VALLEY CITY, N.D. -- After forcing the "If Necessary" game with an 8-2 win to begin the day, the Bellevue University baseball team fell to Mayville State University, 16-2, in the winner-take-all North Star Athletic Association Championship Game on Monday afternoon at Charlie Brown Memorial Baseball Field.
Mayville State earns the NSAA's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament and enters Opening Round play with a 35-16 overall record. Bellevue now stands at 38-16.
Game One: BU 8, MSU 2
Riley Baasch went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead Bellevue to a 6-2 win and force the "If Necessary" game.
Bellevue struck in the second with Nic Metcalf singling home Josh Vaughan for the first run of the game.
The Bruins added three more runs, aided by a pair of Comet errors, in the fifth inning. In the frame, Baasch notched his 200th career RBI by doubling home Cody Banks to cap the scoring.
Mayville State got a run back to cut the deficit to 4-1 but they had another thrown out at the plate in the home half of the fifth.
Baasch stretched the Bellevue advantage with a two-run home run in the seventh and MSU again responded with a single run.
Alexandro Celiceo (6-0), making his first start of the year, worked 6.2 quality innings on the hill limiting Mayville to two runs on seven hits while striking out five.
Derek Browne (Save, 2) came on in relief of Celiceo with a 6-2 lead and two runners aboard but induced a fly ball from Michael Theisen to escape further damage in the seventh before going on to fire scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
Daniel Teasley provided some ninth inning insurance with a two-run double into the right-center gap for an 8-2 Bellevue lead.
Matthew Johnson (4-3) took the loss for the comets, despite allowing just one earned run on two hits in 4.1 innings of work. He struck out four and walked three.
Game Two: MSU 16, BU 2
BU ran out of steam as Mayville scored in eight of nine innings as the Comets recorded a 16-2 victory to claim the NSAA Tournament crown.
Bellevue was led, offensively, by Cody Banks, Josh Vaughan, and Riley Baasch, with two hits apiece and Zach Diehl who his second long ball of the year.
Six Comets recorded multi-hit games with Marcus Wohl, Skylar Forst, and Sammy Satrom each recording three base knocks. Wohl drove in a game-high six runs on the day.
Bailey Link (2-3) took the loss for the Bruins
Mayville ace Parker Stohr (6-1) got the win working on two days' rest earned the win allowing just one run on five hits in five innings. Connor DiNaro picked up his first save with four innings of relief work.
Up Next:
Bellevue hosts the NAIA Opening Round – Bellevue Bracket at Don Roddy Field from Monday-Thursday, May 17-20. The entire field will be announced via the NAIA Baseball Selection Show at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 13.
