Bruins launch 12 home runs in double header sweep of Bismarck State

BISMARCK, N.D. -- The No. 3-ranked Bellevue University baseball team belted nine home runs in the first game of a double header sweep of Bismarck State College in Frontier Conference action on Friday afternoon.

Bellevue took the opener 23-16 in a slugfest before posting a 16-4 win in the nightcap to run their program-record win streak to 30 games. The Bruins improve to 42-3 on the year and 22-0 in Frontier Conference play while BSC dips to 20-23 overall and 7-15 in the Frontier.

Game One: BU 23, BSC 16

Seven different Bruins homered including Carter Claerhout and Dylan Holmes who each went deep twice as BU broke the previous record of eight home runs in a game with nine as a team.

Bismarck struck first in the first but Ayden Makarus went yard to get the run back in the second.

A two-run home half of the second saw the Mystics take a 3-1 lead.

Oak Held responded with a grand slam in the third and Claerhout went back-to-back with Held as the Bruins put up seven runs in the inning. Holmes and Anthony Lind also went deep in the frame.

The Bruins tacked on three more in the fourth with long balls from Lerma and another from Holmes.

One inning later, Bellevue tacked on nine to take a 20-3 lead. Gravel hit the Bruins' eighth home run of the day.

Bismarck State snagged four back in the bottom of the fifth before Claerhout blasted the Bruins' ninth leading off the sixth, making it 21-7. From there BU held on for the victory.

Kenji Miller (9-1) earned the win with five innings of work. He struck out eight and allowed seven runs on two hits. The victory was the 20^th of his Bruin career, making him just the eighth pitcher in program history to reach the 20-win mark.

Eli Thompson (3-5) took the loss for the Mystics. He was charged with 11 runs on 12 hits in 3.2 innings of work.

Game Two: BU 16, BSC 4

Bellevue scored the first six runs of the game with Carter Claerhout and Ayden Makarus hitting back-to-back bombs in the third as the Bruins belted out three more home runs as a team.

Bismarck State cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth before the teams traded runs in the sixth as BU took a 7-4 lead into the late innings.

Bases loaded walks to Nick Gravel and Oak Held, a two-run single from Claerhout, and a wild pitch stretch the Bellevue advantage to 12-4.

Makarus doubled home a run in the ninth and Dylan Holmes capped the fireworks with his third home run of the day, a three-run blast to make it a 16-4 ballgame.

Bellevue's Reid Madariaga (5-0) struck out 10 across six innings, allowing four runs and scattering six hits in the start.

Cannon Close worked the final three innings to record his third save of the year with Anthony Lind throwing out a runner at the plate to end the game.

Alex Panitzke (1-8) took the loss for the Mystics, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in four innings of work.

Top Performers

Bellevue University

Cannon Close: Save (3), 3.1 IP, 4 SO, 0 runs, 2 hits
Nick Gravel: 6-10, triple, HR (4), 4 RBI, 5 runs
Carter Claerhout: 5-10, 3 HR (22), 5 RBI, 4 runs
Dylan Holmes: 5-10, double, 3 HR (12), 5 RBI, 6 runs
Xavier Lerma: 5-10, double, HR (13), 4 RBI, 4 runs
Anthony Lind: 4-8, double, HR (8), 4 RBI, 2 runs

Bismarck State College

Pacey Phillips: 5-7, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 3 runs
Cole Shirley: 4-8, 2 doubles, HR (3), RBI, 3 runs
Evan Fuchs: 2-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, run
Eric Reiling: 3-8, 2 HR (7), 7 RBI, 3 runs

Up Next

The Bruins and Mystics wrap up the regular season tomorrow with a twin bill beginning at noon from Haaland Baseball Field.