MANKATO, Minn. - Bethany is in the driver's seat of the UMAC baseball tournament after claiming a 9-5 win over UW-Superior on Friday. For the first time in program history, the Vikings have reached the 30-win mark (30-6) and will face the winner of UW-Superior and UM-Morris in the UMAC title game at 1 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line.Â
After a scoreless first inning, the Vikings plated two runs in the second as Gary Swann and Parker Anderson each drove in a run. Superior cut its deficit in half with an RBI single in the third, tied the game in the fourth with an RBI double, and took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on a sac fly.Â
Yunior Pena continued his hot streak at the plate with a three-run homer in the sixth, giving the Vikings the lead for good.
The Yellowjackets kept things interesting by scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth, but the home team had an answer each inning. Kyle Carlberg scored on a fielder's choice in the seventh and Pena hit his second homer of the game in the eighth for a 7-5 lead. Pena has now homered six times in the last four games with 13 RBI. Carlberg then plated two insurance runs with his first triple of the season.Â
Adryen Tietz improved to 5-1 after six innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Sean Gamble gave up one run in the final two innings with a pair of Ks to record his third save of the season.Â
Pena went 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs, four RBI, and two homers, improving his season batting average to a UMAC-leading .417.Â
Bethany, without a loss in the tournament, has the luxury of needing one more win to claim the UMAC playoff title with two games to do it, if necessary.Â
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