BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University baseball team began North Star Athletic Association play on Thursday with a double-header sweep of Valley City State University at Don Roddy Field.
With wins in six of their last seven, BU improves to 16-11 overall and 2-0 in league play. Valley City has now lost four of five to slide to 15-16 and 0-2 in NSAA action.
Game One: BU 6, VCSU 5
Scott Hansen blasted his third home run of the season to break a 5-5 tie in the seventh as Bellevue used the long ball to eke out a 6-5 win over VCSU, winning their 13th-straight conference opener.
Logan Grant opened the scoring in the top of the third with his team-leading 11th home run. Walks to Nick Gravel and Hansen leading off the inning, followed by a wild pitch, put two runners in scoring position for Grant who deposited a towering fly ball over the right field fence.
Porter Jorgenson cut into the lead with a two-run single in the bottom half of the frame.
Nick Gravel chased home Ayden Makarus with a sac fly in the fourth but an RBI-double from Jaden Babiuk and a Bruin error saw the Vikings tie the game in the fourth.
Elijah Tanner homered leading off the sixth but BU's lead was again short-lived as Jamel Chabot singled home a run to chase Bruin starter Parker McMan with two out in the bottom of the sixth.
Hansen greeted reliever Anthony Carrasquillo (3-3) with a majestic solo home run to lead off the seven, subsequent earning himself an ejection for a bat flip.
Teron Williams (1-2), who retired the lone hitter he faced in the sixth, worked around a single and a hit batter in the ninth by getting Judson Seliskar to ground out to Gravel at second to end the game.
McMan struck out seven over 5.2 innings. He was charged with allowing five runs – four earned – on seven hits and one walk.
Hunter Magnuson kept VCSU close, working six innings before handing off to his bullpen. He allowed five runs on five hits, striking out three and walking three.
Game Two: BU 10, VCSU 0 (8 Innings)
Jace Wessels and Brady Toth combined on a five-hit shutout in a 10-0 Bruin victory.
Wessels (1-0) struck out five in five innings of work, allowing just two hits and two walks, to earn his first win of the year.
Brady Toth struck out three and allowed three hits to earn a three-inning save, his first of the season.
Ayden Makarus staked the Bruins to a 2-0 lead with his third home run of the season in the second.
The Bruins tacked on two more in the third on a throwing error and RBI-single from Jake Lacey before Steven Elsner pushed the lead to 5-0 with a solo home run leading off the fifth, once again tying Logan Grant for the team lead with 11.
A two-run single from Balas Buckmaster in the seventh extended the lead to 7-0 and a host of throwing errors with an RBI-single from Elijah Tanner sandwiched between gave the Bruins a 10-0 advantage in the eighth.
Lacey finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and Makarus was the other Bruni with a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-5.
Connor Martin (0-3) took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in five innings of work. He struck out five and issued four walks.
Jaden Babiuk recorded his 200th career hit for Valley City with his sixth inning single.
Up Next:
Bellevue and VCSU wrap up their four-game set tomorrow with a noon double-header from John Stella Field at Brown Park.
