MANKATO, Minn. - For the second consecutive outing, Bethany Lutheran baseball starting pitcher Drew Hedtke ran into some trouble early in the contest before settling in and tossing a complete game, with the Vikings taking Friday's matchup with North Central 13-2. With the win, Bethany moves to 9-7 overall and 7-0 in the UMAC while the Rams fall to 1-14 overall and 0-6 in the conference. 

As the visiting team in the matchup, Bethany would strike first as Seth Jones would triple in the top of the first inning before coming around to score on an Aidan Russell sac fly. 

After a scoreless next two half innings, North Central would get to Hedtke in the bottom of the second, as two hits would put runners on second and third before a two-out single drove both home as the Rams took a 2-1 lead after three. 

Bethany would finally answer back in the top of the fourth in what turned out to be a chaotic inning. They didn't record a hit in the frame, but instead three free passes and some crafty baserunning to plate a pair of runs and re-take a 3-2 advantage. 

The Vikings would use a similar approach in the fifth inning to plate a few more, as two walks, an NCU error, and a Matt Verdugo single brought two runners home and made the score 5-2.

The top of the sixth helped Bethany deliver a big blow to the Rams, as they would bring five runs across on three hits and a pair of NCU errors. The two miscues each allowed a Bethany run to cross the plate in the inning, while Russell was beaned with the bases loaded before Nolan Spence ripped a 2-RBI single as the Vikings led 10-2 after six innings. 

Seth Jones and Spence would pick up RBI's in the top of the seventh for the Vikings before Jones came across to score on a passed ball which pushed the lead to 13-2. 

Hedtke would then put North Central down in order in the bottom of the seventh to maintain the 10-run rule and give Bethany the win. 

Spence had a solid day at the plate for Bethany, reaching base all five times with two hits and three free passes. Seth Jones and Malachi Santiago each added a pair of hits for Bethany with Jones also scoring four times. 

Hedtke threw all seven for the Vikings in this one, allowing seven hits and striking out six in the win. 

The two teams will be back at it tomorrow at 2 p.m. as they'll play a pair of contests at ISG Field.