Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ST. BONIFACIOUS, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran baseball team took on Crown in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon and after a high scoring affair in game one that saw them come out on top 17-8, they won game two after coming back from down five runs in the ninth to win 11-10. With the wins the Vikings move to 14-7 overall and 12-0 in the UMAC while the Polars fall to 6-15 overall and 4-5 in the conference.

Bethany 17 - 8 Crown

The wind was blowing out at the confines of Missile Park on Saturday afternoon and the ball was flying off the bat in game one. 

Bethany would strike first, as Matt Verdugo homered as the second batter of the game to make things 2-0 early. After loading the bases, the Vikings would push two more across to make things 4-0. The Polars would answer with one of their own in the bottom half to make it 4-1 after an inning. 

Aidan Russell and Nolan Spence would then join the home run party in the second to make things 7-1, before Malachi Santiago blasted his first career homer in the third to make it 8-1. 

Crown would answer in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs thanks to an error and a home run, but the Vikings would put another up in the fourth with some crafty baserunning. 

A solo shot from the Polasrs in the bottom of the fourth would be answered by four Bethany runs in the fifth to make the score 13-4. Four walks doomed the Polars before Liam Peterson knocked a bases loaded double to center. 

Another solo shot in the fifth would give Crown life, before they put up three more in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 13-8. 

Bethany would put the nail in the coffin in the ninth, as Russell would launch his second 2-run homer of the day to make it 15-8, before a Santiago 2-RBI double pushed it to 17-8 which they would hold onto for the win. 

Spence led the Vikings with four hits in game one while Russell and Peterson each added three. 

Gavin Jacobsen got the win on the mound, tossing six innings and striking out 12, while Jackson Huiras secured the save in three innings of relief. 

Bethany 11 - 10 Crown

Game two got off to a slower start than game one, with Crown building a 1-0 lead after the games first three innings. 

Bethany would respond with two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Polars had the answer and put up three runs of their own to hold a 4-2 lead after four. 

Will Carlson would then rip one of his five hits in the contest to bring home a run in the sixth, before he would later come around to score on a Spence single to even things at four. 

The score would then hold there until the bottom of the seventh, where an error and Crown double plated two runs and made things 6-4, before a bases clearing triple in the bottom of the eighth made things 9-4 and seemed to deliver the final blow.

A strikeout to open the ninth left the Vikings down to their final two outs before a single from Santiago followed by a walk put two runners on. Connor Jones would then knock a pinch hit single to plate one run before another Carlson single, with a misplay in right field allowed two runs to score and pushed Carlson all the way to third. 

Eli Fest would then come up as the games tying run and lace a single that the shortstop would dive to knock down but had no play at first as Carlson scampered home and the game tying run was now on base.

With Fest on first, Verdugo would step up and hit a no doubt shot to left to give Bethany their first lead of the contest at 10-9 and force the Polars to make a pitching change. Russell then followed up Verdugo's shot with a tape measure blast to right center to make the score 11-9 headed to the bottom fo the ninth. 

A leadoff homer from Crown immediately cut the deficit to one, and a single in the next at-bat brought the game winning run to the plate. Huiras, who came on to start the ninth inning, would then get a flyout and strikeout to get the innings first two outs before a walk put the game-tying run at second. Huiras would then induce a ground ball to second that Carlson would scoop up and flip to first to seal the comeback win for Bethany. 

Carlson had a huge day at the dish, knocking five hits for the Vikings and scoring three times. Spence added three hits for Bethany while Fest and Santiago each had two. 

John Lutzi recorded the win in relief for Bethany while Trent Ash got a no decision in six innings as the starter, spreading five hits and striking out five. 

The Vikings will be back in action on Thursday when they host Macalester for a non-conference double header beginning at 2 p.m.