BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Bethany Lutheran softball team made history on Friday, winning not just its first-ever NCAA Tournament game—but also a second just hours later—to stave off elimination and advance to Saturday's Regional Championship. The Vikings opened the day with a 4-1 victory over Greenville, followed by a thrilling 1-0 win against Nebraska Wesleyan to earn a rematch with Illinois Wesleyan at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Postgame Press Conference

Inside the Box Scores
Game One: Bethany 4, Greenville 1

The day belonged to sophomore Emily Meyer, who set the tone early by retiring the Panthers in order in both the first and second innings. The Vikings capitalized in the bottom of the second when Carly Nelson singled with one out. Hayven Linn came in as a pinch runner and promptly stole second. Orla Keys followed with a double to shallow right-center, scoring Linn to give Bethany a 1-0 lead.

Greenville responded in the third with some small ball—stringing together a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single to tie the game at 1-1, the only run Meyer would allow all day.

After a scoreless fourth, Meyer helped her own cause by crushing a go-ahead home run to left-center in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Vikings a 2-1 lead. She worked around walks in both the fifth and sixth innings before providing herself additional insurance in the sixth. Kaija Mork singled to start the frame, and Meyer followed with her second home run of the game—another shot to left-center—extending the lead to 4-1.

In the seventh, Meyer sealed the win by retiring the Panthers in order, fittingly catching a pop-up for the final out to secure Bethany's first NCAA Tournament victory. She finished the game with a complete-game two-hitter, striking out five and going 2-for-3 at the plate with two home runs and three RBI.
Game 2: Bethany 1, Nebraska Wesleyan 0
Meyer returned to the circle for game two and found herself locked in a pitcher's duel with Nebraska Wesleyan's First-Team All-Region ace, Elise Warneke.

Both pitchers opened with 1-2-3 innings and navigated early threats in the second. The Prairie Wolves managed to get two runners on with two outs in the third, but Meyer escaped the jam with a clutch strikeout. Emily Nelson gave Bethany a spark with a one-out double in the bottom half of the third, but the Vikings couldn't cash in, and the game remained scoreless.

After another clean inning from both sides in the fourth, Meyer shut down NWU in the fifth and finally got the run support she needed in the bottom half. Linn came off the bench and executed a perfect bunt down the first base line for a hit. After stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch, Bryn Weidner delivered with a two-out single to shallow center, bringing Linn home for the game's only run.

Drama struck in the sixth when a sudden dust storm paused the game for nearly 45 minutes. When play resumed, Jolyne LeClair stepped up defensively with three stellar plays at shortstop to hold the lead. The Vikings couldn't add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, leaving it up to Meyer to close things out in her 14th inning of work that day.

The final frame didn't start smoothly—Meyer issued back-to-back walks, and a wild pitch moved runners to the corners with no outs. Unfazed, she induced a pair of popouts to first base before Avery Carlson tracked down a fly ball in center to secure the shutout victory and send Bethany to the Regional Championship.

Meyer was dominant once again, allowing just one hit while striking out one in the complete-game effort. Stellar defensive support rounded out the Vikings' performance, capping off a historic day for the program.