OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The ninth-ranked Bellevue University baseball team played a sound all-around game in game one but couldn't overcome their defensive miscues in game two as they had to settle for a split on Friday afternoon at Jim Wade Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma City.
BU downed third-ranked OKCU 6-4 to start the day but fell 4-3 to Texas College. Bellevue is now 1-2 on the season while Oklahoma City falls to 5-1 and Texas College improves to 2-3.
The Bruins are back in action next weekend with a three-game set in Hillsboro, Kan. against #16 Tabor College (3-3). BU and Tabor will play a noon double-header on Saturday, Feb. 17 and a single game on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m.
#9 Bellevue 6, #3 Oklahoma City 4
Bellevue jumped on Oklahoma City early and never trailed as seven different Bruins recorded a hit and they bounced back from a rough opener to take down #3 Oklahoma City in the first game of Friday's double-header.
After being shutout in their first game of the season Bellevue wasted no time getting on the board in this one. Kory Longaker led off the game with a single and came around to score when Travis Tanaka ripped a double to right-center. After back-to-back outs had the Stars looking like they would escape the first with minimal damage JT Patterson launched a two-run homer to give Bellevue and early 3-0 lead.
Colten Barnes (1-0) earned the win for the Bruins pitching four innings and keeping the Stars' potent offense at arms' length.
OKCU got two back in the bottom of the second with a sac fly from Caleb Davis and Lane Milligan.
The teams traded two-spots in the fourth. Hunter Robson raked a double to the left-center gap scoring Patterson before coming around to score on Matt Evans' RBI-single to left. Milligan countered with a two-run shot in the bottom half as OKCU cut the Bruin lead to 5-4.
Bellevue added an insurance run in the top of the sixth on a sac fly from Evans that plated Robson to gain a little wiggle room at 6-4 which was all that reliever Stephen Knapp (1 SV) needed to pick up his first save as a Bruin. Knapp fired three scoreless innings of relief in which he struck out three and allowed just a pair of hits.
Craig Knoche (1-1) took the loss on the hill for Oklahoma City, surrendering five earned on seven hits in four innings of work despite striking out six batters.
#9 Bellevue 2, Texas College 3
Bellevue couldn't overcome six errors as they fell to Texas College, 4-3, to wrap up their first road trip of the 2018 season.
TC seized an early lead with two runs during an error-plagued second inning. Bellevue committed two miscues in the frame leading to a pair of unearned runs.
The Bruins got those runs back in the bottom of the third when a pair of bases-loaded walks to Hunter Robson and Hunter Kelly brought home Kory Longaker and Riley Baasch.
Texas College regained the lead in the next half inning when Jonathan Riffle singled home Brayden Rawlinson for a 3-2 lead. The inning could have been worse for the Bruins but Thorpe struck Hunter Babineaux out, stranding runners on the corners.
BU answered back in the bottom half of the fifth when Riley Baasch went deep to right-center for his first home run of the season.
Consecutive wild pitches with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth saw the Steers again take a lead, 4-3.
Bellevue had a chance in the bottom of the seventh putting runners on first and second with just one out but back-to-back deep fly balls from JT Patterson and Robson saw BU fall 4-3 to the Steers.
Jonta Brown (1-0) picked up the win in relief for the Steers allowing just one run on three hits over three innings with Joshua Chavez earning the save with a scoreless inning of work.
Dylan Thorp suffered the loss for BU despite allowing just one earned run and striking out 10 over 5.1 innings on the hill. Ultimately, it was three unearned runs that did the southpaw in.
