MANKATO, Minn. - Head Bethany Lutheran baseball coach Ryan Kragh picked up his 400th career win on Friday night as the Vikings claimed a 6-0 UMAC win behind a dominant pitching performance from sophomore Trent Ash. With the win, Bethany moves to 17-10 overall and 10-0 in the UMAC while the Polars fall to 12-11 overall and 7-3 in conference play. 

Hear from the Vikings
Here's what coach Kragh had to say about the game and Associate Head Coach Danny Kneeland had to say about the accomplishment by Kragh.

Kragh: "I thought Trent Ash had one of our best starts in the past couple years today. Offensively we left a lot of runners on but the family found a way to stick together and put together a good work day."

Kneeland: "Congratulations to coach Kragh on reaching this milestone. It's a testament to his unwavering leadership and dedication to this program for the past 20+ years."

Inside the Box Score
Ash would hit the first batter of the game, and two stolen bases would quickly place him on third. An infield pop up, a strikeout, and a nice play up the middle from Will Carlson at second base though would help the Vikings escape the jam to keep the Polars scoreless. 

Bethany would quickly put up a run in the bottom of the frame, as Eli Fest would walk and come around to score on a Gary Swann power alley double to make it 1-0. Swann would be left stranded though, as the visitors would work out of the inning to keep the deficit at just one run. 

Ash would work around a pair of walks and a single in the second by striking out the side before two hits and a Crown error in the bottom half didn't elicit any results as they were able to keep Bethany off the scoreboard. 

The Vikings were able to strike for another run in the third though, as Aidan Russell and Xander Meissner would hit back-to-back doubles off the fence to plate a run before things went scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. Leading 2-0, three straight Bethany hits with one out loaded the bases for Seth Jones, who would hit a fly ball to center field to plate another and make it 3-0. 

Crown recorded another hit in the sixth inning, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat and kept them off the board. In the bottom half, five free passes - including RBI plate appearances from Josh Robb and Malachi Santiago - helped the Vikings plate two more runs without recording a hit. 

A leadoff walk in the seventh put a runner on base for Crown, but a strikeout from Ash gave Bethany one out. Carlson then made a spectacular play deep in the hole to get the second out, before Ash punched out another batter to keep the shutout alive. 

The Vikings played small ball for another run in the bottom of the inning, with Russell driving in an RBI. Ash then tossed a scoreless eighth, and Ty Vollmar followed with a clean ninth to preserve the shutout and secure the win.

Fest and Swann both had strong day's at the plate for Bethany, knocking two hits apiece while also each drawing a walk. Ash allowed just two hits in his eight innings of work, while striking out eight and allowing six free passes to move to 7-0 on the year.

The Vikings and Polars will be back in action tomorrow as they play a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.