BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University softball team opened the home portion of their schedule on Thursday evening at the Lied Center. Bellevue split a double-header with Northwestern College with the Bruins posting an 8-0 victory in the opener and the Red Raiders claimed an 8-0 victory in the nightcap.
The win in the opener saw BU extend their win streak to 11 games but the loss in game two saw the Bruins dip to 19-8 on the season. Northwestern remained a game over .500 when all was said and done as they now sit at 11-10 on the year.
The Bruins and Red Raiders meet again on Wednesday, Mar. 22 when BU makes the trek to Orange City, Iowa for a 5 p.m. double-header on the NWC campus.
Game One: Bellevue 8, Northwestern 0 (6 Innings)
Emily Gigax hit a pair of two-run home runs and Erin Sharpe added a two-run homer of her own for Bellevue as the Bruins secured an 8-0, five-inning shutout victory over Northwestern in the first game of Thursday's double-header.
Gigax put the Bruins on the board early with her first long ball of the year, a two-run shot to left center that plated Sayde Woten.
An inning later Kaitlyn Kinman singled home Sydney Robertson to stretch the Bruin lead to 3-0.
The fifth inning saw Sharpe hit her NAIA-leading 12th dinger of the year and Gigax hit her second big fly of the game, both two-run shots, to put BU up 7-0.
Kinman ended the game with a single to left that Robertson again scored on following a misplay by the leftfielder.
Kelli Fisher (W, 12-3) earned the complete-game shutout, her second of the year, striking out eight along the way and scattering five hits. She struck out seven of the first ten batters she faced over the game's first three innings.
Morgan Means (L, 4-5) took the loss for NWC after surrendering eight runs (six earned) on 13 hits and a pair of walks.
Jessica Rayela had a three-hit game – including a double – for the Red Raiders while Madison Beaver and Cheyenne Wilcke each worked their way into the hit column with singles.
Game Two: Northwestern 8, Bellevue 0 (5 Innings)
Northwestern, aided by a pair of Bellevue errors, scored all eight runs with two outs in the game's third inning and earned an 8-0, five-inning shutout victory to salvage a split.
Cheyenne Wilcke broke open a scoreless tie with a two-out, three-run double to left field to give the Red Raiders all the offense they would need. Jessica Sandbulte and Madison Beaver both added RBI-singles in the third and Jessica Rayela capped the scoring with a two-run triple to center field.
Kayla Tindall (W, 6-5) went the distance in the circle for Northwestern scattering three hits and a pair of walks in the shutout.
Bruin starter Lexi LeCalsey (L, 4-3) was charged with allowing three earned runs on three hits and three walks in 2.2 innings in the circle. Erin Sharpe pitched 2.1 innings of relief for Bellevue and gave up five unearned runs on five hits.
Courtney Schendt accounted for two of Bellevue's three hits in the ballgame and Sharpe extended her hitting streak to nine games with a second inning single.
