YORK, Neb. -- All nine Bruins starters picked up at least one hit as the No. 4 Bellevue University baseball team jumped to an early lead and never looked back en route to an 11-6 non-conference victory over York College on Wednesday afternoon at Leavitt Stadium.
With their fourth-straight win BU improved to 38-7 on the year while York fell to 24-22 with their fourth-straight loss.
The Bruins pounced early with a five-run first inning. It would be a sign of things as Bellevue scored in seven of the game's nine innings. Joe Moran singled home Jake Browne to plate the game's first run and two batters later Miles Campbell hit a grand slam to give Bruin starter Reid Feeley a big cushion early.
Bellevue added a single run in the second on a single to right by Derik Bontempo. However, York responded with four runs in the home half of the second to make things interesting at 6-4. The big blow came on Timmion Hughes' bases clearing double. York could have threatened for more but Hughes was thrown out at third attempting to stretch his hit to a triple.
Single runs in four-straight innings saw Bellevue re-establish their six-run lead and they took a 10-4 lead in to the bottom of the eighth.
The Panthers got a run back in the eighth on a Connor Towle single that scored Lamar Smith.
BU got that run back in the ninth on Matt Evans RBI-single to cap the Bruins' scoring effort on the day.
York didn't go quietly in the bottom of the ninth. Billy Damon led off with a double before coming around to score on a wild pitch before back-to-back singles from Isaiah Bond and Josh Roman gave the Panthers another legitimate scoring threat. However, closer Max Dwyer got back-to-back fly balls to center and induced a comebacker to end the game.
Browne and Hunter Kelly co-led Bellevue with three hits in the game, including a solo home run off the bat of Kelly. Campbell paced BU with five RBI and was one of seven Bruins to record a multi-hit effort in the win. Evans, Bontempo, Moran, and Diego Iribarren were the other Bellevue players to hit safely at least twice.
Feeley (W, 6-0) earned the win on the hill for the Bruins with 7.2 solid innings of work. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits while striking out 11 against just one walk.
Matt Lindsley (L, 0-1) took the loss for the Panthers after being chased following just 1+ inning of work. He was charged with allowing six earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks before being lifted.
Bellevue returns home this weekend when they host Viterbo University (10-28, 8-8 NSAA) for a four-game NSAA series. Saturday's action is slated for 1 p.m. at Westgate Field while Sunday's – Senior Day – first pitch is scheduled for noon at Roddy Field.
