SUPERIOR, Wis. - The Bethany Lutheran baseball team traveled to UW-Superior on Friday afternoon and Aidan Russell put on a performance to remember, as he went 4-for-5 at the plate with two home runs as the Vikings defeated UWS 17-3. WIth the win Bethany moves to 19-11 on the year and 16-3 in the UMAC while the Yellowjackets fall to 19-16 overall and 13-6 in the UMAC.

It was Bethany who struck first, Malachi Santiago and Russell would each single in the opening innings with Santiago advancing to third on the latter's hit. Russell would then take off for second, with Santiagoe coming across to score on the throw for the early lead.

Superior would answer with a run of their own in the bottom half, but it was the next half inning from the Vikings that left a mark on this one.

Matt Verdugo would open the inning with a home run, before two singles and hit by pitch mixed in with a few outs would load the bases for Russell. The junior would then rip a line drive to center field that would get by the Superior centerfielder to clear the bases and make the score 5-1. Bethany wasn't done there though as Nolan Spence would then double before Liam Peterson singled to make it 7-1. 

Santiago would add a 2-RBI single in the third inning before a bases loaded walk in the fourth inning would make it 10-1. 

The Yellowjackets would open the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back hits with the second being a home run to cut into the lead and make it 10-3. 

Russell then answered the two-run shot by the Jackets with one of his own in the top of the fifth, as he would hit a blast to right field to re-extend the lead to nine. 

Will Carlson would kick off the scoring in the sixth with a two-run single to put the Vikings up 14-3 with Santiago drawing a walk a few batters later to set the stage once again for Russell. The Viking first baseman once again delivered as he would hit his second home run in as many innings, this one once again to right field as the Vikings would take a 17-3 lead. 

From that point out, Drew Hedtke tossed two more scoreless innings, with his last five outs recorded being via the strikeout as he tossed his fifth complete game of the season. In his seven innings of work, he allowed just two earned runs and struck out seven for the win. 

The Vikings posted 18 total hits in the contest, with five other Vikings recording multiple. Peterson added three hits while Santiago, Spence, Eli Fest, and Carlson each added two. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they complete the series with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.