OMAHA, Neb. -- Bruin starters McGrane Pledger and Blake Crippen combined to allow just three total hits in a pair of shutout victories for the Bellevue University baseball team on Saturday afternoon. Bellevue completed the series sweep of Presentation College, winning 10-0 and 6-0 on Senior Day.
Between games Bellevue's nine seniors – Brenton Davis, Zach Diehl, Payton Higgins, Andrew Ishii, Elijah Johnson, Charlie Patterson, McGrane Pledger, Alex Stufft, and Josh Vaughan – were honored for their contributions to the program in their time at BU.
Bellevue improves to 34-8 with their 21st win in their last 22 games while remaining unbeaten in conference, upping their NSAA mark to 19-0. Presentation falls to 5-37 overall and 3-17 in league play.
Game One: BU 10, PC 0 (7 Innings)
Alex Stufft staked the Bruins to a 3-0 lead with a bases clearing double in the home half of the first.
That proved more than enough support for McGrane Pledger (6-3) who backed up his two-hit shutout against the Saints last year by firing a one-hitter and striking out eight on Saturday.
Bellevue added a run on a bases loaded walk to Brenton Davis with nobody out but the Bruins failed to add on, leaving the bases loaded.
The Bruins tacked on three more runs in the fourth with a ground ball RBI from Alec Ackerman, an RBI-single by Mathieu Sirois, and a drop fly ball.
Kanta Kobayashi hit a three-run home run, his first of the season, to induce the run-rule in the bottom of the seventh.
Four Bruins accounted for Bellevue's nine hits. Kobayashi tallied a three-hit game while Conner Barnett, Sirois, and Stufft each had two-hit games with Stufft doubling for both of his hits.
Mathew Womack lined a leadoff single off Pledger's glove to break up the no-hit bid in the seventh.
RJ Galvez (1-4) took the loss for the Saints, surrendering six earned runs (seven in total) on six hits and a trio of walks.
Brenton Davis broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run of the face of the scoreboard in right-center.
With the score still 1-0 in the fifth, Bellevue strung together three-straight two-out singles to load the bases before Mathieu Sirois lined a home run over the left center field fence to give the Bruins some breathing room, 5-0.
Payton Higgins drove in the final run of the game for Bellevue with a ground out in the sixth to chase home Josh Vaughan from third.
Kanta Kobayashi and Davis each had multi-hit games for the Bruins. Kobayashi finished 3-for-3 and Davis went 2-for-3 with a double and the solo home run.
Blake Crippen (8-2) went the distance on the mound, striking out eight while limiting the Saints to just a pair of hits.
Francisco Avena (2-7) took the loss for the Saints. He was charged with allowing six runs – five earned – on nine hits in a complete game effort.
Bellevue is scheduled to travel to Fremont, Neb. on Tuesday, Apr. 19 for a non-conference game with Midland University (). First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. from Moller Field.
