OMAHA, Neb. -- Bruin batters played home run derby with Mayville State University pitching, belting 14 home runs, as the No. 16 Bellevue University baseball team out-scored the Comets 44-10 to finish off a four game North Star Athletic Association sweep on Saturday afternoon.
Bellevue won by scores of 24-3 and 20-7 to improve their overall mark to 30-11 while upping the record in NSAA play to 15-1.
Game One: BU 24, MSU 3
Anthony Lind and Steven Elsner each homered twice as Bellevue belted eight home runs as they secured the series victory in game one.
Jake Lacey, Ryan David, Bryce Zimmerer, and Nick Gravel also homered for BU in the win.
Alec Ackerman put the Bruins on the board in the first with an RBI-single to center and Brendan Luther followed with a run-scoring hit of his own. Elsner belted a three-run home run as three-straight BU hitters went yard with Lind and Gravel following. Lacey added a three-run shot as the first 11 hitters of the game reached safely for Bellevue.
Lind added a two-run home run in the third and Elsner highlighted a six-run fourth with a one-handed two run shot to right that hooked just inside the foul pole.
Chris Shopbell and Zach Evanochko both homered in the loss for Mayville State.
Blake Crippen (6-1) struck out four and allowed two runs on just a pair of hits to earn the victory. Jose Villagomez and Kole Bennett each provided a scoreless inning of relief.
Derek Palmiere (2-6) allowed 10 runs without recording an out to take the loss.
Game Two: BU 20, MSU 7
Logan Grant registered the second three-home run game of his career and drove in nine runs as Bellevue hit six more home runs to complete the four-game sweep of the Comets. The three long balls match a BU single-game record, done several times previously.
Jake Lacey (5-6) and Grant (5-6) combined to drive in 14 runs and score eight from the top two positions in the BU lineup.
Grant put the Bruins on the board with a solo shot in the first but Mayville State answered back with three runs in the home half of the inning.
Lacey cut the deficit in half with an RBI-double in the second before Grant put BU in front for good with a three-run shot.
A three-run blast by Lacey in the third made it 8-3 before the Bruins tacked on six more in the fourth. Grant capped the inning with another three-run shot to center and the rout was one.
Steven Elsner and Anthony Lind also went deep for Bellevue in the game.
Gavin Wuschke (5-1) earned the win, striking out six over five innings of work. He allowed five runs on seven hits.
Connor Cory (1-7) took the loss, surrendering 12 runs on 13 hits over just 3.1 innings.
Up Next:
Bellevue travels to Sioux City, Iowa on Tuesday, Apr. 16 for a 5 p.m. non-conference game at Morningside University.
