HILLSBORO, Kan. -- After falling behind in the sixth, the 12th-ranked Bellevue University baseball team rallied for a two-run seventh for a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over 4th-ranked Tabor College on Saturday afternoon to complete a non-conference double-header sweep.
The Bruins had beaten Tabor 3-2 in game one earlier in the afternoon. Bellevue improves to 4-1 with the win while the Blue Jays fall to 7-2.
Leland Tilley (2-0, 2.08) picked up the win in relief for Bellevue. Cedric Rodriguez suffered the loss for Tabor, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings of relief.
Bellevue held a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth but Tabor finally solved the BU pitching riddle to score three runs. The big blow came on a two-run double by Raulier Martinez which tied the game with two outs. Ryan Neufeld followed that up with a single up the middle to plate pinch-runner Haydon Mahe-Liessmann to give Tabor the lead headed into the seventh.
Trevor Jones (1-for-3) led off the seventh with a walk and reached second on a failed pickoff by Rodriguez. Ross Feeley (1-3) extended his hitting streak to five games with a single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Feeley stole second during the ensuing at-bat. That allowed pinch-hitter Elijah Dickerson to hit a sac fly to deep left to score Jones and advance Feeley to third. The Bruins, for the second time in a week, used a well-executed squeeze play to plate the eventual winning run. Jake Browne (1-for-2) laid down a bunt which scored pinch-runner Matt Evans to give BU a 6-5 advantage.
Things got tense in the bottom of the seventh as Tilley loaded the bases but he did his best Houdini and struck out both Jerrik Sigg and Colton Flax to end the game and preserve the victory.
Tabor struck first in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs as each of their first two batters reached base before coming in on a double steal and an RBI-groundout, respectively.
BU bounced back in the top of the second, hanging a crooked number of their own on the Blue Jays. Kevin Rodriguez scored Dickerson on an RBI-groundout while Gabriel De La Rosa (2-3) and Todd Nicks (1-4) came in to score on Jones' RBI-single and a bobble by the outfielder to give BU a 3-2 lead.
The Bruins tacked on a run in the sixth on a single by Connor Garrison that scored Dickerson to extend the Bruin lead to 4-2.
Starter Tony Monroy logged 5.2 solid innings for Bellevue. He allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out five.
The win moves Bellevue to 4-0 against ranked opposition this season with a pair of wins over #5 Oklahoma City to accompany their victories today. The two teams return for game three of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
