Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Mankato, Minn. - It had been a while, two and a half weeks in fact, since the Bethany baseball team took the field. Maybe the rest was all they needed or they were just itching to get back on the field, but the pitching and bats came alive on a cold and cloudy day in Mankato as the Vikings swept a doubleheader from Minnesota-Morris in the UMAC opener for both teams.

The one constant through the season so far has been the pitching of Cory Ferm and that was on display in the first game on Friday. He threw a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out 11 Cougars batters in the 12-0 seven-inning contest.

Ferm wasn't too bad with the bad either, going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored.

Lucas Herd and Dylan Gass each collected three hits a piece in the 15-hit Bethany attack. Ferm, Herd, and Gass all contributed with RBI hits in a 6-run seventh inning to help Bethany in getting their 10+ run lead.

The hot bats continued over into the second the game as Bethany built a 5-0 lead after two innings. Gass delivered again with an RBI single in a 3-run second scoring Joe Tuholsky.

Adam Geiger was the hitting star in the second game as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Aaron Page started the game and tossed six innings of seven-hit baseball allowing three runs and striking out three to earn his first win of the season. Brady Collison pitched three solid innings of relief to earn his first save of the season.

This 3-game set was originally scheduled for Morris, but poor field conditions there moved the series to Bethany. Even though the Vikings are playing at home, they are considered the visiting team for this set. The series concludes Saturday with a 3 p.m. start at the Bethany baseball diamond.