PERU, Neb. -- Austin Alexander, JT Patterson, and Travis Tanaka all went deep on Wednesday afternoon to power the Bellevue University baseball team to their seventh-straight victory as the Bruins downed host Peru State College 17-6 in seven innings at Centennial Complex Field.
Records:
Bellevue: 14-13 (W-7)
Peru State: 10-13 (L-1)
Recap: Bellevue 17, Peru State 6 (7-Innings)
Bellevue scored early and often as they out-hit the home-standing Bobcats 12-8 and benefitted from 10 free passes issued by Peru State pitchers.
After scratching across a pair of runs in the opening half inning via a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch of Daniel Teasley and bases-loaded walk to Hunter Jury, Bellevue busted the game open with a seven-run second inning. The big inning was highlighted by Austin Alexander's three-run home run, his second of the year.
Peru State cut a 10-0 BU lead in half with a five-run third inning that saw a pair of Bobcats – Darren Hasch and Sterling Rupp – go deep with two-run shots.
JT Patterson launched his seventh home run, a grand slam, in the fourth to give the Bruins a 14-5 advantage and stymie any momentum the home side had picked up the previous half inning.
Travis Tanaka concluded the home run derby with a two-run homer in the sixth and Riley Baasch capped the scoring with an RBI-single in the seventh to account for the final margin.
Kory Longaker, Patterson, Cody Banks, and Baasch all had two-hit games for the Bruins as eight of nine starters recorded a hit and eight of nine recorded an RBI.
Mitch Savine (2-3) earned the win in the designated staff game with three inning of work.
Carlos Gonzalez (0-2) suffered the loss for PSC after allowing seven runs in just 1.1 innings on the hill.
Up Next:
Bellevue hosts Viterbo University for a four-game North Star Athletic Association series their weekend. The Bruins and V-Hawks will open the series with a double-header on Saturday, Mar. 30 at Bellevue West High School beginning at 4 p.m. and wrap up the four-game set on Sunday, Mar. 31 at Don Roddy Field with action slated to begin at 1 p.m.
