ABERDEEN, S.D. -- The Bellevue University softball team wrapped up their weekend with a double-header split against Valley City State University on Sunday afternoon at the Aberdeen Dome on the campus of Presentation College.
Bellevue won game one by a score of 4-2 in eight innings before succumbing to the Vikings by a 3-0 count in the night cap.
The split concludes a 4-2 weekend for the Bruins who see their overall record move to 7-4 (4-2 NSAA) on the season. Valley City finished the weekend 3-3 and are now 7-7 (3-3 NSAA) on the season.
BU is off until Saturday, Mar. 4 when they play 14 games over seven days at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.
Game One: Bellevue 4, Valley City 2 (8 Inn.)
Maddie Siedlik's eighth inning bases loaded single to left scored Hannah Carter broke a 2-2 tie and brought home the eventual game-winning run. Later in the inning Emily Gigax drove in a run and earned her way on base by being hit with a pitch with the bases loaded to add a little wiggle room for the Bruins in a 4-2 extra inning win.
Erin Sharpe put Bellevue ahead in the second inning with a solo home run over the left field fence, her team-leading fourth of the season.
Carter doubled the BU lead in the fifth with a solo home run of her own to center field. The long ball was the first of Carter's collegiate career.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when VCSU scratched across a pair of runs on an infield single from Cassie Pautz and a base hit to left from Kelli Moore. Bruin pitcher Kelli Fisher escaped further damage by leaving a pair of runners on base when she got her counterpart Morgan Nalley to hit into a field's choice and induced a ground out from Emily Smith to keep the game tied at two heading to the seventh.
In the eighth inning, BU put their first four batters on base. Carter led off with a single before Sydney Robertson reached via error and Emily Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Siedlik then delivered a single to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead. Two batters later Gigax wore a pitch to drive in another run to give Fisher a 4-2 lead which she would hold in the bottom half of the eighth.
Fisher (W, 6-1) went the distance in the circle striking out seven batters and allowing just a pair of unearned runs and limiting VCSU to just five hits.
Nalley (L, 4-2) threw all eight innings for the Vikings. She struck out 11 batters but was charged with allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk.
Game Two: Valley City 3, Bellevue 0
Tatum Lundin's two-out home run in the third inning proved to be all the offense that Valley City would need as the Vikings picked up a 3-0 victory to salvage a split with Bellevue.
VCSU added to their lead in the seventh with a base hit, a BU error, and a hit batter loading the bases with no outs. Erin Sharpe then struck out the next two batters but Lundin came through with a two-run single to put the Vikings up 3-0.
Kathleen Gallais (W, 1-0), making her first start of the season for the Vikings, twirled a no-hitter, allowing just a pair of walks against 10 strikeouts to pick up the victory.
Bellevue's Lexi LeCalsey (L, 1-2) worked 4.1 strong innings, allowing just one run on a hit and three walks while striking out three. Sharpe came on in relief and held VCSU to just a pair of unearned runs on three hits. She struck out five in 2.2 innings of work.
