ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran baseball team struggled to get the bats going in game one on Saturday falling 5-2 to Northwestern, but they were able to bounce back in game two to claim a 5-4 win.
Hear from the Vikings
Here's what head coach Ryan Kragh had to say about today's contests.
Kragh
"Found a way to win another series. Didn't play great on either side of the ball, but I thought we showed guts. Back to work next week."
Inside the Box Scores
Northwestern 5 - 2 Bethany
After a scoreless top of the first from Bethany, the Eagles jumped on starter Adryen Tietz in the bottom half, plating four runs—only one of them earned. They used five hits and a Bethany error to take an early 4–0 lead.
Tietz settled in over the next few innings, and the Vikings finally got on the board in the top of the fifth. Seth Jones continued his hot hitting with an RBI double, then came around to score on a Will Carlson at-bat. A hit put runners on the corners, but the Eagles cut down a runner trying to steal to escape further damage and held a 4–2 lead after five.
UNW tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, and while Bethany threatened in the top of the seventh by loading the bases, a groundout ended the inning and the rally.
In the final two innings, the Vikings couldn't get a runner into scoring position, as the Eagles held on to take the game one win.
Bethany had just four hits in the contest with Eli Fest and Jones all reaching twice with a walk and a hit, while Aidan Russell found his way on base three times with a hit, a walk, and a hit by pitch.
Tietz took the loss in the contest, allowing just one earned run in five innings of work while striking out four.
Bethany 5 - 4 Northwestern
Game two was all about Sean Gamble, as the junior kept Bethany in control throughout the contest. After working around a jam in the bottom of the first, he got some early run support from the Bethany offense in the top of the second. Nolan Spence singled and later came around to score following a walk, a wild pitch, and a sac fly from Malachi Santiago.
Gamble once again ran into some trouble in the second, issuing two free passes, but managed to escape unscathed. A scoreless third inning from both sides brought Bethany to the plate in the fourth, where they would make their biggest push of the game.
An error by UNW opened the inning and set the stage for a big Viking frame. Will Carlson and Fest each reached base to load the bags, and with two outs, Russell came through with a clutch 2-RBI single to make it 3–0. Xander Meissner added an RBI single, and Spence capped off the inning with a double that brought in the fourth run, extending the lead to 5–0.
With a healthy cushion, Gamble continued to dominate, keeping UNW off the board through seven innings.
After a quick top of the eighth from Bethany, the Eagles finally broke through against the Viking bullpen. Three walks and a grand slam cut the deficit to 5–4 with only one out. Ethan Lung came on in relief and was able to navigate a walk and a base hit to preserve the lead and send the Vikings to the ninth up by one.
Bethany threatened again in the ninth with baserunners, but the Eagles held them scoreless, giving Lung the ball once more in the bottom half to try and close it out. The southpaw delivered, retiring the side in order to seal the 5–4 victory.
Gamble struck out 10 Eagle hitters en route to picking up the win thanks to seven scoreless innings of work. Lung picked up the save, striking out three in 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Spence had a big afternoon in game two, going 3-for-3, while Carlson and Meissner each added two hits.
Bethany will be back in action next Friday when they travel to Minnesota Morris for a 3 p.m. contest.
