MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Vikings made history today by winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship for the first time in school history. The Vikings grinded out a record of 7-1 in less than a week on their way to a 14-2 finish in the UMAC. Yesterday was crucial as the Vikings took 1 of 2 games in Duluth against the reigning UMAC champion Saints of St. Scholastica. The Vikings took care of business today after a quick turnaround by defeating Northland 13-3 and 24-4.
 
The Vikings and Saints will share the 2018 UMAC regular season championship. The Vikings will be the number two seed in the upcoming UMAC postseason tournament which will be played at the College of St. Scholastica. The Saints held the edge over the Vikings in a tiebreaker.
 
After falling behind 2-0 in game one, the Vikings tied the game with a two-run homer from John Brown in the second inning. The Vikings pulled ahead of the Jacks in the third with four more runs on just one hit, a double from Mylo Hommes. The Vikings never looked back from that point on, adding seven more runs to their total. Brown ended the game in the eighth inning with a walk-off single for a final score of 13-3. Brown was 2-4 with three RBIs and one run. Martiarena had a big game, going 3-5 with one RBI and two runs. Hommes went 2-3 with three RBIs and one run. Joe Ziwicki made the most of his opportunity in game one with a double in his only at-bat. Logan Nissen grabbed the win with seven innings of work, striking out seven while giving up five hits and three runs.
 
In game two, a double from Diego Martiarena in the first inning brought John Brown home from first base to give the Vikings their first run of the game. The Jacks took the lead in the top of the second with a two-run homer, but the Vikings responded quickly with a two-run homer from Jake LaBerge to retake the lead at 3-2. The Vikings gained more separation with four runs in the third and then a monster fourth inning of eight runs sealed the game for good. The highlight of the fourth came with bases loaded when Kevin Harris tripled to deep right-center and then touched home himself after a throwing error by second base. John Brown blasted his second two-run homer of the day in the fifth inning which gave the Vikings a 17-3 lead. The hit-parade continued in the sixth inning as the Vikings added seven more runs to their total. Bethany won 24-4 and the celebration began as the Vikings captured the first UMAC title in school history.

Adam Fjerstad pitched five innings for the win. He had four strikeouts and gave up four hits and three runs. Diego Martiarena was 4-4 in game two with four RBIs and two runs. Jake LaBerge was 2-4 with five RBIs and two runs. John Brown had two hits and two RBIs for the Vikings with three runs. Ben Boran had a big game two with three hits and two runs.
 
Today was a great sendoff for the Bethany seniors who played their last game at the BLC baseball field. This year's senior class included Alex Babcock, John Brown, Nick Dewanz, Hunter Hamers, Kevin Harris, Cody Leitner, Walker Linde, and Joe Ziwicki. Additionally, today was the last time the Vikings will call the BLC baseball field home as they will be playing their home games at Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato starting next season. The Vikings finished the 2018 season with a perfect 8-0 home field record.
 
UP NEXT: The Vikings travel to Duluth for the UMAC postseason tournament. BLC's first game will be Thursday, May 10 at 4 PM. The #2 Vikings will play the #3 Eagles of Northwestern.