Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NSAA Standings
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The Bellevue University softball team traded a pair of 3-1 victories Friday afternoon at Viterbo University in North Star Athletic Association action at the Viterbo Outdoor Athletic Complex.
BU won the opener, 3-1, in eight innings, before suffering a 3-1 loss in the second contest.
The Bruins moved to 19-12 on the season and 5-1 in the NSAA with the split. The loss in the nightcap snapped BU's seven-game winning streak. Viterbo is now 4-10 overall and 4-2 in league play.
The two teams will conclude the four-game series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday (April 3).
Game 1: Bellevue 3, Viterbo 1 (8 innings)
The Bruins used the solid pitching of Lauren Jurek and timely hitting to pull out the 3-1 victory in eight innings in the opener.
Neither team scored until the top of the fifth when Madison Machacek's RBI infield single scored Emily Rochford from third, giving the Bruins a 1-0 advantage.
The V-Hawks forced extra innings with Kendyl Schine's RBI single to left field, tying the contest at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh.
Bellevue made it 2-1 in the top of the eighth when Alyssa Morbach scored on a wild pitch from VU pitcher Janelle Ulaszek. The Bruins added an insurance run when Maricela Egan scored on Ashley Young's double to left field, giving BU a 3-1 advantage.
Jurek gave up a pair of hits in the bottom of the eighth but forced three popups to earn her 10th win of the season.
Jurek (10-5) scattered six hits with one walk and six strikeouts in eight innings of work to earn the victory.
Game 2: Viterbo 3, Bellevue 1
Viterbo gained an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Schine scored from third following a stolen base attempt by Autumn Olson.
The V-Hawks added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single to right field by Karissa Walsh and on a run-scoring double to center field by Morgan James, expanding the margin to 3-0.
The Bruins sliced the lead to 3-1 in the top of the fifth when Morbach stole third base and scored on an error by third baseman Walsh.
Bellevue managed just one baserunner in the final two innings to earn the two-run victory.
Savannah Gunn (6-5) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in four innings in the circle.
Janelle Ulaszek earned the complete-game victory, scattering four hits with two walks and one strikeout in seven innings of work.
