MANKATO, Minn. – Over the next week, the road between Superior and Mankato, Minn. will be the road most traveled for the Yellowjacket softball team. Bethany Lutheran, which calls Mankato home, will be the host site for the 2023 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) softball tournament.

But before they play in the tournament, the Yellowjackets, who entered Sunday knowing they would be the No. 2 seed in the tournament, had to make the trip south to close out the regular season against the UMAC champion Vikings.

Bethany Lutheran entered the day unbeaten in UMAC play, and the left with their first conference loss of the season. The Vikings took game one, defeating the Yellowjackets 2-1, but the 'Jackets bounced back to take the second game, 5-3.
 
The Yellowjackets (27-10, 17-4 UMAC) will now turn their focus to Northwestern, who they will see in the first game of the tournament.

Game One
The opener on Sunday was a pitcher's duel from the word go. Yellowjacket starter Tayler Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) and Bethany Lutheran starter Kaija Mork didn't give hitters much throughout the game.
 
The biggest threat for the Yellowjackets came in the top of the first when they picked up three of their five hits in the game, all of them coming with two outs, but they made the third out at the plate and left the frame scoreless.
 
Bethany Lutheran didn't get its first hit until the bottom of the fourth, but that runner was erased on the basepaths.
 
The Yellowjackets and Vikings matched each other frame for scoreless frame until the sixth inning, when the Vikings broke through. A pair of Yellowjacket errors opened the door for Bethany Lutheran to score and take a 2-0 lead.
 
In the seventh the Yellowjackets got the leadoff hitter on as Izzy Lingel drew a walk. Pitch runner Camille Wikstrom (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. She went to third on a base hit by MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) before scoring on a passed ball to cut the deficit to a run, 2-1. The 'Jackets got the tying run into scoring position, but the Vikings shut the door to earn the win.
 
Kraemer was masterful in the circle Sunday, going the distance and allowing two unearned runs on just two hits. She walked two and struck out six.
 
Tiffany Kirk (McHenry, Ill./McHenry East) had two hits for the Yellowjackets.
 
Game Two
In the second game the Yellowjackets fell behind early, but pulled ahead by putting up crooked numbers in the middle innings before finishing the game off to gain the split.
 
Bethany Lutheran scored twice in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead.
 
In the top of the fourth the Yellowjackets pulled in front for good, scoring three times. Kirk led off with a double to the gap in left center and went to third when Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) singled through the right side. She would score on a sacrifice fly to get the Yellowjackets on the board. Emma Schmitz hit a two-out double to put two runners in scoring position, and both runners came home when Cassie Bergman (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) singled to right center, making it 3-2.
 
The Yellowjackets extended the lead in the fifth when Kraemer singled up the middle, bringing home Leccia with their fourth run. Kraemer then scored on the attempted double steal to make it 5-2.
 
Bethany Lutheran scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3. They loaded the bases in the sixth but were unable to plate a run. They had the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh, but again were unable to get a run across, and the Yellowjackets earned the split.
 
Kirk had two hits for the second game in a row. Bergman also had to hits to lead the Yellowjacket eight-hit attack.
 
Emma Pillion (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa Township) improved to 7-1 on the year with the complete game win. She allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits to go along with two walks and two strikeouts.
 
The Yellowjackets and Northwestern will open the 2023 UMAC Softball Tournament Thursday, May 11, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.