Storm split twinbill at U.S. Bank Stadium

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- RV Simpson College baseball drove north to take on Bethel at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Wednesday and came away with splitting the doubleheader.

The Royals (3-1) earned a slim 1-0 victory in the opener before the Storm (3-1) connected on 10 hits to win 5-3 in the finale to split the series.

Noah Sacco finished with four hits and Brady Held had three.

Game One
Bethel 1, Simpson 0
A dramatic ending took place in the opener of the doubleheader after Bethel grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. Justin Winterfeldt connected on a triple to start the inning and then scored on a wild pitch for the Royals.

Simpson tallied just two hits through the first six innings until a late rally in the seventh. With one out in the frame, Sacco and Luke Willis collected back-to-back hits that forced Bethel to make a pitching change. Brandon Urias connected on a hard line drive to the shortstop that went off his glove to load the bases. Zach Hollingsworth looked to tie or win the contest, but hit into a game-ending double play.

Held allowed just one run in six innings of work and gave up one hit through the his last five frames on the mound. Bethel's Ty Koehn earned the win in 6.1 innings during the pitcher's duel.

Game Two
Simpson 5, Bethel 3
The offense showed up for the Storm in game two by plating five runs across seven innings on 10 hits. Held and Sacco both tallied three hits, while Held drove in two runners to help the cause.

After falling down 3-1 after the first, Simpson evened the score as Sacco drove in Urias on a double and Held followed with an RBI single to knot the score in the second. The Storm grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Held that scored Ryan Willis in a play at the plate.

Bethel was in striking distance by putting two runners on in the sixth with no outs. Hollingsworth came in from the bullpen to put a stop to the momentum and he did just that by picking up three quick outs to keep the one-run buffer intact.

Kolton Arnold added an insurance run in the seventh, before Hollingsworth worked a one-two-three bottom of the seventh to seal the win.

Up Next
Nonconference play resumes this Saturday when Simpson travels to Monmouth (Ill.) for a doubleheader. The first game will begin at noon.