ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-seeded St. Olaf College baseball team came up one win shy of its fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff title with a 12-1 loss to second-seeded Bethel University in the decisive seventh game after the Oles won the first game of the day by a 6-5 margin on Saturday at CHS Field.

Needing two wins for its first MIAC Playoff title since 2009, St. Olaf (30-14) got the go-ahead two-run single from sophomore Frank Lavin with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to force a seventh game, but Bethel (25-15) scored the final 12 runs of the game to win the tournament for the third season in a row. The game-one victory gave the Oles their first 30-win season since 2009 and the seventh in program history.

With the win, Bethel earned the MIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship and claimed its fourth MIAC Playoff title. St. Olaf was appearing in the four-team field for the 12th time overall and the first time since the third of its three titles in 2009.

St. Olaf 6, Bethel 5 | Box Score

In the opener, St. Olaf overcame an early 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, only for Bethel to score twice in the eighth to go back on top by a run. The Oles answered immediately on a go-ahead two-out, two-run single by Lavin to force a decisive seventh game.

Junior Matthew Kulesa was one of three Oles with multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Lavin's eventual game-winning single was his second hit of the game, while senior Joey Glampe added two hits and an RBI. Senior Sam Lavin also drove in two runs in the victory, in addition to picking up the win in relief.

Sam Lavin improved to 8-2 on the season with the victory despite allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts over his 2.2 innings in his fourth relief appearance of the season. First year Kieran Haaland came on in relief of first year Nick Levasseur in the second inning and limited Bethel to one run on four hits with two walks and one strikeout over 5.0 innings.

Bethel put a run on the board right away in the top of the first on two singles and a pair of walks, but Levasseur avoided further trouble by leaving the bases full of Royals. After a two-out walk brought in a run, Levasseur got a ground out to first to keep the damage to a minimum. Bethel did add to its lead in the second, however, scoring twice on a two-out single by Isaac Call to open up a 3-0 cushion.

After being held hitless through the first two frames, St. Olaf tallied five hits and scored twice in the bottom of the third to get within a run at 3-2. Senior Brian Nevin and Frank Lavin started the inning with back-to-back singles, but a double-play grounder left Nevin at third with two outs. Kulesa reached on a chopper to shortstop to score Nevin, stole second, and scored on senior Sam Lavin's single to cut the Royals' lead to one.

Bethel maintained the 3-2 lead until St. Olaf grabbed its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Evan Hammonds drew a one-out walk before a Kulesa single put runners on the corners for Sam Lavin, who brought Hammonds in with a sacrifice fly to left. After Kulesa stole second, Glampe lined a single to left to give the Oles a 4-3 lead.

In the top of the eighth, Bethel rallied to retake the lead. Jordan Krupke belted a solo home run to left to start the inning before Zach Thompson broke the tie with a two-out RBI single. The lead did not last long, however, as St. Olaf responded in the next half inning. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, walks to sophomores Breckin Hadley and Mason Buck and a hit-by-pitch by senior Brian Nevin filled the bases for Frank Lavin, who grounded a 2-2 pitch back up the middle to score Buck and Hadley and give the Oles the lead for good.

Bethel 12, St. Olaf 1 | Box Score

St. Olaf held a 1-0 lead after two innings before Bethel rattled off 12 runs in a row to claim the tournament title. Jackson Hunter pitched the Royals to the championship by holding the Oles to an unearned run on nine hits over six-plus innings.

Six Oles had at least one in hit in game two, but St. Olaf left 10 runners on base in the loss. First year Cole Pleimann, Hadley, and Nevin picked up two hits apiece, with Pleimann also drawing a walk to reach base in three of his four trips to the plate. Nevin drove in the Oles' lone run of the game with a second-inning single.

In his first start in an Ole uniform, senior Brock Brumley took the loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts over 3.2 innings of work in his longest outing of the season. Three other relievers worked in the game, with junior Matthew Oberlander and first year Sam Hruska combining to get nine outs before first year Izack Takazawa finished off the seventh.

St. Olaf opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second to get out to an early lead. After Pleimann drew a leadoff walk, Hadley reached on an infield hit and a throwing error allowed Pleimann to get to third on the play. Two batters later, Nevin singled to right to score Pleimann, but Hunter limited the damage to one run by getting a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame.

Bethel opened the third with three consecutive singles to quickly tie the game at 1-1, although Brumley left two runners on base in the inning to keep the game tied. Call ignited a three-run fourth for the Royals with a leadoff home run. Bethel added two runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh to pick up its second run-rule win over St. Olaf in as many days.