Bruins rebound, earn trip to Lewiston

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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- After dropping the first championship game, 16-2, the Bellevue University baseball team bounced back to defeat Concordia University 5-2 in the winner-take-all "If Necessary" game and earn a place in the 2022 Avista-NAIA World Series.

Bellevue sees their record move to 48-11 overall as they capture their third NAIA Opening Round title (2016, 2019) and secure their 15th trip to the World Series. Match-ups and game times for the 65th Avista-NAIA World Series will be announced later this evening.

Concordia ends their season with an overall record of 40-17-1.

Game 1: Concordia 16, Bellevue 2

Concordia scored 16 runs on 20 hits and used a seven-run third inning to propel the Bulldogs to the 16-2 win in the opener. CU recorded nine extra-base hits in the victory including seven home runs by seven different players.  

The 16 runs were the most given up by the Bruins this season. BU fell to Concordia (Mich.), 14-10, on Mar. 10 in Lake Wales, Fla. 

The Bulldogs struck early with a two-out three-run homer to right field by Jesse Garcia, giving CU a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs recorded three extra-base hits in the opening frame. 

CU starter Shane Whittaker got out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the bottom half of the first, striking out Josh Vaughan and inducing a force out to come out of the inning unscathed. 

Ty Nekoliczak scored from third on a balk by BU starter Blake Crippen, increasing the margin to 4-0 in the top of the second. An RBI single down the left-field line by Jaidan Quinn made it 5-0 later in the frame. 

A solo homer to left field by Joey Grabanski pushed the CU lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth, chasing Crippen. 

Concordia blasted four home runs in the top of the fifth, scoring seven runs on six hits to increase the cushion to 13-0. 

The Bulldogs tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh, sparked by an RBI single to center field by Keaton Candor and a bases-loaded walk to Tanner Tompkins, to make it 16-0 in the top of the seventh. 

The Bruins got on the board in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer to left field by Alec Ackerman to narrow the margin to 16-2. Ackerman's long ball tied BU's single-season team home run record with 101 set in 2004.  

Caden Johnson (8-2), who replaced Whittaker in the second inning, earned the win, as he allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings on the mound. 

Crippen (11-3) suffered the loss, giving up six runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.  

Game 2: Bellevue 5, Concordia 2

The Bruins jumped on top of the Bulldogs 4-0 in the third and, despite many CUNE threats, never relinquished that early lead.

A pair of RBI singles through the left side by Josh Vaughan and Mathieu Sirois and a bases-loaded walk to Zach Diehl gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead in the top of the third frame, making way for CU's fourth pitcher of the game, Cale Mathison. Sirois scored on a wild pitch by Mathison to increase the margin to four runs. 

Despite leading 4-0, BU stranded seven runners in the opening three innings of play. 

BU starter Alexandro Celiceo escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth by striking out pinch-hitter Jakob Faulk to keep the score at 4-0 after four complete innings of play. 

The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the fifth frame when Jaidan Quinn launched a solo homer to right field to slice the BU lead to 4-1. 

A solo shot over the left-field fence by Conner Barnett gave BU a 5-2 advantage in the top of the eighth frame.  That long ball was Bellevue's 102nd of the season and broke the team single-season record of 101 set back in 2004.

CU responded in the bottom of the eighth, as pinch-runner Carlos Benavides scored on a two-out throwing error by shortstop Ackerman, to close the gap to 5-2. After the Bulldogs loaded the bases, reliever Bailey Link induced a groundout to get out of the jam, keeping it a three-run contest heading into the ninth inning. 

The Bruins managed a single by Andrew Iishi in the top of the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts by Mathison kept the score at 5-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth. 

After a one-out walk by Link, NSAA Pitcher of the Year Elijah Johnson entered the game. Johnson, who had thrown a season-high 136 pitches on Tuesday, struck out Keaton Candor and induced a force out at second to earn the save and send the Bruins to Lewiston.