OMAHA, Neb. -- The Bellevue University softball team scored seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings en route to a 7-3 upset victory over visiting Grand View University Wednesday afternoon at Roy Smith Field.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 10-7 on the season. GVU dropped to 14-4 overall.
Neither team scored until a bases-loaded walk to Kylie Merical gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.
After being held hitless for the first four innings, the Bruins erupted for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth frame. The inning was highlighted by a two-run homer to left field by Atiana Rodriguez, an RBI double to left field by Liana McMurtry, and a run-scoring single to left by Lauren Jurek, giving the Bruins a 4-1 advantage.
The Bruins added three runs in the bottom of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on a fielding error by pitcher Lani Gannon while McMurtry's groundout RBI made it 7-1.
A two-out, two-run homer to center field by Rachel Anderson cut the lead to 7-3 in the top of the seventh inning. Madison Machacek's acrobatic catch at third base ended the contest and completed BU's four-run victory over GVU.
Katie Cunningham improved to 4-4 on the season with the complete-game victory. She scattered seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts in seven innings in the circle.
Jessica Walljasper (4-3) suffered the loss, giving up four runs on two hits with six walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.
The Bruins will begin conference play this weekend when they travel to La Crosse, Wis. on Saturday-Sunday, Mar. 25-26 for a four-game NSAA series at Viterbo University.
