Piper baseball takes #3 playoff seed with split

Hamline entered the doubleheader, being played at Bethel with Hamline as the home team on the scoreboard due to rain-out scheduling conflict, needing just one win in the pair to clinch their second playoff appearance in three years.

With Matt Mullendore (Fy., Amery, Wis.) on the mound, the Pipers jumped to a 4-0 lead on four hits in the first inning, expanding it to an 8-1 lead after two (with four runs on four hits and a Bethel error) and a 10-1 lead after three (two runs on two hits).

The Royals managed a second run in the fifth, and an addition in the seventh, but when they couldn’t bring the game any closer, the Pipers took the 11-3 win.

Highlights in the Piper half of the innings included Dan Kaczrowski's (Jr,. St. Anthony, Minn.) 14th double of the season and Andrew Bennett's (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) 13th double.

In the fourth inning, sophomore catcher Lincoln Hughes (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) hit his first collegiate homerun, a one-out solo shot over the left field wall.

Mullendore threw four and a third innings, striking out three and giving up just one walk and one earned run to up his record to 3-1.

Hamline tried to repeat the feat in game two, taking a 1-0 lead after the opening inning before Bethel tied the game in the third. The score stayed at 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth, when the Pipers took a 3-1 lead.

Bethel wasn’t ready to go away though, as they put together five unanswered runs in the seventh on five hits for the 6-3 victory and the split.

Travis Adams (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) improved to 4-3 on the mound for the Royals with the win in game two. He threw six innings, striking out five and surrendering just one walk.

The Pipers were led by the shortstop Kaczrowski, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the plate in the doubleheader with three runs scored and two RBI.

Bennett added a 4-for-7 performance with two runs scored and three RBI, and Ben Smith (Jr., Orono, Minn.) went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBI.

Bethel was paced at the plate by Sean Flaherty’s (So., Shoreview, Minn.) 3-for-7 batting with two runs scored and an RBI. Kris Pulford (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) was also sharp for Bethel, going 4-for-6, including a 3-for-3 performance in the Bethel win with a run and an RBI. The Royals had five different players with RBI in the second game.

With the split, the Pipers finish the regular season at 23-16, 12-8 MIAC, while the Royals are 21-17, 11-8 MIAC.

Hamline will travel to Northfield on Friday , May 9, to play #2 seed St. Olaf at 3:30 p.m. in the first game of the MIAC tournament.

The second game of the tournament will be played at 7:00 p.m. on Friday at either Northfield or Dundas.