Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NSAA Standings
WEST FARGO, N.D. -- The third-ranked Bellevue University baseball team recorded a double-header sweep over Valley City State University Sunday, winning 9-3 in the opener and 9-1 in the nightcap.
The games were moved to West Fargo due to wet field conditions in Valley City, N.D.
The Bruins improved to 34-6 overall and 12-1 in the NSAA with the two wins. The Vikings fell to 16-24 on the season and 7-7 in league play.
The two teams will complete the four-game series on Monday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader in Valley City.
Game 1: Bellevue 9, Valley City State 3
The Bruins collected 13 hits and Ben McKendall fanned a season-high 17 batters as Bellevue cruised to the 9-3 win in the opener. Five Bruins registered multiple hits in the victory.
A sacrifice fly to center field by Todd Nicks scored Colton Nash, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
Back-to-back home runs by Joe Demmers and Brady Anderson gave VCSU a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third.
The Bruins pulled to within a run at 3-2 in the top of the sixth on Nash's RBI infield single.
A two-run double to right field by Ross Feeley helped BU regain the lead at 4-3 in the top of the seventh frame. The Bruins made it 5-3 when Joe Moran drove in Feeley on the next at-bat with an RBI double to left.
An RBI single through the hole by Nicks extended the BU lead to 6-3 in the top of the eighth.
A three-run homer to left field by Derik Bontempo made it 9-3 in the top of the ninth.
McKendall improved to 8-1 on the season, scattering five hits with 17 strikeouts and one walk in nine innings of work.
Game 2: Bellevue 9, Valley City State 1
Bellevue used the solid pitching of Nicks and a seven-run seventh inning to propel the Bruins to the 9-1 win in the nightcap.
BU pounded out 15 hits, while Nicks (7-1) allowed just three hits, as he struck out nine and walked two in seven-complete innings on the mound.
The Bruins grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI double to deep right-center field by Bontempo and a one-run single to center by Nash.
Tom Houdek's solo homer to left in the bottom of the fourth sliced the BU lead to 2-1.
The Bruins exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh, following a sacrifice fly to left field by Moran, an RBI infield single by Jake Browne, a bases-loaded walk to Matt Evans, a two-run single by Joe Mancuso, and a two-run double by Kevin Rodriguez, giving the Bruins a 9-1 advantage.
Nicks retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 9-1 win, giving BU its sixth-straight win.
