MANKATO, Minn. -- After a few schedule changes earlier in the week, North Central University (NCU) finally hit the road for a doubleheader with the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College in the newly renovated Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato, Minnesota. Both teams entered the afternoon clinging to different playoff aspirations. The Rams were hoping to firmly supplant themselves in the hunt for one of the final postseason spots, while the Vikings, who recently clinched a playoff berth, are still hoping for at least a share in their second straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season title. The Vikings, having averaged over 17 runs per game in their last four UMAC games, continued to their hot hitting on Wednesday afternoon. Bethany used a huge 10 run 4th inning in game one to propel them to the comfortable 22-7 victory, and manufactured two big innings in the second game as they won the night cap by the score of 13-3 as they swept the Rams.

GAME ONE RECAP
Freshman right hander Michael Barrientos headed to the mound first for the Rams, as he was tasked with the challenge of slowing down the Viking's batters. Barrientos cruised through the first inning holding the the Vikings scoreless in the first inning, but experienced his first snag in the 2nd inning as Bethany jumped out to a two run lead. The Vikings added to their lead in the following frame as Jacob LaBerge connected on a shot that resulted in a grand slam and a six run lead for BLC. As the Vikings continued to stack runs on runs, the Rams struggled to find much of a spark offensively. With the Rams unable to plate any runs, the Vikings tacked on a 10 run 4th inning to jump out to a 16-0 lead. The Rams eventually got the bats going in the 5th inning as they platted 5 runs in the frame, btu they could not find an answer for the Vikings at the plate as they eventually fell in game number one by a score of 22-7.

GAME TWO RECAP
After falling in game number one, the Rams attempted to steal the momentum early in the second contest, and it appeared that they did just that as Senior Cory Kukkola led off the scoring for NCU with a shot over the left field wall for a home run and the early 1-0 lead. Although the Rams held the Vikings scoreless in the 1st inning, it did not take long for BLC to find their offensive stride once again as they exploded in the second inning to take a 5 run lead and steal swing the momentum right back in their favor. Shortly after their big inning, the Vikings platted another 3 runs in the following inning to open their lead to 9-1. The Rams added two more runs throughout the ball game, but the Vikings continued to add insurance runs to hold pace and crusie to a 13-3 victory in game number two. 

Next Up
The Rams will look to finish their 2019 regular season strong as they head to the University of Northwestern for their final doubleheader of their regular season scheule. The Rams still have a chance for a UMAC postseason berth, but NCU will need to come away with two wins on Saturday and also hope for some help from some other teams within the conference. The doubleheader on Saturday, May 4th, is set for a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. 

MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Justin Brown at 612-343-3539 or email Jdbrown@northcentral.edu.