The Wisconsin-Superior baseball team's run in the UMAC tournament came to a tough end on Saturday, as Bethany Lutheran proved too strong for the second straight day, taking the championship game 10-4 in Mankato.
The Yellowjackets showed plenty of fight early on. After falling behind, they tied the game in the third inning on RBI singles from Paddy Kelly and Tanner Voight. Brian O'Dwyer then gave UWS a brief lead with a solo home run in the fourth. But the Vikings answered quickly, and the game broke open in the bottom of the sixth when eight straight Bethany batters reached base—five singles, two walks, and a hit batsman—pushing the lead to 9-3. UWS added a run on a fielder's choice in the ninth, but it wasn't enough.
Dagostino, Voight, and Carter Thielke each finished with two hits. Kevin Rahe took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings.
The Yellowjackets earned their spot in the title game with two strong wins: an 11-8 victory over Northwestern on Thursday and a 24-6 blowout of Minnesota Morris on Friday night, with a 9-5 loss to Bethany in between. In the Northwestern game, six runs in the sixth inning turned the tide, highlighted by Voight's go-ahead grand slam—his second homer of the game. He finished 4-for-5 with seven RBIs. Kelly added three hits, and Niles Monroe chipped in a two-run homer.
In Friday's first game, Bethany scored seven of its nine runs from the sixth inning onward to send UWS to the elimination bracket. Voight and Wylee Lottman had two hits apiece. The Yellowjackets bounced back later that night, scoring in every inning against Minnesota Morris. Five players recorded four or more RBIs: Trey Sybrant had six, Voight and O'Dwyer five, and Dagostino and Lottman four.
On the softball side, the Yellowjackets' season also came to a close in the UMAC tournament. After dropping their opener 2-0 to Bethany Lutheran on Thursday—despite outhitting the Vikings 6-5—UWS bounced back with a 3-1 win over Minnesota Morris on Friday morning. Sophia Otto went 3-for-3, and pitcher Abby Mitchell struck out eight while allowing just two runs on five hits.
But later Friday, host Northwestern edged UWS 5-4 in an elimination game. Samantha Swartz gave the Yellowjackets a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth, but the Eagles answered in the bottom half, using two hits, a walk, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly to plate the tying and winning runs. MyKenzie Leccia had two of UWS's five hits, and Bethany Lewis took the loss in relief. The Yellowjackets finished the season with a 25-16 record.
It was a hard-fought tournament run for both UWS teams, showing grit and determination all the way to the final out.