MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran baseball team will host Crown this weekend as they reach the turning point of their UMAC season. The series between the Vikings and Polars will mark the midway point of the conference season, as the two teams will square off on Friday at 3 p.m. before matching up again on Saturday at 2 and 5 p.m.
Hear from the Vikings
Here's what head coach Ryan Kragh and senior outfielder Aidan Russell had to say about the upcoming series.
Kragh: "We had a great work week this week. It will be a good challenge to see where we're at. Our guys are excited for the series."
Russell: "We have a big weekend and next month ahead of us and all of us are ready for the challenges ahead. If we keep playing and competing at the standard we hold we are all going to be happy with the outcomes, but it takes everyone to hold each other accountable and stay together to reach our goals at the end of the year."
The Series
Friday's game will be the 57th all-time meeting between the two teams with Bethany holding a 50-6 advantage. Since 2023, the Vikings are 8-1, with Crown's lone win being a 2-1 extra innings win in the first round of last year's UMAC Tournament.
Scouting the Vikings
Bethany comes into the series 16-10 on the season and 9-0 in the UMAC and has won 11 of its past 12 contests. In the team's nine conference contests, Seth Jones leads the Vikings as he's hitting .542 while Xander Meissner is just behind him at .531 and boasts a team-best slugging percentage of 1.000 and 19 RBI. Eli Fest has been a jumpstarter at the top of the Bethany lineup, reaching base 26 times in the nine conference matchups for a .591 OB% and has come across to score a team-best 20 runs. On the mound, Adryen Tietz and Trent Ash are each 3-0 in UMAC games, holding ERA's of 1.42 and 4.50, respectively, with Tietz striking out 22 hitters in 19 innings.
Scouting the Polars
Crown enters the weekend at 12-10 on the year and 7-2 in the UMAC and is coming off a series sweep of UW-Superior last weekend. In the team's nine conference games, Drew Girtz leads the Polars as he's batting .432 while Tyler Bloom is hitting .371 and slugging .657 with 11 RBI. Bryan Gerbers has been the team's top power threat as he's launched three home runs so far in UMAC contests and driven in 15 runs. Jacob Van Dam and Ryan Vondracek have been the top two starters in conference play for Crown as they've each picked up a pair of wins, holding ERA's of 2.95 and 3.06, respectively.
