ALTON, Ill. – They had to wait one extra day because of weather but it was well worth it as the Bethel University team secured its spot in Monday's regional final with a 7-5 victory over the top-seed and No. 5 nationally ranked Webster University.
After going down by a pair in the second, the Royals bats came alive with a four-run third that kick-started a 14-hit day. BU's top of the lineup in
Matthew Carlsen,
Tommy Friesen and
Justin Winterfeldt all drove in two runs apiece.
Monday's regional championship is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. where the Royals will square off against Wooster after they defeated Webster in an elimination game. BU is in need of one win to claim the program's first-ever regional title, its opposition will have to beat the Royals twice to end their season.
Webster's (38-7) first two runs came via the long ball off of starter
Ty Koehn. The Bethel (35-9) bats went to work in the fourth as
Marcus Krupke and
Nick Kulseth had back-to-back singles. Carlsen drove in his first run of the game with a double to right-center that one hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double.
Friesen tied it up with a fly ball deep enough to score Kulseth. Winterfeldt gave BU the lead on a single to left before he crossed the plate on a
Keenan Hodgkin double to left.
In the fourth Kulseth legged out an infield single before moving up a base on a throwing error. Carlsen drove him in one pitch later finding the gap in right.
The southpaw Koehn was in a grove recording his fourth strikeout of the game ending the top of the fifth. The Gorloks caught up to him though cutting the BU lead to two. Bethel went to
Blake Williams out of the pen as the bases were loaded with two outs in the sixth.
A throwing error on a grounder that could have been the third out allowed an unearned run cutting the BU lead to 5-4.
In the bottom of the seventh the hot bat of Winterfeldt struck again sending the sixth pitch of the at bat over the right field wall.
Williams gave up his only run on a solo shot in the eighth as Webster pulled back within one. Friesen in the home half of the inning provided the insurance run driving in M. Krupke.
Williams only needed five pitches in the ninth earning his fourth save of the year while Koehn stays perfect at 5-0.
