Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran baseball team Saturday afternoon hosted North Central in a UMAC doubleheader and defeated the Rams 10-5 in game one before a 24-1 win in game two. With the wins the Vikings move to 11-7 overall and 9-0 in conference while the Rams fall to 1-16 overall and 0-8 in the UMAC.

Bethany 10 - 5 North Central 
After two straight outs from the Vikings hitters to open game one, Aidan Russell would triple followed by a Nolan Spence double to bring the game's first run across. 

The Rams would answer in the bottom half of the first inning, plating two runs thanks to three hits and a walk. 

The runs kept coming for the Vikings in the top of the second, as Malachi Santiago would rip an RBI double to plate a run before Seth Jones would bring a pair home with a double of his own to make the score 4-2. 

After a few scoreless frames another 2-RBI double from Jones in the top of the fourth would make things 6-2, but NCU would answer with three in the bottom half and force Bethany starter John Lutzi from the game with Jackson Huiras coming on in relief and getting out of the inning with a strikeout. 

The score would remain at 6-5 until the top of the sixth inning, with Bethany piecing together four hits to bring two more runs across to cushion their lead. It was first another Spence RBI hit to make things 7-5 before an RBI triple from Matt Verdugo put things at 8-5.

Bethany would add two more runs in the top of the seventh thanks to four free passes and a Santiago double, while Huiras played shutdown during his 5 1/3 innings in the game, as he allowed no hits and struck out four to secure the victory.

Six Vikings posted multi-hit games in the contest, with Seth Jones leading the group with three hits and four RBI. 

Bethany 24 - 1 North Central (7 innings)
Game two was a dominant win for Bethany as they outhit North Central 22-1 in the contest, with Trent Ash throwing a complete game gem for the Vikings as he struck out 12 batters in the win.

Bethany jumped out early in this one, putting up six runs in the first two innings thanks to five hits before they exploded offensively in the third. 

They would send 14 hitters to the plate, using five hits, three hit batters, and two costly NCU errors to plate 10 runs and hold a commanding 16-0 lead after just two and a half innings. The Rams would get their only run of the game in the bottom half, as a Bethany error allowed a runner to come around an score but that was all they could get off of Ash in the contest. 

The Vikings would then push one more run across in both the fourth and fifth before Xavier Palmer would knock a 2-RBI single in the sixth to make the score 20-1. They weren't done there though, as they would plate four more runs in the seventh to claim the 24-1 win. 

Seven Vikings had multiple hits in the second game with Aidan Russell notching three and six other Bethany players two. 

Bethany will next be in action on Friday when they travel to Crown for a 3 p.m. contest.