LAKE WALES, Fla. -- Zach Diehl hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th to give the Bellevue University baseball team a 5-4 win in the opener and Graham Cahill fired a complete game six-hitter as the Bruins picked up a 9-1 win over Siena Heights University in the nightcap in a non-conference double-header at Royals Field on Sunday afternoon.
Bellevue, winners of three-straight, improves to 6-7 while Siena Heights remains winless, falling to 0-10 on the year.
Game One: BU 5, SHU 4 (11 Inn.)
Zach Diehl (4-6, 3 2B, 3 RBI) broke a 4-4 tie with a one-out double in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Bruins to a 5-4 victory in game one.
Andrew Ishii (2-5, 2 runs) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on sac bunt before Siena Heights issued Josh Benson an intentional walk to bring Diehl to the dish to deliver the walk-off hit.
BU got off to a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to the first of three RBI-doubles from Diehl and a sac fly of the bat of Cody Banks (1-3, RBI).
SHU halved the lead with a Logan Nolff RBI-single in the third and went ahead in the fourth, scoring a pair of runs on an error.
Diehl came through for the Bruins in the fifth, tying the game with his second run-scoring double to tie things up at 3-3.
With the score tied after seven innings, the Saints received an RBI-single from Brad South in the top of the eighth to score Nic Olson and go ahead 4-3.
After Tommy Hansen (1-1, run) led off the home half of the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a bunt, Blake Berry (1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 BB) – making his Bruin debut – doubled in Hansen to tie the game.
Things remained tied until Diehl again came up big in the 11th to notch Bellevue their second win of their spring trip.
Corey Jackson tossed six innings of three-hit ball and struck out nine but did not factor in the decision. Just one of the three runs he allowed was recorded as earned.
Derek Browne (2-0) picked up the win with three scoreless innings of relief. He struck out four and allowed three hits.
SHU starter Tristan Roth allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings of work, striking out five and issuing four walks.
Marcus Beeson (1-3) took the loss for the Saints, despite allowing just one run in three innings out of the bullpen. He did, however, surrender four hits and walk three batters.
Game Two: BU 9, SHU 1
In the second game of Sunday's twin-bill, Bellevue pounded out nine runs on 12 hits as the Bruins cruised to their third-straight victory.
Riley Baasch was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, four RBI, and a pair of runs scored on the game.
Cody Banks (2-4, 2B, run, 3 RBI), Alec Lee (2-4, RBI), and Daniel Teasley (2-3, 2B, 2 runs) also recorded multi-hit efforts for the Bruins.
BU used a four-run third inning to jump ahead before tacking on three more runs in the sixth inning.
Baasch put the game away in the seventh with a two-run triple.
Graham Cahill (1-2) went the distance to earn the win for Bellevue. He limited the Saints to a run on six hits while striking out two and walking three.
BU saddled Parker Swartz (0-1) with the loss, touching up the SHU starter for seven runs on 10 hits in six innings.
Up Next:
Bellevue squares off with No. 16 Webber International University (12-8) tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. from Heart of Florida Field in Babson Park, Fla. The Warriors lost two of three at the hands of Thomas University over the weekend a Sun Conference series.
