Mankato, Minn. – The Crown softball team gave Bethany Lutheran everything they could handle on Tuesday, but couldn't quite keep pace with the first-place Vikings.  Crown was swept by scores of 8-3 and 11-9 in a UMAC double-header.

Game one went to the Vikings as the hosts came back from a 3-1 deficit through four innings, scoring seven unanswered runs to escape the early scare.  Crown received a strong performance in the circle from Abby Carroll, who went all six innings, striking out two.

At the plate, Crown got three hits from Abbey Underdahl, but only mustered a pair of singles from Kiara Hurt and Carroll to go along with their leadoff hitters exploits.  Underdahl, Liz Kemp, and Maliya Martinez had an RBI each.

Game two saw the Storm jump out to a big lead early thanks to a pair of three-run homers in the top of the first inning, both with two outs.  First, Hurt went deep, driving in Kemp and Maria Lilienthal who had both singled.  After that shot cleared the bases, Martinez and Lindsay Glover both singled and were brought home by a Thiery Zachary bomb.
 
Crown kept the pressure on in the second when Lilienthal delivered a two RBI single, bringing home Kemp and Ally Adams. 

Unfortunately, Crown couldn't make the lead stick as BLC score six times in the bottom of the second and four more times in the bottom of the third to take a 10-8 lead.  After that offensive explosion, there were only two more runs scored over the last four innings.

Crown pulled to within when on a Lilienthal RBI single in the fourth, but BLC countered with a run in the bottom of the sixth and the game would end with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh. 

Kemp and Lilienthal both went 4-4 to lead the offense, while Lilienthal, Zachary, and Hurt all paced the team with three RBI.

The busy spring continues tomorrow with a double-header at home against Martin Luther.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.