MANKATO, Minn. – After dropping the opener 6-3 the Bethel University baseball team bounced back to take the nightcap 5-4 over Bethany Lutheran Wednesday afternoon at Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato.

With the split Bethel moves to 8-5 on the year and heads into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday hosting St. Thomas at Hargis Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

Game 1: Bethany Lutheran 6, Bethel 3
The host Vikings showed their two out production early plating three runs in the opening frame.

After a scoreless second, Bethel bounced back with a crooked number in the top of the third. Thomas Friesen led off the frame with a hit by pitch and scored when Mitch Butvilas was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Senior outfielder Sam Horner scored moments later on a wild pitch.

Back-to-back singles by Mitchell Jerde and Ty Koehn to lead off the fourth set up Parker Mullenbach to move the runners up on a sacrifice bunt. Friesen's RBI ground out on the next at bat tied things up at 3-3.

Bethany Lutheran starter Adam Fjerstad and reliever Logan Nissen kept the Royals off the board the rest of the way. The Vikings scratched across another two-out run in the fifth before plating two in the six to take the opener 6-3.

Peyton Gallagher suffered the loss giving up a run in two innings of relief.

Game 2: Bethel 5, Bethany Lutheran 4
With bases loaded and one out, Jerde singled to right field scoring the Royals go ahead run in the seventh. Coming in to score was Nick Kulseth who started the frame with a walk. Horner pushed the Bethel lead out to 5-3 scoring on a wild pitch one batter later.

The Vikings used a pair of doubles to score one in the seventh but reliever Brady Leahy held on to pick up his first save of the year.

Bethany Lutheran drew first blood again plating one in the first off of freshman right-hander Marcus Krupke. Now 2-0 this year, Krupke went on to allow two runs through the next five innings while also striking out seven and issuing one free pass.

BU took advantage of a Viking error and a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead into the third. The Vikings came right back at the Royals tying it up at two. A tradeoff of runs continued with the Royals scoring in the fourth and Vikings in the fifth. A scoreless sixth sent the teams tied at 3-3 into the final frame where BU came out on top.