MANKATO, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team fell in the opening game of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, 15-5, to Bethany Lutheran College Thursday night in Mankato, Minn.
Tyler Moriarty reached base in the first inning after drawing a one-out walk.
Bradie Black doubled to put two runners in scoring position for
Ben Meuser, who singled to drive in a run. The lead swung to the Vikings after a home run capped a three-run inning.
In the second,
Kellan Oligmueller hit a leadoff single, setting up Trevor Haverman, who hit a game-tying home run. BLC regained its advantage by scoring a run in the bottom half of the inning. The following inning, the Vikings added three more runs to their total.
The Cougars started to chip away at the lead in the fourth. Oligmueller and
Peyton Neadeau hit back-to-back singles to start the inning.
Aidan Moran doubled to drive in a run, with
Landen Meyerdirk following with a sacrifice fly to bring UMM within two runs. The Vikings answered in the bottom of the fourth with five more runs and added three more in the seventh to secure the 15-5 win.
Minnesota Morris totaled nine hits, with Oligmueller and Black leading the team with two each. Haverman tallied a team-high two RBIs, while Oligmueller scored two runs. UMM had three extra-base hits, including a home run from Haverman and doubles from Black and Moran.
Travis Godfrey started on the mound and pitched 2.2 innings, recording the Cougars' only strikeout.
Parker Gilchrist and
Juna Bess pitched the final 3.2 innings.
The Cougars will play the University of Northwestern at 12 p.m. Friday in the UMAC Tournament.
