MORRIS, Minn. - Nabbing game one of the series from the University of Minnesota Morris, Bethany Lutheran College gave up 15 hits to the Cougars but allowed just nine runs to their 12. Minnesota Morris' rally in the eighth inning fell short as the home team took a 9-12 loss. Action will continue between the two teams Apr. 26 with a 1 pm first pitch to kick off the second day of the series. 

The scoring started early in this matchup, with the Vikings scoring two runs in the top of the first inning and the Cougars answering right back with runs from both Ashton Pauly and Bradie Black on RBIs from Ben Meuser. A scoreless second inning allowed Minnesota Morris to gain a lead as Ethan Schmitz crossed home in the bottom of the third. Bethany Lutheran launched a scoring frenzy in the fifth inning as they collected seven runs and added another in the sixth. Now down 3-10, Minnesota Morris looked for runs of their own and found one in the seventh inning from Trevor Haberman followed by five more in the eighth to put pressure on their opponents. Runs in the eighth came from Black, David Steffen, Haberman, Schmitz, and Ryan McGie. Still looking for three runs, the Cougars ran through three batters in the top of the ninth, but were stalled from scoring and faced a 9-12 loss at the end of the day.

McGie and Meuser both went 3-5 at the plate for the Cougars, collecting two and three RBIs respectively. On the bases, Black and Schmitz collected stolen bases for the offense. At first base for Minnesota Morris, Meuser secured 13 putouts for the defense. Taking the mound for the Cougars, Josh Osten, Breckin Silvain, Brady Kenning, and Cole Mammenga eared four strikeouts, eight flyouts, and 12 groundouts on the day.