OMAHA, Neb. -- The 2023 North Star Athletic Association regular-season crown will come down to the final day of the season as the No. 5-ranked Bellevue University baseball team and Dakota State University split a double-header on Friday afternoon at Brown Park.
Dakota State took the opener 9-6, a 15-inning marathon, before the Bruins bounced back for a 6-4 win in game two.
Coming into the weekend, Bellevue (39-8/23-3) needed to take three of four from the Trojans to secure a fourth-straight title while DSU (34-14/24-2) needed just a split to claim their first NSAA title.
Game One: DSU 9, BU 6 (15 innings)
Dakota State jumped out to a 6-0 lead through three and a half innings of play, the big blow coming on a third inning grand slam by Chris Burke.
Walker Hultgren opened the scoring with an RBI-single in the first and Mason Macaluso chased in Jeremy Green with a sac fly in the fourth after an errant pickoff throw advanced Green to third.
Bellevue starter Blake Crippen settled in from there to allow the offense a chance to get back into the game.
Logan Grant got the Bruins on the board in the fourth with a two-run blast, the first of four BU long balls in the game.
Conner Barnett and Jake Lacey used back-to-back jacks in the sixth to halve the lead and Mathieu Sirois muscled a two-run shot to center in the seventh to tie things up.
After Kanta Kobayashi reached on a bunt single, JD Kirchner came on to replace starter Samuel Tyrpa and Kirchner was nearly untouchable.
BU turned to the bullpen in the eighth, Crippen having departed after retiring the final 11 batters he faced and not yielding a hit since the third.
Dakota State did not record their next hit until the 11th inning when Ryan McDaniel reached on an infield single.
Jared Eifler worked 1.1 innings before Parker McMan came on with a runner in scoring position in the ninth.
Bellevue got a runner to third in the 10th but each team had just on more runner in scoring position until the 15th.
Burke led off the 15th with a flare to center and reached second on a sac bunt. Dawson Portner reached via an infield single but a line out by Hakeem Yatim gave the Bruins a chance to keep things tied up. However, McDaniel doubled to right center to put the Trojans in front before Hultgren singled up the middle for a pair of insurance runs.
Bellevue brought the tying run to the plate in the home half but were unable to muster a run.
Neither starter factored in the decision as McMan (3-3) took the loss despite a season-high 6.2 innings of quality relief.
Kirchner (6-2) earned the win, striking out 12 and not allowing a run in 8.1 after throwing five innings on Monday.
The 15-inning affair is the longest game, by innings, in which Bellevue has participated as far back as records are available (2004).
Game Two: BU 6, DSU 4
Friday's second game began slowly for both sides until Ryan McDaniel doubled home Dawson Portner with the game's first run in the top of the third.
The lead was short-lived as Jake Lacey chased home Kanta Kobayashi with a ground ball in the bottom of the frame.
Bellevue struck for four runs an inning later despite managing just a pair of hits. Drew Staley singled home a run, two scored as Tradd Richardson reached on an error, and Lacey brought home another on a fielder's choice.
With a four-run lead, Bruin starter Dustin Schorie found a groove.
Daniel Lesher scored on a wild pitch in the sixth for DSU but Richardson got that run back for Bellevue with a sac fly to plate CJ Townsend.
Chase Wenninger popped a two-run home run in the seventh to make things interesting but Schorie worked around a two-out single by Hakeem Yatim to secure the complete game victory.
Schorie (7-0) picked up the win, striking out three and allowing eight hits.
Luke Guest (5-4) took the loss for the Trojans, allowing six runs on seven hits and striking out four over 5.2 innings.
Up Next:
Bellevue and Dakota State wrap up their series tomorrow with a noon double-header from John Stella Field at Brown Park. The Bruins need to sweep the twin-bill while DSU merely needs a split to claim the regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in next weekend's NSAA Tournament.
