HILLSBORO, Kan. -- The 12th-ranked Bellevue University baseball matched a season-high with 10 runs on the afternoon as they defeated 4th-ranked Tabor College, 10-1, on Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game non-conference road sweep of the Blue Jays.
The Bruins (5-1) have now won four straight games and improve to an impressive 5-0 against ranked opposition on the season. Tabor – participant in last year's Avista-NAIA World Series – has dropped three straight to fall to 7-3 on the campaign.
Bellevue pounded out 11 hits on the afternoon and benefitted from five Blue Jay errors as six unearned runs were more than enough as the pitching staff stifled Tabor. Right-hander Ben McKendall (2-0, 1.20) picked up the victory on the hill for the Bruins with a second consecutive strong performance.
In eight innings of work, McKendall shut out the home-standing Blue Jays, limiting them to just six hits while striking out eight against no walks. Southpaw Kameron Miner worked the ninth, allowing an unearned run on one hit and one walk while recording a strikeout to preserve the victory. BU lowered their team ERA by almost four runs for the season as they held Tabor to just eight runs (seven earned) in 23 innings on the weekend.
Bellevue struck first in the opening half-inning. Derik Bontempo reached on an error that allowed Trevor Jones to score for a 1-0 lead.
The Bruins continued building on, hanging crooked numbers in each the third (3), fourth (2), and fifth (2) innings. Bontempo recorded an RBI-single in the third while two other runs plated on a fielding error. BU got runs in the fourth on a fielding error and a passed ball to stretch the lead to 6-0. Jones delivered a two-run single in the fifth that brought home Matt Evans and Gabriel De La Rosa for an 8-0 Bruin advantage.
The Bruins tacked on insurance runs in both the sixth and ninth innings. Bontempo again reached via error to score Ross Feeley in the sixth while Elijah Dickerson scored on a wild pitch in the ninth.
Both Jones and Colton Nash recorded two-hit games for Bellevue as nine different players recorded a base-hit on the afternoon. Feeley and Evans led the scoring effort with a pair of runs scored apiece.
Bellevue chased Tabor starter Thomas Longworth after forcing him to toss 83 pitches in four innings of work. Longworth was dealt the loss after he allowed seven runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out three.
The bullpen didn't offer much relief for Tabor as three pitchers combined to allow three runs on three hits while issuing a pair of free passes and hitting two batters.
Bellevue returns to the diamond with a double-header on Friday, Feb. 26 against former MCAC and still intra-state rival (RV) York College. First pitch is slated for noon at Jaycee Park in Pittsburg, Kan.
