WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The ninth-ranked Bellevue University baseball team scored first for the fourth-straight game but, following a familiar script, were unable to hold their early lead as the Bruins were swept by #10 Keiser University, 9-3, on Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at Silvester Field.
Bellevue has now dropped four in a row to dip to 3-7 on the year. Keiser pushed their win-streak to six games as they improved to 13-5.
Blake Macdonald put the Bruins on the board in the fourth when his squeeze play scored Jonah Yang ahead of the throw to the plate. Yang led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a sac bunt before coming in to score.
The lead was short-lived as Keiser struck back with a three-run bottom half of the inning capped by Carlos Lopez' first homer of the game, a two-run shot down the fight field line.
Keiser pushed their lead to 4-1 when Justin Lara lined out to center to score Kyle Oliver from third.
Macdonald and Stuart Eurich each provided RBI-doubles in the fifth inning as BU pulled to within a run.
A bases loaded walk in the seventh to make it 5-3 in favor of the home side.
Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Lopez went deep for his second two-run shot of the game; this time taking the ball out to left-center. A bases loaded, two-run single by CJ Fitzpatrick later in the inning stretched the lead to 9-3 for Keiser.
Yang, Eurich, and Kory Longaker each had two-hit games for Bellevue with Riley Baasch, Macdonald, and Brandon Salmon accounting for the other three Bruin hits.
Alec Lamrouex (4-2) threw 5.2 innings allowing one earned run (three total) on six hits and struck out eight to pick up the win.
BU's Dylan Thorp (0-2) suffered the loss despite 6.1 innings of fairly solid work. He was charged with allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits.
The Bruins look to get back in the win column tomorrow when they travel to Babson Park, Fla. for a 5 p.m. game against #25 Webber International University at Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center Field.
