loaded walk. Issac Call hit a two RBI single in the top of the second to extend the Royals' lead to 3-0.
Saint Olaf plated two runs in the bottom half of the third and bottom half of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.
A Jordan Krukpe solo shot into the Ole bullpen knotted the game at four in the top of the eighth. A Zach Thompson single through the left side of the Ole infield gave the Royals a 5-4 lead.
The Oles brought home two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-5, that ended up being the final.
Game two Bethel 14, Saint Olaf 1:
Saint Olaf plated the game's first run on an RBI single to right field, but Royals starter Jackson Hunter was able to work out of a jam after inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end it.
A Noah Wenberg RBI single to left tied the game at one in the second, in the fourth the Royals took the lead on a Isaac Call solo home run into the Ole bullpen.
Later in the inning the Royals loaded the bases and Noah Wenberg worked a walk to make it 3-1.
Bethel took advantage of another bases loaded opportunity in the sixth, when Carson Christansen lined a ball back up the middle driving in two for a 6-1 lead.
The Royals broke the game wide open in the seventh scoring six runs on five hits, capped off by a Xavier Lorite RBI two-bagger into the right field corner to make it a 12-1 ballgame.
Up next:
With the MIAC playoff championship win, the Royals earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals with the location and opponent to be announced on Monday's selection show scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on NCAA.com.