The Bethany College baseball team kicked off the week with a game against Emporia State University before a Friday-Saturday KCAC series with the University of St. Mary.

The Swedes traveled to Emporia on Wednesday.  Bethany kept the game close, but just could not grab a lead as Emporia State edged the Swedes 12-9.  Senior Hop Sullivan and Andrew Vancil and junior Darrin Biegert each had two hits.  Senior Craig Barnes and juniors Jeremy Craig, Aaron Larsen, and Jimmy Smith all added one.  Sullivan and Vancil both tallied three RBIs.  Biegert tacked on two while Craig added one.  Freshman Alexander Overstreet got the start for the Swedes, facing 19 batters and striking out two.  Juniors Rafael Santiago and Brian Wojtkiewicz and senior Cameron Rittinger came in as relief.

Bethany headed to the University of St. Mary on Friday. Looking to grab another conference win, the ball did not roll the Swedes' way as they lost 6-1.  Larsen led the Bethany offense with two hits while Barnes, Biegert, and Craig all added one.  Sullivan had the lone RBI.  Junior Brian Guyett got the start for the Swedes, facing 23 batters and striking out two. 

Hoping to turn things around in game two, the Spire bats caught fire as they run ruled the Swedes 11-1 in five innings.  Smith and Larsen both had two hits while junior Kofi Osei-Aning added one.  Osei-Aning tacked on the only RBI of the game.  Sophomore Kevin Krattenmaker got the start while Wojtkiewicz and senior Rodney McFarlane were relief.

On Saturday, St. Mary headed to Lindsborg to close out the series.  In a close game one, St. Mary just edged Bethany 2-0.  Barnes and Smith had the only base hits of the contest.  Junior Ryan Mashinter started for Bethany, facing 23 batters and striking out two while only giving up six hits. 

The Swedes looked to avoid a sweep in game two, and they did just that as the offense found their stride.  Bethany stomped the Spires 12-2 in six innings.  Junior Braden Friesz went 3-for-4 while Vancil and Sullivan both rounded up two hits each.  Barnes, Craig, Smith, and junior Daryl Schlepp all had one hit.  Vancil led with four RBIs while Craig and Sullivan each had two and Schlepp, Barnes, and Friesz each added one apiece.  Sophomore T.D. Huett got the start for the Swedes, facing 11 batters and striking out two while Rittinger came in as relief and faced eight batters with four strike outs.

Bethany will host Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Tuesday, April 7th at 4:00 pm.  The squad is now 4-10 in the KCAC and 14-22 overall.