The Bethany College softball team hit the dirt this past week.  The squad hosted Central Christian College on Wednesday before a home doubleheader against the University of St. Mary on Saturday.

After scoring five runs in the second inning, the Swedes scored every inning after that and went on to take a commanding 14-7 win.  Freshman Stephanie Tyler led the offense with four hits while senior Angelisa Sexson and juniors Morgan Evans and Emily Zimmerman all added three.  Seniors Breanna Boling, Laura Christopher, Emily Heronemus, and Sarah Logan each tacked on one hit.  Sexson chalked up four RBIs as Christopher and Zimmerman tallied two apiece.  Evans, Logan, Tyler, Boling, and Heronemus all added one.  Tyler got the start and win for Bethany as junior Rebecka Parker came in as relief.  Tyler faced 18 batters and struck out three while only giving up four hits in four innings pitched.

The Bethany bats stayed hot in game two, scoring every inning and grabbing a 14-6 victory in a six-inning run rule.  Junior Jacquelyn Hernandez, Zimmerman, and Sexson all had three hits while Christopher, Heronemus, and freshman Elissa Stein each added two.  Logan, sophomore Britany Brady, and freshman Kellyn Peters each contributed one hit.  Sexson again had four RBIs while Zimmerman had three and J. Hernandez and Christopher each had two.  Stein, Peters, and junior Denise Hernandez each tacked on one RBI.  Senior Savannah Dejmal got the start and win for the Swedes, facing nine batters and striking out four while only giving up one hit.  Boling came in as relief.

Returning to conference play, Bethany hosted KCAC opponent the University of St. Mary on Saturday.  Bethany scored early before the Spires tied the game with a two-run home run.  However, the Swedes answered and never looked back as they went on for a 9-2 win.  Boling, Tyler, and Brady led the way with two hits each.  Evans, Christopher, Logan, Zimmerman, and Heronemus all tacked on one hit.  Christopher had three RBIs as Tyler had two and Boling, Heronemus, and Brady all had one.  Tyler got the start and win for the squad, facing 26 batters and striking out ten.

Looking for a sweep, the Swedes were able to do just that as they defeated USM 6-1.  Evans and Christopher had two hits while Logan, Zimmerman, Heronemus, and Brady all had one.  Logan tallied three RBIs and Heronemus and Christopher each had one.  Dejmal got the start and the "W" for Bethany.  She faced 23 batters, striking out two and only allowing two hits.

The Swedes heads to Southwestern College for a 5:00 pm doubleheader on Wednesday, April 15th before finishing the week at McPherson College on Saturday, April 18th at 1:00 pm.  Bethany is now 5-3 in the KCAC and 22-13 overall.