WHITEWATER, Wis. - Despite outhitting the North Central (Ill.) Cardinals, 12-9, the Vikings saw their 2019 baseball season end with an 11-4 loss in the 2019 NCAA Regionals in Whitewater, Wis.


After spotting North Central (31-12) a run in the top of the first, Bethany would tie the score at one on an RBI single by junior Cody Ulfers (Waseca, Minn.) that scored junior Ross Beumer (Northfield, Minn.) who had singled to center. The Vikings would come back again in the third inning to knot the score 3-3 when a two-run blast over the left field fence by senior Nick Caldeen (Blaine, Minn.) plated junior Grant Becher (Wells, Minn.) after he opened the frame with a walk.

The middle innings belonged to the Cardinals with two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth to open up a 9-3 gap. Down 11-3 in the eighth, Bethany would get one run back on a single to center by freshman Brady Schuster (Owatonna, Minn.), scoring senior Ben Boran (Waterville, Minn.). The Vikings also loaded the bases in the ninth with one out, but North Central pitching, which tallied 15 strikeouts on the day, was able to end the threat and move on to a game with the loser of the Webster versus UW-Whitewater contest.

Sophomore Adam Fjerstad (Hayfield, Minn.) took the loss for the Vikings pitching into the sixth inning, before junior Logan Nissen (Olivia, Minn.) finished up on the mound for the last 12 outs. Ulfers led Bethany with three hits, while Boran ended the season with a 28-game hitting streak on a single in the first.

Bethany closes out the 2019 season with a 23-18 record. Other Vikings who closed out their Bethany careers today after back-to-back UMAC playoff titles and NCAA appearances are: Jacob Duden (Red Wing, Minn.), Jacob Fletcher (Rochester, Minn.), Matt Jensen (Ellendale, Minn.), Tim Pasiuk (Roseville, Minn.), Anthony Radloff (Green Bay, Wis.), and Eric Westphal (North Mankato, Minn.).