MADISON, S.D. -- After a convincing 16-7 win in the opener, the Bellevue University baseball team fought back in the nightcap, only to fall in extra innings as Dakota State University scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the 10-9 victory.
In a battle of the North Star Athletic Association's top two teams Thursday at Flynn Field, the Bruins moved to 39-10 on the season and 23-2 in the NSAA. DSU is now 29-14 overall and 15-7 in league play after the split.
Brenton Davis went 5-for-8 on the day, with three home runs, a double, and five RBIs. Kanta Kobayashi finished 6-for-11 with two doubles, a home run, and seven RBIs.
Brenton Davis homered twice and drove in four runs while totaling three extra-base hits on the afternoon.
Reigning NSAA Player of the Week Kanta Kobayashi started the game with a bang, hammering a 1-0 pitch over the fence to lead off the top of the first.
That was the first of four solo shots hit by Bruin batters. Mathieu Sirois, Davis, and Josh Vaughan also his solo home runs for BU.
Elijah Johnson pitched four innings prior to departing as the game underwent roughly a one-hour lightning delay in the bottom of the fifth inning. Johnson surrendered just one hit, a two-run home run, and struck out six to run his season total to 125 punch outs, good for eighth on BU's single-season strikeout list.
Bellevue led 5-0 into the bottom of the third when Josh Van Beek provided the only real blemish to Johnson's pitching line with a two-run shot to right.
BU answered in the fifth, scoring seven times. The inning was highlighted by a bases-clearing double from Conner Barnett as Bellevue took a 12-2 lead.
Cade Sakamoto (1-0) came on after the delay to pitch well enough in relief to earn the win.
Mason Macaluso and Vaughan traded solo shots in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, respectively.
Van Beek's second home run of the day, in the bottom of the seventh, saw the Trojans avoid getting run-ruled. Macaluso singled home another run later in the frame to trim the deficit to 13-5.
Van Beek homered for a third time in the home half of the eighth as the Trojans trailed by six entering the ninth.
With runners on second and third, Davis delivered his second long ball of the game, a three-run shot to center to restore the Bruin advantage.
Bailey Link pitched around a two-out ninth inning double and walk to nail down the win.
Starter Will Clair (5-3) took the loss for DSU, allowing eight earned runs (10 total) on 13 hits and a walk.
Dakota State wasted no time jumping on the board in game two as Walker Hultgren, the two-hitter in the Trojan lineup, drove a ball out to right in the home half of the first.
DSU stretched the lead to 3-0 on R McDaniel's RBI-double in the second.
Bellevue clawed a run back following back-to-back doubles from Zach Diehl and Kanta Kobayashi in the third.
Brenton Davis' third home run of the double-header made it a one-run game leading off the top of the fourth.
The Trojans answered in the bottom of the fourth on Hultgren's two-run homer to left field to give DSU a 5-2 advantage.
After a scoreless fifth inning, BU erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth highlighted by a three-run double to center field by Kobayashi, giving the Bruins a 7-5 advantage. BU also scored on an RBI single through the left side by Alex Stufft and on a bases-loaded walk to Diehl.
Hultgren's two-run single to left field tied the contest at 7-all in the bottom of the sixth.
After neither team scored in the seventh to force extra innings, Kobayashi's two-run single through the left side gave the Bruins a 9-7 lead in the top of the eighth.
The Trojans responded in the bottom half of the eighth, tying the game on Macaluso's twp-run double to center field. After Macaluso moved to third on a wild pitch by Charlie Patterson, the Trojans claimed the nightcap after Macaluso scored on another wild pitch, making the final 10-9.
The Bruins and Trojans wrap up the 2022 regular-season tomorrow with a twin-bill beginning at 11 a.m. from DSU's Flynn Field.
