ABERDEEN, S.D. -- In their first season in a new league the No. 2 Bellevue University baseball team clinched their first outright conference championship since 2013 with a split against Presentation College on Saturday afternoon. Bellevue topped Presentation 6-2 in the opener but was dispatched by the home-standing Saints 6-5 in the nightcap.
The win in the opener, coupled with Jamestown's 11-1 loss at Mayville State gave the Bruins the outright championship. The Bruins improve to 44-8 (21-2 North Star) with the sweep while the losses drop Presentation to 14-40 (4-20 North Star). The 44 wins posted by Bellevue are the most regular-season wins for a Bruins team since 2005.
By virtue of winning the North Star regular-season championship, Bellevue has clinched a spot in the NAIA Opening Round Tournament. Having 10 teams that sponsor baseball in the conference allots the North Star two bids to the National Tournament. The second bid will be determined at next week's conference tournament where the tournament champion – or runner-up if BU wins the championship – will also earn a bid to the tournament. The Opening Round will take place May 16-19 at a site to be determined.
However, before heading off to the Opening Round, the Bruins will get a postseason test in the North Star's postseason tournament from May 6-9 at one of two sites. Bellevue will be the top seed in the tournament and the rest of the field will be announced later in the weekend. Valley City State University and University of Jamestown are co-hosting this year's tournament.
Game One: Bellevue 6, Presentation 2
Bellevue broke open a tie game with a four-run fourth en route to a 6-2 win in game one.
The Saints got to Bruin starter Braulio Torres-Perez in the first inning, scoring twice on a two-run double by Albert Castro.
Bellevue pulled even in the third inning. Three singles to open the inning by Trevor Jones, Ross Feeley, and Joe Moran loaded the bases for the Bruins. Jones came in on a ground ball double play and Feeley came in to score when a Presentation error extended the inning.
With the score still tied into the fifth inning, Moran doubled in a run to give BU their first lead of the game. Two batters later with runners on second and third Joe Mancuso drove a three-run home run (his fourth of the year) the other way over the right field fence to put the Bruins up 6-2.
After a somewhat rough first inning, Torres-Perez (8-1) settled down nicely, holding the host side to just three hits the rest of the way to pick up the win. Torres-Perez went the distance striking out 10 and didn't walk a batter.
Game Two: Presentation 6, Bellevue 5
Bellevue got out to an early 4-0 lead but couldn't hold on, falling to Presentation 6-5 in the fourth and final game of this weekend's series.
BU got on the board first, scoring two runs in the second inning via wild pitch and two more on an RBI-groundout from Matt Evans and a single by Kevin Rodriguez.
The Saints cut the BU in half when Josh Youngchild delivered a two-run single to centerfield, pulling Presentation within two runs at 4-2.
Presentation inched even closer in the third when Tony Hofman homered to center field.
The Saints grabbed their first lead of the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth. Youngchild drove in a run with a sac fly to tie the game before CJ Wienhoff singled in a run to put PC up 5-4.
PC extended their lead in the fifth inning, scoring a run on a two-out single by Drew Sanders.
The Bruins loaded the bases with just one out in the sixth after singles by Evans, Jake Browne, and Trevor Jones but were unable to score following an inning-ending double play.
However, Bellevue also showed fight in the seventh inning. Joe Moran led off the inning with his first collegiate home run to pull Bellevue within a run at 6-5. Derik Bontempo followed with a single to center and was lifted for pinch-runner Connor Garrison. Garrison advanced to second on a ground ball back to the pitcher's mound to put the tying run in scoring position. Gabriel De La Rosa followed with a walk as the go-ahead run reached base for the visitors but a strikeout-pickoff double play ended the game.
