Dordt Box Score
Robert Morris Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Bellevue University softball team split a pair of games Friday at the Tucson Invitational Games, falling to Dordt, 6-2, before rebounding with an 8-4 victory over Robert Morris (Ill.) in the nightcap.
The Bruins moved to 15-9 on the season after the split.
Bellevue will continue action at the tournament on Saturday with an 11 a.m. contest against Ottawa (Ariz.) and a 1 p.m. matchup with Gustavus Adolphus.
Dordt 6, Bellevue 2
Dordt took advantage of two BU fielding errors and used a three-run fifth inning to pull away for the 6-2 win in BU's opening game of the day. Kaitlyn Kinman recorded a pair of hits and Alex Tooley and Maddie Siedlik drove in runs for the Bruins.
Dordt took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first following an RBI triple by Rachel Evavold and a Bruin fielding error by shortstop Emily Gigax that allowed Evavold to score from third.
The Bruins got a run back in the top of the second when Kinman scored off an RBI infield single by Tooley, slicing the DC lead to 2-1.
Despite three strikeouts in the second inning by BU starter Lexi LeCalsey, the Defenders added a run following a fielding error by third basemen Kinman, to increase the margin to 3-1.
An RBI double to left field by Siedlik drove in Gigax in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
The Defenders extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single to right field by Evavold and a two-run double to left field by Corrinne May.
LeCalsey fell to 8-5 on the season, allowing five hits with two walks, three hit batsmen, and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.
Evavold improved to 4-0 overall, scattering seven hits with no walks and two strikeouts in seven-complete innings in the circle.
Bellevue 8, Robert Morris 4
The Bruins scored four runs in both the fifth and six innings en route to the 8-4 come-from-behind victory over Robert Morris in the nightcap. Eight different Bruins recorded a hit in the victory.
The Eagles grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a two-run single by Rylie Jay and increased the margin to 3-0 in the fourth frame following a two-out RBI double to right field by Alexis Minet.
After collecting just one hit in the first four innings, the Bruins erupted for four runs on five hits in the top of the fifth. BU scored on RBI doubles by Siedlik and Maricela Egan, a run-scoring triple by Grace Glotfelty, and an RBI single by Kinman to gain a 4-3 advantage.
The Bruins increased the lead to 8-3 in the sixth thanks to three RMU fielding errors, a two-run single to left field by Erin Sharpe and a one-run infield single by Sarah Zeleny.
RMU got one run back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Montana Martinez that scored Jay, who led off the inning with a triple to center field.
Sharpe earned the win, improving to 7-1 on the season, allowing seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. LeCalsey, who entered the game in the bottom of the sixth, picked up her first save of the season, striking out two while not allowing a hit in the final 1.2 innings of the contest.
