In an announcement made today by the Bellevue University Athletic Department, the 1995 Bruin baseball team will be inducted into the Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame this August. The induction ceremony will take place on the BU campus in the John B. Muller Administrative Services Building, Symposium Room on Saturday, August 4, beginning at 6 p.m.
The Hall of Fame Golf Outing will be on Friday, August 3, beginning at 1 p.m. at Eagle Hills Golf Course in Papillion.
The 1995 Bellevue University baseball team (57-13), dubbed the "Cardiac Bruins", won Bellevue University's first, and to date, only, NAIA National Championship in any sport.
The Bruins battled through adversity and the loser's bracket after dropping their first game at the World Series, held in Sioux City, Iowa.
The team lived up to their "Cardiac Bruins" reputation in the World Series. They lost a heartbreaker in their first game to Birmingham-Southern College 2-1, when Birmingham-Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With their backs to the wall, the Bruins then won five-straight games, mostly in cardiac fashion: 9-6 over Wilmington College (Del.); 11-9 over the University of St. Francis (Ill.), on a 10th inning homer by Nic DeLuca; 8-7 over No. 1 seed Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), with the help of a three-run homer by Blake Brice that hit the foul pole; 7-5 over Birmingham-Southern (Ala.); and 8-5 over Cumberland University (Tenn.), on a three-run homer by All-American Chad Hopkins who played the entire World Series with a stress fracture in his right foot.
The Bruins became only the third team in NAIA history, dating back to 1957, to battle back and win the World Series after losing the opening game. Shortstop and Hall of Fame inductee Nic DeLuca was named the MVP of the World Series. Five other Bruins were named to the all-tournament team: pitcher Germaine Hunter, catcher Craig Strang, outfielders Jay Rubin and Shawn Nasin, and third baseman Casey McMillan.
More information, regarding registration for the ceremony, will be provided at a later date via the BUBuins.com website.
Note: The Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 2013 to honor former athletes, coaches, teams, and administrators who have helped create a proud tradition in intercollegiate competition at Bellevue University.