JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Already assured of a sixth-straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament, the No. 2 Bellevue University baseball team took another step in their quest for back-to-back conference tournament championships. The top-seeded Bruins scored 11 of the game's first 12 runs on their way to downing eighth-seeded Valley City State, 14-6, in a rematch of their first round game.
With the win Bellevue runs their overall record to 46-9 while the Vikings wrap up the 2016 campaign with an overall mark of 21-35.
The Bruins claim the Valley City Bracket title move on to tomorrow's North Star Athletic Association Championship Game against either No. 11 Jamestown or Mayville State at Jack Brown Stadium at 2 p.m. Jamestown and Mayville State play their "If Necessary" game at 11 a.m. at Jack Brown Stadium with the winner advancing to play the Bruins for the Championship.
BU jumped on the board first with five runs in the opening frame and was never really threatened from there. Three run-scoring doubles in a row by Derik Bontempo, Joe Mancuso, and Colton Nash put the Bruins up 4-0 with just one out. Matt Evans followed two batters later with an RBI-double to extend the lead to 5-0.
The Bruins pushed their lead to 6-0 on Colton Nash's second inning sac fly before the Vikings got on the board in the bottom half on a sac fly by Ben Bruenjes.
Bellevue posted their second five-run inning in the third. Joe Moran reached on an infield single with the bases loaded to score one run and Bontempo followed with a grand slam to give the Bruins an early 10-run lead at 11-1.
Joe Demers got a run back in the bottom of the third, leading off the inning with a solo home run. Back-to-back singles by Tom Houdek and Brady Smith scored two more Viking runs.
Brady Anderson launched his first of two solo home runs in the fourth to pull Valley City within 11-5. A half inning later, Bellevue added a run to their lead on an RBI-groundout by Evans.
Every time Valley City chipped away at the lead Bellevue responded. Anderson went deep for the second time with two out in the sixth. In the next half inning Jake Browne brought home Nash as he reached on a fielder's choice.
Bontempo drilled his second home run of the game in the ninth to provide BU additional insurance accounting for the final 14-6 margin.
For Bellevue, the 41 runs scored in the tournament are the most they've scored in any three consecutive games this season.
Every BU started had at least one hit on the afternoon. Moran led the way with four hits while Bontempo, Mancuso, Browne, and Evans each added three base knocks. Colton Nash and Connor Garrison also had multi-hit games for Bellevue.
Right-hander Tony Monroy (3-1) worked five innings of relief to pick up his third win of the year. He held the Vikings to just one run on a pair of hits and struck out four out of the 'pen.
Viking starter Jonathan Vance (1-4) took the loss after being charged with allowing 11 runs on 13 hits in 2.1 innings of work.
