Offense powers Bruins to open conference play

OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 14-ranked Bellevue University baseball team pounded out 29 hits and scored 20 runs on the afternoon in a double-header sweep over Viterbo University to open North Star Athletic Association play.

Bellevue won a back-and-forth opener 11-8 before blanking the V-Hawks 9-0 in the nightcap. Riding an eight-game win streak, the Bruins improve to 15-4 on the season and 2-0 in NSAA play.

Viterbo falls to 2-15 on the year and 0-2 in league play.

Game One: BU 11, Viterbo 8

Alexandro Celiceo (5-1) worked eight innings to record the victory. Victimized by a trio of long balls, he was charged with allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits and struck out seven.

Bellevue opened the scoring with Logan Grant's first inning double to score Kanta Kobayashi and Nick Grade made it 3-0 with a two-run home run in the fourth.

Kendal Hofer got the V-Hawks on the board, at the expense of grounding into a double play in the home half of the fourth.

Bellevue answered back as Conner Barnett doubled off Cale Beckman's knee to score Anthony Lind.

Beckman did well to minimize the damage of allowing 11 hits and walking a pair as the Bruins scored just four runs in five innings despite those 13 base runners.

Some two-out magic in the fifth saw Viterbo jump in front. Spencer Hans gave Viterbo a lead with a grand slam and Blake Warner made it back-to-back blasts with a solo shot of his own for a 6-4 advantage.

Grant tied the game in the next half inning with a two-run opposite field bomb.

The Bruins reclaimed the lead in the eighth as Barnett worked a bases loaded walk and Grade wore a pitch to bring home another.

Jake Lacey doubled home a pair of insurance runs in the ninth before coming home himself on a base hit from Grant.

After a single and two-run shot by Marcus Hornacek to open the ninth, Teron Williams came on in relief. He induced a pair of ground ball outs before retiring Hunter Hess on strikes to end the game and earn his second save.

Dominic LaBlanc (1-1) suffered the loss in relief for the V-Hawks.

With his seventh strikeout, Celiceo became the 21^st Bruin to strike out 150 batters in his BU career.

Game Two: BU 9, Viterbo 0

Reigning NAIA National Pitcher of the Week Blake Crippen (5-1) continued his lights out pitching as he needed just 72 pitches to fire a complete game, four-hit shutout in which he struck out seven.

After a slugfest in the opener, pitching dominated the first four innings of game two until Bellevue finally broke through in the fifth. Conner Barnett scored on an error before Drew Staley doubled to center to plate Tradd Richardson.

Ryan Gill (1-2) threw well for Viterbo in the loss, working 5.1 innings and striking out eight Bruins before being chased by Barnett's home run. Just two of the five runs he allowed were earned.

An error on Logan Grant's sac bunt allowed Jake Lacey to come around to score from first. Later in the frame, Barnett and Richardson each jacked two-run home runs for the Bruins and Brendan Luther capped the scoring with a sac fly to score Staley.

Eric Anderson delivered an insurance run with a single to chase home Aaron Garner in the seventh.

Barnett's home run was the 20^th of his career and marked his 50^th career extra-base hit. He became the 18^th (20-plus home runs) and 21^st (50-plus extra-base hits) player in program history to hit those milestones.

Up Next:

The Bruins and V-Hawks wrap up their four-game set tomorrow with a double-header beginning at 11 a.m. from John Stella Field at Brown Park.