Late Rally Leads Vikings to Victory

 
MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany baseball team played a non-conference game against the Martin Luther Knights on Sunday afternoon at the Bethany Baseball Field. In front of a nice crowd, the Vikings used a late rally to defeat the Knights 11-4.
 
Brandyn Olsen (Blue Earth, Minn.) got the Vikings on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning as the junior sent a three-run shot over the left field fence to help the Vikings take a 3-0 lead. The Knights responded with a run in the third inning, followed by three runs in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 lead over the Vikings.
 
The excitement in the contest came in the bottom half of the seventh inning, as Bethany hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to take a 8-4 lead. Josh Montbriand (Blaine, Minn.) led the inning off with a single through the left side of the infield, followed by a walk by Danny Kneeland (Windom, Minn.) to set up a three-run home run by Nick Caldeen (Blaine, Minn.). Drew Quame (Eagle Lake, Minn.) and Alek Zentzis (Forest Lake, Minn.) answered Caldeen's call with towering home runs of their own.
 
The Vikings tacked on three more in the eighth inning to earn the 11-4 victory over the Martin Luther Knights.
 
Caldeen finished the contest with two hits and six RBI's to pace the attack for the Vikings. Finishing with three hits and three RBI's was the Vikings centerfielder, Brandyn Olsen. Kneeland, Zentzis, and Montbriand also had two hits in the non-conference game.
 
Anthony Radloff (Green Bay, Wis.) pitched three innings of relief for Bethany, earning his first collegiate win as a Viking. Zentzis started on the hill, going four innings while striking out five MLC batters.
 
Up Next:
Bethany will begin Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday, April 9^th against the Northland Lumberjacks. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Fans can find more information by visiting www.blcvikings.com and following @BLCvikings on Twitter.