DICKINSON, N.D. -- After dropping the opening game of the day to host school Dickinson State University, 2-0, the Bellevue University softball team battled back to advance to the championship game of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament with a 6-3 win over Valley City State University in BU's second contest of the day.
The top-seeded Bruins (32-19) will meet Dickinson State at 11 a.m. (CT) on Monday (May 6) in the first championship game. Bellevue will need to win that contest to force a second championship game immediately following the opener.
Dallis Mitchell tossed a five-hit complete-game shutout, knocking the Bruins to the loser's bracket as BU suffered a 2-0 loss in the day's opening game.
Katie Cunningham gave up a bases-loaded walk to HaiLeigh Davis to give DSU a 1-0 advantage in the top of the second inning.
Savannah Gunn replaced Cunningham in the top of the third after Bailey Hansen's RBI single to left field gave the Blue Hawks a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins could not get a baserunner past second base in the defeat.
Cunningham (17-9) suffered the loss, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work. Gunn pitched 4.2 shutout innings in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out eight.
Mitchell (13-5) scattered five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings.
Bellevue 6, Valley City State 3
Despite being outhit 9-4, the Bruins took advantage of five Viking errors to pull out the 6-3 win in BU's second contest of the day.
A two-run single to right field by Cunningham gave the Bruins an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Vikings answered in the top of the second frame, tying the game at 2-2 with an RBI single to left field by Alyssa DePoorter and a run-scoring triple to right field by Makenzee Stone, chasing starting pitcher Gunn, who was replaced by Cunningham.
Bellevue regained the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the second when Myla Beckstrom scored off a throwing error by Viking catcher Sierra Crocker.
The Bruins increased the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a pair of runs on a fielding error by VCSU shortstop Ashlyn Diemert.
Cory Carrillo replaced Cunningham in the top of the sixth frame and gave up an RBI single to right field by Stone, slicing the BU edge to 5-3.
Breanne McMurtry drove in Atiana Rodriguez with an RBI single to right field to push the margin to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Carrillo allowed just one hit, a single, in the top of the seventh to earn her team-leading eighth save of the season.
Cunningham (18-9) picked up the win after not allowing a run while surrendering just two hits with no walks and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings in the circle.
Maddy Zander (15-8) was tagged with the loss, giving up four hits and four walks with six strikeouts in six innings of work. She allowed three earned runs in the loss.
