GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After claiming the Grand Rapids Bracket Opening Round Title, and qualifying for the 2016 Avista-NAIA World Series, the No. 2 Bellevue University baseball team landed seven players on the all-tournament team.
Junior right-hander Todd Nicks headlined the list after turning in a pair of the most dominating pitching performances of the tournament. He started the first game of the tournament against Clarke where he threw a complete game two-hit shutout. He came back to start on Friday, in the winner-take-all championship game, on just two days' rest and threw eight-plus innings. In 17.0 innings of work Nicks picked up a pair of wins and yielded a 1.06 ERA. He struck out 17 batters against four walks and allowed just five hits as opponents managed a meager .093 batting average.
Senior right-hander reliever Leland Tilley also made the team after appearing in three games out of the bullpen. He recorded a win and a save without allowing a run in 3.2 innings or work. Tilley struck out three batters and allowed just one hit and one walk.
Among position players Bellevue saw senior first baseman Joe Mancuso, senior second baseman Ross Feeley, junior designated hitter Derik Bontempo, senior center fielder Trevor Jones, and junior left fielder Joe Moran chosen to the squad.
Mancuso batted .357 and reached base at a team-high .571 clip on the week. He had arguably the biggest at-bat in the first win over Davenport, fouling off six two-strike pitches before working a walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count. He wound up scoring the winning run to force the "if necessary" game.
Feeley continued to be a steady presence in the Bruin lineup as he hit .300 out of the number two slot in the lineup. He drove in a pair of runs, scored three, and handled 22 chances without incident on the keystone.
Bontempo hit .368, drove in a team-best six runs, and scored a team-high five runs on the tournament. He hit a big three-run home run in the win over York that proved to be the difference in the game.
Jones led BU with a .400 batting average and .478 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot and scored four runs as the Bruins' table-setter.
Moran picked up five hits on the week which included a double. He stole one base but his impact was felt even more when taking the extra-base. Moran also had a clutch outfield assist in the win over York, cutting down the tying run at the plate to help preserve the win.
The Bruins, after battling out of the loser's bracket with three-straight elimination game victories, ran their record to 51-10 on the season and have still not lost back-to-back games this season.
Bellevue opens the Avista-NAIA World Series as the number three seed in the 10-team field. Their first game pits them against the number six seed Auburn-Montgomery on Friday, May 27 at 3 p.m. local time (5 p.m. CT).
