MORRIS, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran softball team Wednesday afternoon took on Minnesota Morris in a pair of UMAC battles and came away with two hard fought wins. The Vikings won the first contest 5-1 after posting four runs in the top of the seventh inning before winning game two 11-9 in 11 innings. With the wins the Vikings move to 25-11 overall and 13-2 in the UMAC while the Cougars fall to 25-12 overall and fall to 12-3 in the conference.

Bethany 5 - 1 Morris

The Vikings would kick off the scoring in game one before ever recording an out, as Sydney Jacobs would single and steal second before a Katelyn Halbach base hit brought her in for the quick 1-0 lead. 

Both offenses would then hit a standstill for a few innings before the Cougars got something going in the third. They would load the bases with just one out and use a fielder's choice to bring in their first run and leave runners on first and third with the score even. They would then attempt a steal of second with the player trying to get in a rundown to allow the runner from third to score, but Kaija Mork would tag her out before the runner crossed the plate to keep it even.

Morris would then threaten in the fourth and sixth with two runners reaching each inning, but Kayla Senne would work out of both jams to hold the score at 1-1. 

Bethany would then put together a massive seventh inning to try to put the game away. Following a Morris error, Bryn Weidner would pinch hit and rip a line drive into right center for a triple to make the score 2-1. After Jacobs walked, Halbach would double to bring Weidner home, before both Jacobs and Halbach would come around to score on a wild pitch to make the tally 5-1 headed to the bottom.

Senne made quick work of the Minnesota Morris hitters in the bottom half, putting them down 1-2-3 to seal the win.

Bethany had just five hits in game one with Halbach leading the way with two.

Senne earned the win in relief after pitching four innings and allowing no runs and just three hits. 

Bethany 11 - 9 Morris

Game two turned out to be a dramatic win for the Vikings after they would watch an early lead disappear in the late stages of the contest

Bethany  would get RBI hits in the first inning from Emily Doyle and Mork before run scoring base hits in the second from Jacobs and Halbach would quickly make things 4-0. 

Morris would get a run back in the bottom of the third inning but a Doyle double in the top of the fourth would move the Vikings lead back to four runs at 5-1. 

It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth that Morris would find their stride offensively, as they would use three walks and two timely base hits to plate three runs and bring the deficit to one run at 5-4. 

After a quick bottom of the sixth from the Morris offense, they would need a run in the game's final inning to keep the game going.

They opened the inning with a walk followed by a Bethany error to put two runners on. Senne would induce a ground ball double play to bring Morris' final chance to the plate, where she would deliver with a single up the middle to tie the game and force extra innings with the score at 5-5.

The first two extra innings played scoreless, with the international rule placing a runner on second coming into effect in the 10th. A sacrifice bunt followed by a fielder's choice in the 10th would bring the first run for the Vikings across, before a Jacobs double followed by another RBI groundout made it 8-5 in favor of Bethany headed to the bottom half.

Two consecutive hits from Morris to open the inning would plate a run and leave two on, before a groundout made it 8-7. Another Cougar single made it 8-8 but a popout followed by a lineout would end the inning and send the game to the 11th. 

Morris would get the first out of the inning before Mork would knock a base hit to make it 9-8. The Vikings would then get three more hits, with RBI's coming from Brynja Mielke and Jade Krenik to make the score 11-8 with still just one out. With runners on the corners, Morris would get a timely double play, just getting the runner at first to keep the deficit at three. 

Back to back outs to open the bottom half would quickly leave the Cougars down to their final out. A ground rule double would keep them alive and bring the game-tying run to the plate, but a groundout to third ended the contest. 

Bethany had a massive game at the plate in game two, posting 21 hits in the contest with Jacobs, Halbach, and Mork posting four apiece. 

Senne racked up her second win of the day in game two, pitching 11 innings, striking out 10, and allowing five earned runs. 

The Vikings, who now lead the UMAC and control their won fate heading into the final weekend, will host UW-Superior on Friday and Saturday in their final contests of the regular season.