MANKATO, Minn. – The Yellowjacket baseball team should be requesting some frequent rider miles from the local bus company.
 
After the trip to Florida, the Yellowjackets played back-to-back doubleheaders, considered home games, in Mauston, Wis. Friday, the Yellowjackets were again on the road, and for the first time this season were playing a true road game, taking on Bethany Lutheran.
 
The Yellowjackets entered Friday riding a four-game win streak, while the Vikings were looking to stretch their streak to three consecutive wins. Something had to give, and for the Yellowjackets, it was their streak that went by the wayside.
 
Despite scoring first, the Yellowjackets couldn't build on the lead and dropped the series opener to Bethany Lutheran, 3-1 at ISG Field.
 
The Yellowjackets will now take an 8-9 overall record and 4-1 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) mark into Saturday's doubleheader with the Vikings.
 
Ben Welle (Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area) made his third start of the season for the Yellowjackets and turned in another strong performance. The junior righthander went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out two. Declan Higgins (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit.
 
Unfortunately for Welle and the Yellowjackets, Bethany hurler Conor Merton was even better, allowing just one run on four hits over 7.1 innings.
 
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring in the top of the third when Brian O'Dwyer (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove Senior) singled through the left side, and after being sacrificed to second, went to third on Noah Dagostino's (Andover, Minn./Andover) single. The Yellowjackets then executed a double steal to score the game's first run.
 
From there, however, the Yellowjackets found offense tough to come by, as they had just five baserunners the rest of the way.
 
The Vikings tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and then used three straight hits in the bottom of the sixth, to make it a 3-1 game.

In the top of the eighth the Yellowjackets built a threat, putting two runners on and eventually getting runners on the corners with two outs, but the Vikings pitched out of the jam and closed the game out for the win.
 
Besides O'Dwyer and Dagostino, the Yellowjackets also got hits from Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) and Nick Fredrikson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village).
 
Welle was tagged with the loss, falling to 1-2 on the season.
 
The Yellowjackets and Vikings will play two on Saturday, with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. at ISG Field in Mankato.