OMAHA, Neb. -- Blake Crippen became the all-time winningest pitcher in Bruin program history, and the No. 15-ranked Bellevue University baseball team won two more games against Dickinson State University on Friday.
The doubleheader sweep gave BU a four-game series sweep of the Blue Hawks as the Bruins improved to 20-9 overall and 8-0 in North Star Athletic Association play. Dickinson State falls to 3-24 on the year and 1-7 in conference play.
Game One: BU 8, DSU 1
Blake Crippen (4-1) surrendered just two hits in five innings of one-run ball to win his 25th career game as a Bruin pitcher, becoming the program's career wins leader.
Jonathan Lerma (0-3) allowed three runs on six hits across three innings of work to take the loss for the Blue Hawks.
Tyler Monroe put the Bruins on the board in the second, singling home Nick Grade with the game's first run.
Steven Elsner's seventh home run of the year pushed the lead to 3-0, which would be plenty of backing for Crippen, who took a no-hitter into the fourth.
Back-to-back singles from Logan Grant and Alec Ackerman doubled the advantage to 6-0.
CJ Townsend produced another run with a ground ball in the fifth.
Luke Clinton got the Blue Hawks on the board in the home half of the fifth with a sac fly as Crippen worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by allowing just one run.
Brock Townsend entered in the sixth and struck out three in a pair of scoreless innings of relief.
Elijah Bear provided an insurance tally in the seventh with a pinch-hit single to score and led off the inning with an opposite-field double.
Game Two: BU 12, DSU 2 (8 Innings)
Ackerman continued his assault on Blue Hawk pitching in the back end of the doubleheader with a 2-for-4 performance in which he knocked in four more runs. The Bruin first baseman went 12-for-16 with four extra-base hits and nine RBI, batting 16-for-20 with five extra-base hits and 11 RBI for the week.
Steven Elsner also netted a four-hit game, going 4-for-5, matching Ackerman with four RBI of his own.
Jake Lacey staked the Bruins to a 1-0 lead in the second before Ackerman and Elsner delivered back-to-back two-run singles in a five-run second for the Bruins.
A failed back-pick with the bases loaded got the Blue Hawks on the board and Alberto Nieto chased in a run when BU start Gavin Wuschke hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded.
Elsner singled in another run in the fifth, and Bryce Zimmerer's fifth-inning fielder's choice made it 7-2 in favor of Bellevue.
Wuschke (4-0), who settled down after a shaky second inning, delivered another quality start, logging 6.1 innings, striking out five and scattering seven hits.
Teron Williams worked a scoreless inning of relief, and Cade Herrmann recorded the final two outs to close out the win.
Bellevue tacked on five more runs in the eighth to invoke the 10-run rule. Ackerman singled in a pair before singles from Elsner and Brendan Luther each scored a run, and Nick Grade produced a sac fly for a 12-2 BU lead.
Tate Williams (0-1) lasted just 3.2 innings. He was charged with allowing six runs – two earned – on five hits.
Up Next:
Bellevue is next scheduled to travel to Forest City, Iowa on Friday-Saturday, Mar. 29-30 for a four-game NSAA series against Waldorf University. With the forecast in flux, please refer to BUBruins.com or the Bellevue Bruins Mobile App for all of the latest news surrounding BU Athletics.
