Bruins take two from DSU to open series

OMAHA, Neb. -- Behind strong pitching in the opener and an offensive explosion in game two, the Bellevue University baseball team picked up a doubleheader sweep over Dickinson State University in North Star Athletic Association on Sunday afternoon.

Bellevue took game one 3-2 before going on to a 30-2 victory in game two. The victory in game two also gave coach Monlux his 600th as head coach of the Bruins.

The Bruins ran their win streak to nine games, upping their overall record to 21-11 while remaining perfect in NSAA play at 6-0. The losses dropped DSU to 11-20 overall and 3-3 in the North Star.

Game 1: BU 3, DSU 2
Parker McMan out-dueled reigning NSAA Pitcher of the Week Jacob Scully and Jake Lacey provided the go-ahead sac fly in the sixth as the Bruins won a nail-biter in game one.
McMan (4-1) and Scully (4-4) each went the distance on the hill. McMan struck out six against three walks and held the Blue Hawks to a pair of runs on five hits.

Scully worked six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out four and issued two free passes.

Bellevue struck early with a pair of runs in the first. Scott Hansen scored on a passed ball, and Steven Elsner came trotting home on Lacey's first sac fly of the ball game.

Wyatt Wilharm singled home Kaden Finders in the third to cut the Bruin lead in half.
With runners on second and third on one out in the fifth, Jadyn Roberts lined a single to left. Logan Braaten scored easily, but Elijah Tanner hosed Finders at the plate with a perfect throw to BU catcher Logan Grant.

McMan worked around a leadoff single in the sixth before Lacey put the Bruins ahead in the home half. Logan Grant reached on a bunt single to lead off the inning, advancing to third on a wild throw from the third baseman, Wilharm. Jaylan Ruffin came on to courtesy run, and Lacey promptly chased him home with a fly ball to center.

A pair of fly balls sandwiched around a strikeout saw the Blue Hawks go down in order in the seventh as the Bruins held on for the win.

Game 2: BU 30, DSU 2
Jace Wessels (2-0) got all the offense he needed in the first inning as he worked six innings of one-run ball. He struck out five and scattered five hits before handing the ball off to Jayden Vinson, who closed out the game in the seventh.
All 16 Bruins hitters that appeared in the game recorded at least one hit. Of those, 15 drove in a run, and 15 different players scored.

Logan Grant opened the scoring for BU with a three-run home run, the 44th of his Bruin career, moving him atop the career charts with Riley Baasch (2017-21). Jake Lacey knocked one out himself for back-to-back jacks.

Bellevue added single runs in the second and third before hanging a four spot in the fourth.
The floodgates opened in the fifth as Bellevue tacked on nine more. Wyatt Wilharm countered with a solo homer in the sixth for DSU.

Bellevue answered with an 11-run sixth, capped by a Jordan Brandenburg grand slam. Logan Braaten doubled home a run in the seventh for Dickinson State to finish off the scoring.
Cooper Van Luchene (2-5) took the loss for Dickinson State, surrendering nine earned (10 total) runs on 11 hits and a pair of walks.

Up Next:
The Bruins and Blue Hawks wrap up their four-game North Star series tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at 10:30 a.m. from John Stella Field at Brown Park.