OMAHA, Neb. -- Brendan Luther delivered a walk-off single in game one and drove in three in game two to lead the No. 16 Bellevue University baseball team to a double-header sweep of Dakota State University on Friday in North Star Athletic Association action.
The wins move the Bruins three games ahead of DSU atop the NSAA standings as BU improves to 32-11 overall and 17-1 in NSAA play. The Trojans slide to 31-12 and 14-4 inside the conference.
Game One: BU 4, DSU 3
After Dakota State rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, Brendan Luther lined a single sharply to center field to score pinch-runner Takumi Maeno with the game-winning run in the bottom half.
Bruin starter Dustin Schorie made quick work of the Trojans in the top half of the first with a trio of ground ball outs and Logan Grant jumped on a pitch for a solo home run in the bottom of the inning.
Dakota State struck for a pair of runs in the third despite just one ball leaving the infield, a bleeder through the left side.
Tyler Monroe tied the game up in the fourth, singling home Anthony Lind from third following Lind's two-out triple.
Grant doubled home CJ Townsend in the fifth to put Bellevue back in front but the Bruins were unable to add on leaving a pair of runners stranded in scoring position.
Schorie pitched around a one-out double in the sixth before running into trouble in the seventh. Dawson Portner led off with an infield since and advanced on a sac bunt. Jeremy Green followed with a single up the middle and C Brownson lined a ball to right to score a run and chase Schorie. Reliever Teron Williams entered with runners on first and second but he kept the game tied, striking out Ryan McDaniel and inducing a fielder's choice off the bat of pinch-hitter Cameron DeMaria.
Townsend led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk before being replace by Maeno. Jake Lacey laid down a sac bunt and DSU opted to intentionally walk Grant in favor of facing Luther. The decision back-fired as Luther laced a ball to center field and Maeno raced home giving the Bruins the win in the series opener.
Schorie logged a quality start, going 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits. He minimized loud contact but a few well-placed and timely hits from the Trojans prevented him from factoring in the decision.
Williams picked up the win to improve to 2-2.
Sam Tyrpa (6-3) went the distance in a losing effort. He allowed four runs on seven hits and walked three over 6.2 innings.
Game Two: BU 11, DSU 2
Brock Townsend and Brady Toth combined to allow just seven hits in an 11-2 victory highlighted by three-RBI games from Brendan Luther and Nick Grade along with Anthony Lind's sixth home run of the season.
The Bruins jumped all over starter Hunter Vikemyr scoring twice in the first inning. Luther singled in Jake Lacey and Tyler Monroe knocked in Luther with an opposite field base-hit. A walk to Grade loaded the bases but Vikemyr escaped further damage with a strikeout to end the inning.
A two-run blast off the bat of Lind and an RBI single from Grade were enough to chase Vikemyr (7-4) after just 2.1 innings.
Luther made it a 6-0 Bellevue lead with an RBI-single in the fourth.
Townsend (3-2) was cruising, allowing just one hit, until encountering some trouble in the fifth. Four-straight batters reached as Jeremy Green cut the Bruin lead in half with a single through the right side. He dodged further harm by getting a fly ball to center and popping up Ryan McDaniel to end the frame.
Toth came on in relief and scattered three hits over four innings to notch his fourth save.
Grade restored BU's six-run lead with a two-run single in the sixth.
Logan Grant chased in a pair with a two-run double to right-center in the seventh and Luther followed by doubling home courtesy runner Takumi Maeno for an 11-2 Bruin advantage.
Up Next:
The Bruins and Trojans wrap up their four-game series tomorrow with a double-header beginning at noon with Senior Day activities to follow the conclusion of game two.
Bellevue can clinch the outright regular-season title and the top-seed in the conference tournament (May 3-6) with a sweep in tomorrow's twin-bill.
