Bellevue cruises to a pair of 10-run victories

OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 5 Bellevue University baseball team continued their winning ways with a pair of North Star Athletic Association victories over visiting Dakota State University on Friday afternoon at Westgate Field. Bellevue won the opener 10-0 in eight innings before claiming a 13-3 win in game two of the twin-bill.

In picking up a pair of victories Bellevue remains unbeaten atop the NSAA Standings at 10-0 while running their win streak to 24-straight and improving to 31-6 on the season. Dakota State falls to 1-17 on the season and now stands at 1-9 in conference play.

The Bruins and Trojans meet again tomorrow with a double-header beginning at noon at Don Roddy Field on the campus of Bellevue East High School.

Game One: Bellevue 10, Dakota State 0 (8 Inn.)

A pair of four-run innings helped Bellevue overcome a slow start offensively and earn a 10-0 win over Dakota State to begin the day.

The two clubs traded scoreless frames until the bottom half of the third when Derik Bontempo put the Bruins on the board with a single to right that chased home Matt Evans.

An inning later, BU doubled their advantage when Joe Moran raced home on a wild pitch.

The Bruins' big break came in the sixth inning when they struck for four runs. Diego Iribarren singled through the hold on the right side to bring in two more runs to put Bellevue up 4-0. Two batters later Jake Browne matched Iribarren with a two-run single of his own as Bellevue took a 6-0 lead into the sixth inning.

Bellevue put the game away with a four-run eighth inning. Todd Nicks singled in Bontempo and later came around to score on a passed ball to put BU up 8-0. Iribarren made it 9-0 with a single through the right side to score a run and Miles Campbell doubled home Alec Chaney to induce the 10-run rule and end the game.

Connor Nagel had a two-hit game, one of the rare bright spots for the Trojans.

Ben McKendall (W, 6-0) fired a complete-game shutout to earn the victory. Over eight innings of six-hit ball, McKendall struck out a season-high 13 batters and issued just one walk.

David Kirby (L, 0-6) was dealt the loss for Dakota State after allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits and eight walks in 4.2 innings on the hill.

Game Two: Bellevue 13, Dakota State 3

Bellevue scored early and never trailed in game two as they recorded a 13-3 victory over Dakota State, out-hitting the Trojans by a count of 14-4 in the ballgame.

Derik Bontempo singled home Matt Evans in the first to open the scoring before coming around to score one batter later on Todd Nicks' RBI-double.

Dakota State got a run back in the second inning. Andrew Hesse reached on an infield single with runners on second and third to score Connor Nagel. The inning could have been bigger for Dakota State but Justin Mettling was caught too far off third base and retired to end the inning.

BU created separation in the bottom half of the inning by throwing a four-spot on the scoreboard. Miles Campbell singled in a run, Diego Iribarren scored on a wild pitch, Bontempo produced an run-scoring groundout, and Nicks singled in a run to give the Bruins a comfortable 6-1 cushion.

Three more runs in the third saw Bellevue extend their lead to 9-1 before Joe Moran's fourth-inning home run put the Bruins into double figures once again.

BU used eight pinch-hitters in the sixth to add three runs to their lead highlighted by Jordan Baughman's sac fly and Lumus Russell's two-run single.

Nagel delivered some consolation offense in the sixth with a two-run single to bring the score to 13-3 but that was as close as the Trojans would get.

Zach Wilson (W, 5-1) picked up the win in the second game with five solid innings in which he allowed just one run while scattering three hits. He struck out four batters and walked three. Blake Phelps and Caleb Rodriquez combined to pitch the final two innings and preserve the victory.

Dyshawn Proudlove (L, 0-1) took the loss after being charged with allowing nine runs on eight hits over three innings for the Trojans.