Bellevue takes two in triple header to clinch series

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Game 3 Box Score
MCAC Standings

OMAHA, Neb. -- The 17th-ranked Bellevue baseball team won two of three games on the afternoon to claim another series win over College of the Ozarks in a Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference triple-header on Monday afternoon at Westgate Field. Ozarks took the first game 6-2 before the Bruins rallied for 5-3 and 9-3 victories to close out the day.

Bellevue is now 36-12 on the season and 14-6 in MCAC play while Ozarks dips to 18-18 overall and 10-10 in league action.

Bellevue's next scheduled games are Friday when they take on Waldorf in the final MCAC series of the season. The two sides will play double-headers on both Friday (1:00 p.m.) and Saturday (noon).

Game 1: College of the Ozarks 6, Bellevue 2

College of the Ozarks struck first and never trailed on the way to a 6-2 win to open full day of baseball.

Despite just one single, the Bobcats grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, scoring on a bases-loaded walk and on a fielding error by BU short stop Kevin Rodriguez. Bruin starter Braulio Torres-Perez surrendered three walks in the inning. 

Ozarks added two more runs in the top of third after scoring on a Bruin throwing error by right fielder Colton Nash and on a sacrifice fly to center field by Scott Stephens, pushing the lead to 4-0.

An RBI single up the middle by Georgi Georgiev gave the Bobcats a 5-0 margin in the top of the fifth and subsequently Torres-Perez was replaced on the mound by Tony Monroy. 

An inside-the-park home run by Tyler Blood put the Bruins on the board in the bottom of the fifth, slicing the lead to 5-1. 

A ground-out RBI by Aaron Brasher brought Bellevue to within three runs at 5-2 in the sixth frame. 

Cody Hull led off the top of the seventh with a solo homer to left field to give the Bobcats a 6-2 cushion. 

Christian Vanderheide (3-2) tossed a complete game, striking out eight Bruin batters and surrendering two runs on five hits and a walk.

Braulio Torres-Perez worked 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs (five total) on six hits and three walks while striking out three, to fall to 5-4 this season.

Game 2: Bellevue 5, College of the Ozarks 3

Colton Nash, Elijah Dickerson, and Kevin Rodriguez hit consecutive doubles in the bottom of the sixth to break a 3-3 tie and give Bellevue a 5-3 victory over Ozarks.

The two sides combined for just three hits through the first three innings before the Bobcats were able to scratch out a run. Ozarks manufactured a run when Cody Hull led off with an infield single, took second on a passed ball, and scored on a single by Cody Pentecost.

Bellevue wasted no time getting that run back with back-to-back two out doubles by Aaron Brasher and Tyler Blood to tie the game at 1-1.

Ozarks reclaimed a one-run lead with a two-out RBI single by Cody Hull to plate Landon Teal but that lead would be short-lived, once again. Kevin Rodriguez led off the bottom half with a double, advanced to third on a sac bunt by Miles Campbell, and scored on Trevor Jones' first home run of the season, a line drive over the right field fence.

The Bobcats had a chance to take the lead in the top of the sixth. With two outs and two runners on, Austin Schweiss doubled to deep right center to plate one run with another runner trailing close behind. A great relay snuffed that out as Jones got the ball in quickly to Kevin Rodriguez who delivered a perfect strike to Osvaldo Gonazlez who applied the tag to the trail runner on a bang-bang play at the plate to end the inning.

With one out and a runner on second Dickerson gave the Bruins their final lead of the game with an RBI-double before scoring when Kevin Rodriguez doubled one batter later for a 5-3 BU advantage.

Alex Stephens (3-4) took the loss for Ozarks after allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks in 5.2 innings.

Stephan Meyer went the distance for Bellevue, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out eight to improve to 8-2 on the hill on the year.

Game 3: Bellevue 9, College of the Ozarks 3

Osvaldo Gonzalez hit his 14th home run, a three-run job, in the bottom of the first an BU never trailed on their way to a 9-3 victory to take the series from College of the Ozarks.

Back-to-back walks in the bottom of the first chased Bobcat starter Garrett Woods and Gonzalez homered off Jason Myers for an early 3-0 BU lead.

Ozarks bounced back with their first three batters reaching base in the second. A wild pitch, a groundout, and sac fly would score each of those three in succession to knot things at 3-3.

It took until the fourth for Bellevue to score again. Trevor Jones hit a hard chopper that the second baseman couldn't handle to chase home Tyler Blood and Todd Nicks who led off the inning with a single and hit by pitch, respectively.

An inning later the Bruins added three more runs with an RBI-single by Nicks with two outs. Blood would come in to score on a wild pitch that advanced Nicks to second before he came in on Elijah Dickerson's run-scoring single.

Colton Nash provided insurance with a solo home run, his ninth of the year, in the bottom of the sixth.

Myers took the loss for Ozarks, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in six innings of relief to drop to 2-4 this year.

Sean McManus improved to 7-2 with a complete game victory. He struck out six on the day while allowing three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks.