LAKE WALES, Fla. -- The Bellevue University baseball team ran its winning streak to seven games with a convincing, 12-1, victory over the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Saturday in the championship game of the Warner University Invitational.
Bellevue, which finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, improved to 14-6 on the season. USF fell to 13-11 overall.
BU out-hit the Saints, 13-4, and was led offensively by Diego Iribarren, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Joe Moran finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Eleven Bruins registered at least one hit in the victory.
An RBI single to right center field by Iribarren gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
After a two-out double in the top of the third by Kevin Mampe, USF tied the contest when Mampe scored on a Bruin fielding error by Iribarren.
Two-consecutive hit batsmen preceded RBI singles by Todd Nicks and Joe Moran, giving BU a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the third.
The Bruins exploded four eight runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a three-run homer to right field by Iribarren and a two-run double down the left-field line by Derik Bontempo. Bellevue also scored on RBI singles by Miles Campbell and Moran, and a sacrifice fly to center field by Nicks, increasing the Bruin lead to 11-1 in the bottom of the fourth frame.
A bases-loaded wild pitch allowed Lumus Russell to score in the bottom of the fifth, pushing the margin to 12-1.
Nicks (3-2) picked up his third victory of the year, scattering three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work. At the plate, Nicks went 1-for-1 with two RBIs and a pair of walks.
The Bruins return to action on Friday, March 17 when they travel to Orange City, Iowa for a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Northwestern College.