MANKATO, Minn. - Trent Ash picked up his program-record 10th win and struck out 16 batters on Friday afternoon—just one shy of the single-game record—as the Bethany Lutheran baseball team defeated UW-Superior 2-0 to claim the UMAC regular season title for the third consecutive year. With the win, the Vikings improve to 24-12 overall and 17-2 in UMAC play, while the Yellowjackets fall to 18-19 overall and 12-7 in the conference.

Hear from the Vikings
Here's what head coach Ryan Kragh and Ash had to say about the performance

Kragh: "Unreal effort from Trent Ash. He has emerged into a top end arm in the region. Offense did just enough, as Welle was really good for Superior."

Ash: "Preparation throughout the week got us ready to compete every pitch. Great team win today and loved the fight from all the guys. Excited for tomorrow and next week."

Inside the Box Score

After Ash retired the Yellowjackets in order using a pair of strikeouts in the top of the first, the Vikings capitalized on a UWS error in the bottom half to strike first. Aidan Russell reached base on the error with two outs in the inning, stole second, and came around to score on a Xander Meissner single to give Bethany an early 1-0 lead.

The next few innings moved quickly, with neither team generating much offense, as Ash held UWS hitless through the game's first five innings.

UWS began to gain momentum in the sixth, tallying a pair of hits, but Ash kept them at bay with three strikeouts in the frame. Following a quick bottom of the sixth for Bethany, Ash ran into more trouble in the seventh. Superior led off with a double down the left field line before Ash responded with back-to-back strikeouts. After issuing a walk to put two runners on, Ash once again came through, recording his third strikeout of the inning to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Josh Robb came up big in the bottom of the seventh, lashing a double into the left-center gap. Kyle Carlberg came on to pinch run, and a wild pitch moved him to third before a lineout and a strikeout gave UWS two outs. Will Carlson then hit a ground ball deep in the hole at short and just beat the throw to first, plating Carlberg to make it 2-0.

Ash worked around a leadoff single in the eighth, striking out two more to keep UWS scoreless. The Yellowjackets returned the favor in the bottom half, stranding Meissner after his one-out double to keep the game at 2-0 heading to the ninth.

In the final frame, Ash induced a groundout to open the inning before Ty Vollmar came on in relief. He struck out the final two batters to seal the 2-0 victory.

With the win, Ash now holds the program record for most wins in a single season with 10. He and Vollmar also combined to set a new program record for strikeouts in a game, fanning 18 Yellowjackets.

At the plate, Meissner led the Vikings with three of the team's six hits.

The two teams will square off again tomorrow in a doubleheader, with game one scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.