FOREST CITY, Iowa -- Alex Stufft drove in three runs and Blake Crippen tossed a complete game shutout as the top-seeded and No. 7-ranked Bellevue University baseball team defeated third-seed Dickinson State University 12-0 to advance to the 2022 North Star Athletic Association Tournament Championship Game.
With the win, Bellevue improves to 44-10 and advances to tomorrow's NSAA Championship Game. Due to schedule changes, the start time for that game will be announced tomorrow morning.
Dickinson State falls to 20-23 on the year. They drop into the loser's bracket where they will meet the winner of Viterbo-Dakota State tomorrow with a spot in the title game against Bellevue on the line.
Bellevue wasted no time getting started offensively as their first four runners reached base. An RBI-single from Alec Ackerman plated Kanta Kobayashi with the game's first run and Alex Stufft chased in a pair with his two-run knock to center.
The Bruins pushed across five more runs despite recording just one hit in the second as Kobayashi reached on a leadoff single. After a pair of hit batters, Brenton Davis drew a bases loaded-walk, two wild pitches brought in two more, and a pair of ground balls scored two more runs to put BU ahead 8-0.
That spelled the end of the day for DSU starter Richie Cortese (1-1) who lasted just two innings, allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks.
Conversely, it was more than enough offense for Bruin left-hander Blake Crippen (11-2) who turned in yet another stellar performance by a BU pitcher. In seven innings of work, Crippen struck out two Blue Hawks while scattering just five hits. He needed just 70 pitches to log the complete game.
BU tacked on three more in the fourth courtesy of a solo shot by Davis, his 15th of the year, and a two-run bomb from Andrew Ishii, his 11th of the season.
Ackerman made it 12-0 in favor of Bellevue with a ground ball to score Kobayashi in the fifth.
Kobayashi and Barnett each recorded 3-for-4 performances at the dish with the former upping his season hits total to 98 and moving into seventh place on the single-season hit list.