Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- JT Patterson tied an NAIA record with his second-consecutive three home-run game and Duane Monlux won his 600th career game in the opener as the (RV) Bellevue University baseball team picked up a pair of North Star Athletic Association victories over Dakota State University on Tuesday afternoon at Don Roddy Field on the campus of Bellevue East High School.
The Bruins took the opener by a score of 13-3 in a run-rule shortened seven-inning affair before going on to a 17-1 triumph in game two.
Records:
(RV) Bellevue: 24-14 (13-1 NSAA)
Dakota State: 3-23 (1-13 NSAA)
Game One: Bellevue 13, Dakota State 3 (7 Innings)
JT Patterson bashed three home runs and drove in seven to pace the Bruins in the opener becoming just the third NAIA player in the DakStats era (since 2004) to hit three home runs in consecutive games. Over the two games he hit six home runs and drove in 15 runs.
Patterson opened the scoring with a towering fly ball that easily cleared the right field fence to put the Bruins ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first.
Bellevue pushed the lead to 3-0 after a double-steal in the second led to a throwing error that allowed Stuart Eurich to score.
Patterson added his second homer of the game in the third to cap a seven-run frame, this time hitting a grand slam to right center that nearly reached the batting cages behind the outfield fence.
DaSU got a run back in the fourth on a Samuel Drummond long ball and another in the fifth on Tanner Landman's double to right in the fifth.
In the home half of the fifth, Patterson matched the NAIA mark when he blasted a solo shot to center field, just to the right of the batter's eye giving BU a 12-2 lead.
Adrian Butrimas singled in a run in the sixth before Austin Alexander ended the game, via the 10-run rule, with a solo shot to lead off the seventh.
Graham Cahill (1-1) logged the complete game, striking out six batters, to earn the win.
The win was the 600th of BU head coach Duane Monlux's 18-year coaching career, including his time at Dickinson State.
Game Two: Bellevue 17, Dakota State 1
Kory Longaker was the offensive standout in game two with a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the dish that saw him record a pair of doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI to go along with a Jeter-esque jump throw from deep in the hole at short.
As a team, Bellevue racked up 17 hits as nine different Bruins registered a base knock. Riley Baasch joined Longaker with a four-hit game of his own as he raised his batting average 31 points on the day.
The Bruins score a run in each of the first two innings before sending 15 batters to the plate in a 10-run fourth to put the game out of reach. Bellevue added a run in the fourth and four more in the seventh on a Longaker grand slam.
Jarrett Poh (4-0) struck out nine over six innings to earn the win and Brandon Desjardins struck out the side in a perfect seventh inning of relief.
Trey Randel (1-5) was charged with the loss after surrendering eight runs on six hits and issuing three free passes in two innings on the hill.
Up Next:
The Bruins step out of league play this weekend when the team hits the road for a pair of games each against College of the Ozarks and Columbia College at Bob Smith Field in Point Lookout, Mo.
Weekend Schedule:
Friday, Apr. 12
1:00 PM – Columbia
6:00 PM – College of the Ozarks
Saturday, Apr. 13
11:00 AM – Columbia
1:30 PM – College of the Ozarks
