ABERDEEN, S.D. -- The Bellevue University softball team will have to walk on the wild side if they hope to claim their fourth-straight conference tournament championship. Following a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss to Presentation in the first game of the 2016 North Star Athletic Association Tournament the Bruins dropped into the loser's bracket. BU laughed in the face of danger – and elimination – by dispatching eighth-seeded Dakota State, 7-0, to stay alive after one day of play at the tournament.
Bellevue next plays tomorrow at 11 a.m. against the loser of today's final game between Presentation and Dickinson State.
Game One: Presentation 1, Bellevue 0
The Bellevue offense couldn't solve Presentation starter Kayla Reynolds, who racked up 11 strikeouts on the game (10 through the game's first four innings), to pitch the Saints past the Bruins 1-0.
The game was scoreless through five innings before Presentation broke through with the game's lone run. Amber Ewert led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Shanice Webb. After Krystle Schweers popped out to short, it looked like BU would avoid incurring any damage. However, Reynolds helped her own cause with a single to center to chase in Ewert.
Bruin ace Kelli Fisher matched Reynolds nearly pitch-for-pitch, striking out six Saints and limiting them to just five hits.
Kayla Young had a pair of doubles as both Emily Miller and Erin Sharpe each had a two-bagger of their own. Kaitlyn Goney and Sarah Zeleny added Bellevue's two other hits.
The Bruins had a chance to tie in the bottom of the seventh to force extras but pinch-runner Katie Franzen was gunned down at the plate. Young led off the inning with a double to left center and was lifted for a pinch-runner. With one out, Goney singled to center but Cortni Mendoza came up firing to Shelby Anderson whose relay throw to Jacque Trost was in time to record the out. The game ended one batter later with a pop out to third.
Bellevue fell to 32-19 with the loss while Presentation ran their season record to 24-27.
Game Two: Bellevue 7, Dakota State 0
Bellevue found their hitting shoes in their second game of the tournament churning out 14 hits, including six for extra-bases, en route to a big 7-0 win over Dakota State to eliminate the Trojans.
Kelli Fisher (22-12) was again superb in the circle, tossing a four-hit shutout to send Dakota State packing.
The Bruins wasted little time erasing any lingering memories of the earlier game, coming out swinging and getting on the board first, in the second inning. Kaitlyn Goney singled home Emily Gigax for the Bruins first-ever NSAA Tournament run.
Two innings later, pinch-hitter Courtney Schendt stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and drilled a three-run home run the other way to push the Bruin lead to 4-0. Later in the inning, Kayla Young chased in Emily Miller with a sac fly to extend the lead to 5-0.
BU added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth with an RBI-double from Katie Franzen and a run-producing single off the bat of Erin Sharpe.
The Bruins improved to 33-19 with the win while Dakota State ends their season with an overall record of 8-30.