MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran softball team hit four home runs on Friday afternoon and tallied 11 extra base hits as they split a pair of contests with Northwestern. The Vikings, now 20-11 overall and 10-1 in the UMAC, defeated the Eagles 11-2 in five innings in game one, before falling 8-7 in a nine-inning nightcap

Hear from the Vikings
Here's what head coach Angela Dabu and sophomore pitcher Emily Meyer had to say about the games.

Dabu
"Good competition on the field today with Northwestern. They're a solid team and we are excited for another opportunity to compete tomorrow." 

Meyer
Today's games against Northwestern were hard-fought. Offensively and defensively, we came alive right away. We played as a team, and more importantly, as a family. Going into tomorrow's game, we know that we need to bring the energy and fire to bring home the win."

Inside the Box Scores

Bethany 11 - 2 Northwestern
After the first two batters of game one reached base, Meyer settled in inside the circle, using a fielders choice, popout, and strikeout to escape the jam. 

Things would stay scoreless for a few innings and it was UNW who struck first, scoring in the top of the third thanks to a pair of hits and a timely stolen base. 

Bethany answered right away though, as Jolyne LeClair would single and Avery Carlson walked before both came around to score on a Bryn Weidner triple. 

Following another scoreless frame from Meyer, she added some run support herself in the bottom of the fourth as she led off the inning with a solo shot. The Vikings weren't done there though, as they added five more hits in the inning with Carly Nelson, Orla Keys, and Weidner each producing run-scoring at-bats to make the score 6-1 after four. 

The Eagles would threaten again in the fifth, as they used a triple, single, and double in order to plate a run and leave two in scoring position with just one out. Meyer would find her groove in the circle though, as struck out two to end the threat.and keep the lead at 6-2. 

A Northwestern error would begin the bottom of the fifth before two straight hits plated a run and kept two on. A safety squeeze plated another run before a Carlson at-bat a few batters later brought in another to put the Vikings up seven. Kaija Mork then delivered the game ending blow, as she launched a walk-off home run off the left field scoreboard to propel the Vikings to the win via 8-run rule. 

Mork, Aliya Edbom-Kehler, Nelson, and Keys all had two hits to pace the Vikings in game one. Meyer went all five innings in the circle, striking out eight and allowing seven hits. 

Northwestern 8 - 7 Bethany
It was Bethany who scored first in game two as Meyer would toss a shutout top of the first and get some immediate support from the offense.

Emily Doyle drove in the game's first run with a double before Meyer was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Edbom-Kehler then stepped up and knocked one off the scoreboard in left field to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Vikings after one. 

The Eagles responded in a big way in the second though, as they would plate five runs in the inning, using six hits and a Viking error to take the lead at 5-4.

UNW was next to score again and they did so in the fourth inning as a pair of back-to-back hits put runners on second and third with no one out before Meyer was able to work out of the jam without too much damage, as just one run scored thanks to a pair of timely strikeouts.

After the big first inning, Northwestern kept the Vikings at bay and it wasn't until the sixth inning that they would even the ball game. Meyer would continue her solid day with a single to open the frame before Nelson came up a few batters later and hit a home run out to center field to tie the game at 6-6. 

With the teams even up headed to the seventh, neither could get much going and the game would head to extras.

In the first extra frame, Meyer would work around a pair of hits to keep UNW scoreless but the Vikings would go down 1-2-3 in the bottom half to send the game to the ninth. 

A leadoff triple from Northwestern followed by a walk put two runners on with no one out. A sac fly plated the first run of the inning before a double brought another across and helped the Eagles to a two-run lead headed to the bottom of the ninth. 

In the bottom half, Hayven Linn would single and come around to score on a Mork double to put the game tying run at second with two away, but a great defensive play from Northwestern would end the game and help them claim the win. 

In game two Meyer allowed four earned runs in the circle and struck out eight. At the plate, Mork and Weidner led Bethany with two hits apiece. 

The two teams will face off in the series finale tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Mankato.