JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- A pair of seven-run innings catapulted the Bellevue University baseball team past Presentation College 21-1 on Monday afternoon in the Championship Game of the 2018 North Star Athletic Association Baseball Tournament at the University of Jamestown's Jack Brown Stadium.
Bellevue (37-21) advances to their eighth-straight NAIA National Tournament Opening Round with their third conference championship in four seasons (MCAC: 2015, NSAA: 2016, 2018).
BU will find out their post-season destination on Thursday, May 10 when the entire National Tournament field is announced.
Presentation wraps up their season with a 26-18 overall record.
(RV) Bellevue 21, Presentation 1
Second-seeded Bellevue pounded out a season-high 27 hits on the afternoon, including five long balls, to cruise past fourth-seeded Presentation, 21-1 to secure their second NSAA Tournament Championship in the last three seasons.
Kory Longaker and JT Patterson each went deep twice for the Bruins and Lumus Russell added a home run of his own.
Longaker paced seven Bruins with multi-hit days by finishing 5-for-7. Patterson had four hits while Gary Dixon, Stuart Eurich, Austin Alexander, and Diego Iribarren each had three, and Travis Tanaka picked up two.
Iribarren opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second ahead of a Longaker RBI-knock.
Dixon drove in a run with a single in the third before Presentation got a run back in the bottom half on a ground ball.
Seven runs in each the fourth and sixth innings iced the game before Bellevue tacked on three runs over the course of the eighth and ninth innings to account for the final margin.
Jarrod Molnaa (6-0) remained unbeaten on the season for Bellevue with eight innings of four-hit ball. The junior right-hander allowed just one run and struck out seven batters on the afternoon.
James Lewis (5-3) suffered the loss for Presentation.
