MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran softball team will head to Bloomington, Illinois, this weekend to compete in the NCAA Regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan from May 15–17. The Vikings (28-13) will kick off play on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. against No. 22 Illinois Wesleyan (34-7). On the other side of the bracket, Greenville (37-4) will meet Nebraska Wesleyan (31-11) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Hear from the Vikings
Here's what head coach Angela Dabu had to say about the weekend.
Scouting the Vikings
Bethany comes in after a 3-0 week at the UMAC Tournament last weekend, where they were anchored by starting pitcher Emily Meyer, who tossed all 21 innings in the circle. The sophomore holds a 2.09 ERA this season in 35 appearances, tallying a 21-10 record along with one save. At the plate, Bryn Weidner leads Bethany in average with a clip of .388 and has been a threat on the base paths, adding 22 stolen bases to her tally. The top suppliers of power in the Bethany lineup thus far have been Emily Doyle and Kaija Mork, who slug .705 and .654, respectively, with both tying atop the UMAC with seven home runs this season.
Scouting the Titans
Like the Vikings, Illinois Wesleyan comes into the weekend off a perfect 3-0 CCIW Tournament run, but their winning streak extends far beyond that, as they've won 22 straight contests heading into the tournament. IWU has been well-rounded as a team this season, batting .352 as a squad while holding opponents to an average of .213. Leading the way at the plate is Jen Kuhn, who is batting .476 on the season to go along with seven home runs and a team-best 55 RBI, while Ava Khoury is hitting .385, adding eight home runs and 44 RBI. The Titans' well-rounded pitching staff is led by Mallory Holland, who holds an 8-1 record in 10 starts with a 1.41 ERA, while Gianna Certa has done a majority of the work in the circle, going 16-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 106.1 innings.
Scouting the Panthers
Following a loss in the opening round of the SLIAC Tournament, Greenville bounced back with four straight wins to claim the conference title. They're led at the plate by the duo of Madi Case and Natalee Moore, who are batting .414 and .403, respectively, with Case scoring a team-best 49 runs and Moore driving in 43. Pitching has been the driving force behind Greenville's success this season, as Melissa Bernal and Sarah Salas have both been effective. Bernal is 15-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 119.1 innings, while Salas is 11-0 in 79.1 innings, holding a 1.94 ERA.
Scouting the Prairie Wolves
After a 10-6 season in the A-R-C, Nebraska Wesleyan ran the table as the three-seed, picking up three straight wins to secure the conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. They're led by one of the top arms in the region in Elise Warneke, who has thrown 582.1 innings in her collegiate career—seventh among all active NCAA Division III players. This year, Warneke is 24-7 with a 2.26 ERA in 191.2 innings pitched and has struck out 129 hitters. Lyndsey and Hanna Roth find their way on base early and often, with Lyndsey reaching at a clip of .551 and Hanna at a mark of .434. Lyndsey Roth also leads the team in slugging with a mark of .690, thanks to 15 doubles, while Hanna Roth leads all active players in NCAA Division III with 109 career walks.
