MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran softball team locked up the No. 1 seed and is set to host the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) this weekend. The Vikings will take on No. 4 seed Crown College on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., while No. 2 seed UW-Superior and No. 3 seed University of Northwestern will open the Tournament up at 1 p.m. on Thursday. All games will be played at the Bethany Lutheran softball field on the north end of campus on Browns Ct.
Live Video
Live Stats
Tournament Program
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 11
Game 1: 1 p.m. – No. 2 UW-Superior vs. No. 3 Northwestern
Game 2: 3:30 p.m. – No. 1 Bethany Lutheran vs. No. 4 Crown
Friday, May 12
Game 3: 11 a.m. – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 4: 1:30 p.m. – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 5: 4 p.m. – Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Saturday, May 13
Game 6: 12 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
Game 7: 2:30 p.m. – If Necessary, Same Teams as Game 6
Scouting the Vikings
Bethany enters the Tournament as the No. 1 seed after an impressive 20-1 record in UMAC play. The Vikings have been strong all-around through 40 games, hitting .365 while posting a conference low ERA of 2.72. Kayla Senne has been one of the most dominant pitchers in Division III this season, posting a 24-8 record and striking out 230 hitters. The 230 strikeouts are a new school record and the third most in Division III this year. At the plate, Katelyn Halbach has served as the leadoff hitter for Bethany, batting.444 with a school record 50 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. Emily Doyle has also been impressive in her first year, hitting .420 with 18 doubles, a pair of home runs, and a conference-leading 50 RBI. Kaija Mork has also been solid coming off an All-Region campaign last year, boasting a team-best .735 slugging percentage thanks to 16 doubles, six triples, and six home runs.
Scouting the Yellowjackets
UW-Superior emerged as the No. 2 seed after defeating Bethany last Sunday in the final contest of the year to move to 17-4 in the UMAC. The Yellowjackets have been solid both at the plate and in the field, batting .366 as a team with a UMAC-best 303 runs scored, while posting a 3.40 ERA in the circle. Taylor Kraemer has served as the team's ace, posting a 3.45 ERA in 143.2 innings, while also batting .431 with 46 runs scored. Mykenzie Leccia and Zoe Thompson have also been steady contributors at the dish, hitting .442 and .435, respectively, with each adding four home runs.
Scouting the Eagles
Northwestern enters the weekend as the No. 3 seed after a 16-5 record in the UMAC this year. The Eagles have been the top hitting team in the conference thus far, batting .377 in 32 games played. Megan Lundt enters the Tournament with the top batting average of all players at .469, while Jadyn Iverson isn't far behind her at .438. Mikayla Gee has been the catalyst that gets the offense going in the leadoff spot, hitting .400 while scoring a team-best 43 runs. In the circle, Ireland Strubbe and Emma Heffron have seen nearly a 50-50 split with Strubbe going 12-2 with a 3.56 ERA, and Heffron going 7-6 with a 5.31 ERA.
Scouting the Polars
Crown clinched their first Tournament appearance since 2018 after a sweep of North Central put their UMAC record at 9-12 and gave them the No. 4 seed. Maria Lilienthal has been one of the top hitters in the conference this year posting a .464 batting average with 10 doubles, two triples, and four home runs for a slugging percentage of .700. Emmy Romportl and Madi Hecox have also been consistent contributors batting .396 and .379, respectively, with Hecox getting on base at a clip of .512. Abbie Carroll has been the team's top pitcher thus far, starting 17 games and posting a 6.46 ERA in 101.2 innings.
