WHITEWATER, Wis. - Bethany baseball won its first NCAA regional game in program history Friday with an 8-2 victory over Luther on the campus of UW-Whitewater. The Vikings (32-6) scored all their runs in the third and fourth innings, while Aidan Byrd improved to 9-0 with six solid innings on the mound. Bethany will face host and defending national champion UW-Whitewater at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow with a shot at the regional championship game on the line.Â
Byrd set the tone on the mound early, facing the minimum through two innings while striking out the side in the second.Â
The Vikings took a 3-0 lead in the third. Kyle Carlberg led off with a single up the middle, Josh Miller reached on an error, and both moved into scoring position after a sac bunt by Jayden Knutson. Max Athmann then doubled to bring home two runs and then scored on a single by Yunior Pena.Â
Bethany extended its lead to 8-0 in the fourth, knocking the Luther starting pitcher out of the game. Gary Swann walked and went first to home on a double by Parker Anderson. Carlberg then reached on an error, which allowed Anderson to score. Two batters later, Knutson hit his team-leading fifth triple of the season to plate Carlberg. Xander Meissner hit his team-leading 14th double to score Knutson and then Pena recorded his 42nd RBI of the season with a single through the left side.Â
Luther scored one run in the sixth, but Byrd limited the damage to lower his season ERA to 3.21. Byrd allowed one run on just one hit with seven strikeouts. Drew Hedtke tossed a scoreless seventh and got out of a bases loaded jam after a ground ball double play and a fly out.Â
Tyson Reger finished the last two innings on the mound, allowing one run on three hits with two punch outs.Â
The Vikings collected 10 hits, led by Knutson (2-3, R, RBI, 3B, 2 SAC), Meissner (2-4, R, RBI, 2B, HBP), and Pena (2-5, 2 RBI, SB).Â
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