Bruins cruise to victories over Siena Heights, Bethel

Siena Heights Box Score
Bethel (Ind.) Box Score
MCAC Standings

LAKE WALES, Fla. -- The 12th-ranked Bellevue University baseball team recorded 30 hits on the day as the Bruins cruised to victories over Siena Heights University, 9-2, and Bethel (Ind.) College, 11-0, Thursday at the Warner Classic. 

Bellevue has now won three-straight, improving to 10-3 on the season. 

The Bruins will battle the same two teams on Friday (Mar. 6), taking on Bethel at 11:30 a.m. and Siena Heights at 2:30 p.m. (CST). 

Bellevue 9, Siena Heights 2

The Bruins pounded out 15 hits and used the solid pitching performance of Drew Ferguson to record the 9-2 win in the opener. Osvaldo Gonzalez led the Bruin offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a double and a home run. Miles Campbell went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored and Austin Wallace also registerd three hits in the victory. 

A two-run homer by Gonzalez gave the Bruins an early 2-0 advantage in the top of the first. The Saints responded in the bottom half of the inning when Freddy Jehle led off with a double, moved to third on a ground out to second base by Drew Milligan and was driven in by a ground-out RBI from Joe Williams to slice the lead in half, 2-1.

The Bruins extended the lead to 5-1 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Kevin Rodriguez and a two-run single by Tyler Blood.

The Saints got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on an RBI single by Travis Podolak to cut the deficit to 5-2. 

Gonzalez drove in Campbell in the top of the sixth with an RBI single after Campbell led off the inning with a double.

A bases-loaded ground-out RBI by Aaron Brasher gave the Bruins a 7-2 advantage in the top of the seventh frame. 

Gonzalez led off the eighth inning with a double and an RBI single by Colton Nash plated the Bruins' eighth run, before Nash was driven in by Wallace's one-run single, giving BU a 9-2 edge in the contest.

Ferguson (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, allowing four hits and four walks with five strikeouts in eight innings on the mound. 

Aaron Bain replaced Ferguson in the ninth inning, retiring the side with two strikeouts and a ground out to help secure the victory. 

Bellevue 11, Bethel (Ind.) 0

Five Bruins registered multiple hits and Sean McManus notched a complete-game four-hitter as Bellevue notched its second shutout of the season, cruising to the 11-0 win over Bethel (Ind.) in the finale. 

A sacrifice fly to left field by Rodriguez drove in Connor Garrison to give BU a 1-0 margin in the bottom of the second inning. 

A two-run single by Brasher pushed the BU lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third. 

Nash belted a grand slam in the fourth inning, extending the Bruin advantage to 7-0. 

The Bruins pushed across two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Ross Feeley and a ground-out RBI by Gonzalez. 

Doubles by Nash and Edwin Rodriguez highlighted a four-hit, two-run sixth inning, making the final, 11-0. 

McManus (2-0) picked up his second win of the season, scattering four hits and one walk, while striking out four in seven innings of work. 

Feeley finished the game with four hits, two runs and an RBI. Nash went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored.