Box Score
North Star Standings
JOPLIN, Mo. -- After falling four runs behind after just an inning and a half played the Bellevue University team rallied to defeat Mayville State 9-7 and close out their first North Star Athletic Association series of the season on Saturday at the Joplin Athletic Complex's Wendell Redden Stadium.
Records:
Bellevue: 13-13 | 4-0 NSAA
Mayville State: 6-11 | 0-4 NSAA
Recap: Bellevue 9, Mayville State 7
Mayville State got on the scoreboard first with a two-run first inning. After the first two batters of the game reached without benefit of a hit and moved over via a sac bunt, Zach Foster lined a double to right that scored both runners.
Paxton Ketchum doubled the Comet lead with a two-run single in the second inning to chase BU starter Brandon Desjardins after recording just four outs.
Daniel Teasley got a pair of runs back for the Bruins in the bottom of the second with a two-run single up the middle.
An inning later, the Bruins took their first lead of the game on an RBI-single by Teasley. Bellevue tied the game when Tommy Hansen drew a bases-loaded walk and Cody Banks drove in another run with a fielder's choice.
BU extended their lead further with a two-run fourth inning that saw Riley Baasch chase in a run with a sac fly and Kory Longaker come around to score from second on a passed ball.
Ketchum again delivered a two-run knock for the Comets in the seventh. This time he lined a two-run double to left-center that cut the BU lead to just one run, 7-6. Later in the inning, Foster lined a single to right to score Ketchum and tie the game.
Bellevue quickly answered in the bottom half of the seventh. Banks led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on a sac bunt, and scored on a bleeder through the right side from Stuart Eurich. One batter later Travis Tanaka drove in a run with a ground ball to third that chased Bailey Link, who had previously reached after being hit with a pitch, in from third base.
Mayville State brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after a one-out error but Derek Browne (3-1) closed the door to secure the win for the Bruins.
Gabe Lizarraga (2-1) took the loss for Mayville in relief.
Up Next:
Bellevue will travel to Peru State College for mid-week action. The teams are still finalizing a date and time, dependent upon the forecast.