ST. BONIFACIOUS, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran softball team won two more games at the UMAC Crossover hosted by Crown on Saturday, with Kayla Senne tossing her second no-hitter of the week in the nightcap win over Crown. The Vikings opened the day with a 14-8 comeback win in game one against Minnesota-Morris before Senne tossed the no-hitter in the teams 13-0, 5-inning win over Crown.
Bethany Lutheran 15 – 9 Minnesota-Morris
It took the Vikings a bit to get acclimated to the bitter weather as four walks and an error to go along with a handful of wild pitches allowed three Cougar runs to score in the first inning. Morris would then get a double in the third inning, and later used another passed ball to plate another run and take a 4-0 lead.
Bethany would finally get the bats going in the bottom of the third, as Tori Pahl led off the inning with a double before the Morris pitcher issued two straight free passes. Kaija Mork brought in the first Viking run of the contest with a sac fly, before Ana Christofferson brought in another with a 2-RBI single. Aliya Kehler would later triple in the inning to bring in a fourth run to make the score 4-4 headed to the fourth.
Morris however, would respond in a big way in the fourth,= adding four runs back thanks to a pair of hits and Bethany errors. The Vikings would answer back in the bottom of the inning, as Pahl singled and was later brought around to score on a Katelyn Halbach double. Mork would then bring Halbach home to make the score 8-6.
Kayla Senne came on to pitch in the fifth inning, striking out the side to set the tone for the bottom half. The Viking offense responded in a big way in the fifth, erupting for seven runs. After the first three Vikings of the innings reached base including a Jade Krenik run scoring ground ball, Elizabeth Cizek then singled to even things at eight. Pahl then stepped up and hit her second double of the game to plate two more and take a 10-8 lead. Mork, Emily Doyle, and Christofferson each then had run scoring at-bats to take a 13-8 lead after five.
After Senne again struck out the side in the top of the sixth, Bethany would get a few insurance runs, as Brynja Mielke would single to score Krenik before Halbach would triple to score Mielke. Senne would allow a pair of hits in the seventh but get out of the jam allowing just one run to secure the win.
Pahl led the Vikings with three hits in this one, while Halbach and Christofferson each added two.
Mork got the start on the mound and allowed five earned over four innings, while Senne allowed one earned and struck out seven in three innings of relief.
Bethany 13 – 0 Crown
After Senne threw a scoreless top of the first inning in game two, Halbach opened the bottom half with a single before a Mork double would bring her in to score. After Mork advanced to third on a wild pitch, Doyle would bring her across the plate with a groundout. Each team then had a quick second inning before Senne cruised through the top of the third as well.
The Vikings started to distance themselves in the third, as three consecutive walks to start the inning would load the bases. Doyle and Christofferson would each record sacrifice flies before Haley Stockman brought in another run with a single to put Bethany up 5-0.
Another quick inning from Senne in the top of the fourth brought the Vikings back to the plate where the offense took control. Mielke started the inning with a double and the Bethany offense used three more hits, three Polar errors, and a pair of walks to plate eight runs and take a 13-0 lead into the fifth. With the eight run rule in effect, Senne was able to keep Crown hitless in the fifth to finish the game and record the no-hitter. She struck out four in the contest while allowing three walks.
Offensively, Stockman recorded a team-best two hits, while Mork and Halbach each had a hit and two walks to score three runs.
