MANKATO, Minn.— The Bethany Lutheran baseball team (3-10 overall, 1-1 UMAC) split its doubleheader with Crown (8-17, 2-2) Wednesday to open the conference portion of its schedule.
The Storm won the opener 11-6, but the Vikings claimed the finale, 8-2.
In the first game, junior Ross Beumer (Northfield, Minn.) hit a leadoff home run over the left field fence to give BLC the early 1-0 lead. The next batter, classmate Kaylan Legred (Blue Earth, Minn.) hit a triple down the rightfield line, and later scored on Ben Hopper's single up the middle for the 2-0 lead.
Crown used a six-run second inning to take the lead. It added one run in the fourth on a solo shot to left and three in the seventh to extend the margin to 10-2.
Sophomore Liam Peterson (Port Orchard, Wash.) hit a leadoff home run in the seventh, but the Storm answered with a solo roundtripper of their own in the eighth, which made the score 11-3.
Bethany compiled a rally in the bottom of the ninth to tally three runs, which include RBI singles from Beumer and Legred. BLC had runners on first and second with two outs, but the rally was halted as the next batter flew out to centerfield.
Beumer and Legred each went 2-5 and Peterson was 2-4.
In the finale, Beumer got things started again with his two-run double in the second inning. He and sophomore Hunter Pearce (Berthoud, Colo.) would later score on a fielder's choice to extend the margin to 4-0.
The homeruns kept coming as Peterson hit another one as he led off the third inning, and freshman Reed Brown (St. Michael, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate homer to left to make it 6-0.
Crown got on the board in the sixth on a two-run homerun off the scoreboard.
Bethany would plate a run in the fifth and sixth on sac flies.
Beumer and Brown both went 3-4 with two runs and two RBI. Legred finished 2-4. Junior Brody Curtiss (Belle Plaine, Minn.) pitched a career-high 9.0 innings and fanned a career-best seven in his complete game win.
The Vikings return to the field Saturday when they host UW-Superior at 1:30 p.m.
