Salina, Kan. – The Bethany College Swedes Softball team qualified for the 2026 KCAC Softball Championships with their win over Oklahoma Wesleyan University last week. As the eight-seed, the Swedes had a tall task ahead of them.
GAME 1: SWEDES 0, VALOR 6
First up, the No. 1-seeded Evangel University Valor. Although the Swedes did not score, they made the KCAC Pitcher of the Year work by tallying six hits in the second, third, fourth, and sixth innings.
Camille Stauffer entered to pinch-hit for Kalee Aguilar in the sixth inning and hit a single in her lone appearance to go 1-1.
MacKenzie Yoder got the start in Game One lasting 2.0 innings. Dylann Baker enter for the final 4.0 innings allowing just three hits while recording four strikeouts.
GAME 2: SWEDES 3, EAGLES 8
The Swedes had about a 5.5-hour layover until their next game; this time against the No. 4-seeded Avila University Eagles. Bethany jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Marissa Wells would single home Kyson Vap. The Eagles would score five consecutive runs until the fifth inning where Avery Newmiller singled home Abigail Taylor to cut the deficit to three. Avila would score three more before Newmiller hit a sacrifice fly to score Taylor for a second time, but that is all the Swedes would muster as they fell 8-3.
Kyson Vap led the Swedes in hits with three in four at-bats. Abigail Taylor hit two singles in her finale while scoring two runs.
Jordyn Stelzig drew the start in this one lasting 4.1 innings while striking out a batter. Dylann Baker enters for the final 2.2 innings striking out five.
This marks the end of the season for the softball team. A strong finish to the regular season broke their playoff drought and made plenty of highlights throughout the year.
