DULUTH, Minn. -- Despite owning an early lead, the Northwestern College baseball team bowed out of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament on Friday following a 6-4 loss to second-seeded Bethany Lutheran College at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Eagles, who entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, led 2-0 before a big four-run inning gave the Vikings some momentum that allowed Bethany Lutheran to take and maintain a lead through the remainder of the game.

NWC scored first in the game as Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) doubled off of Justin Kohls to score Andy Borud (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County) (Grand Marais, Minn./Cook County). The Eagles added on to their early lead in the second when Brady Erickson (Chisholm, Minn./Chisholm) (Chisholm, Minn./Chisholm) crossed home plate. Erickson reached first and second bases on an error by Aaron Siefken before scoring on another Bethany error during an at bat by Borud.

The Vikings, who entered the game with a 26-9 overall record, woke up in the top of the third frame. With two outs and a runner on second base, Casey Woodside started Bethany's spree that included three straight singles followed by a triple that scored two runs before NWC could escape the inning.

Northwestern responded with two runs in the bottom half of the third, tying the game on a Nick Jones (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) single that scored Josh Markwith (Honolulu, HI/Kalani) (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani). Taylor Kauweloa (Kailua, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) (Kailua, Hawaii/Damien Memorial) attempted to score from second on the play, but was gunned down at home by right fielder Zach Herd. Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) had scored prior to Jones' at bat on an RBI single by Erickson.

Bethany put together another two-out rally in the fourth, scoring two more runs that eventually won the game and advanced the Vikings into a rematch with the College of St. Scholastica for the tournament title. Woodside, who has been a thorn in NWC's side in each of the two teams' bouts this season, was at it again, doubling down the left field line to score Sonnicksen and Tommy Kramer.

Josh Balzer (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) pitched the game's first four innings, allowing all six of Bethany Lutheran's runs on nine hits. Less than 24 hours after earning a save in the Eagles' game against Presentation College on Friday, Tyler Campion (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian) (Robbinsdale, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) came in to relieve Balzer in the fifth. Head coach Dave Hieb rode Campion's momentum the rest of the way as the junior allowed just one hit in five innings of work.

Northwestern kept even with the Vikings in hits as each team tallied 10 in the game. Leaving runners on base, which has been an issue for the Eagles all season, was the case again as NWC finished the game with 12 ducks on the pond. Josh Markwith (Honolulu, HI/Kalani) finished 3-5 with one run scored while Ericksen and Kauweloa each posted two hits in the batter's box.

The Eagles finish their 2011 campaign with a 14-25 overall record, completing their UMAC season at 10-10.