MINNEAPOLIS -- The Bethany Lutheran softball team (11-11 overall, 4-0 UMAC) swept North Central (3-15, 0-10) Monday. The Vikings won the opener 19-3 in five innings, and claimed the finale 21-1 in five innings.
 
In the first game, BLC jumped to the 5-0 lead, thanks in part to a two-run homer by freshman Ana Christofferson (Mankato, Minn.) and a two-run single from sophomore Emma Young (Mankato, Minn.).
 
The Vikings plated two in the second, and the Rams answered with two runs of their own to make it 7-2.
 
In the third, Bethany added three runs, which included a two-run double from sophomore Katelyn Halbach (Osage, Iowa). North Central plated its final run of the game in the third on an RBI double.
 
BLC used an eight-run fourth inning and added one in the fifth for the first win.
 
Senior Alyssa Kosta (Redding, Calif.) went 3-3 with three runs and three RBI. She also pitched 3.0 innings and had a career-high eight strikeouts. She finished a double shy of the cycle.
 
In the second game, the Vikings took the early 10-0 lead in the first inning. This included a three-run home run from junior Zoe Kinakin (Victoria, British Columbia), a two-run shot from Christofferson and a solo roundtripper from senior Eden Ambrose (Hugo, Minn.).
 
Bethany tallied seven in the second, two in the third, and two in the fourth to make it 21-0.

The Rams scored their lone run of the game in the fifth on an RBI groundout.
 
Kinakin went 3-4 with three runs and four RBI. Senior Morgan Mashlan (Brandon, SD) went 3-4 with three runs and one RBI.
 
BLC continues its six-game road trip Wednesday against Northwestern at 3:30 p.m.