Bruins open season with sweep over Panthers

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

NSAA Standings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University softball team used the solid pitching of Cory Carrillo in the opener and timely hitting of Emily Rochford in the nightcap en route to a season-opening sweep over York College Sunday afternoon in non-conference play at Roy Smith Field. BU won by scores of 2-0 and 9-8.

Rochford went 3-for-5 on the day with two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs. Katlyn Kinman also drove in three runs on the day, going 3-for-6 with a double. 

Bellevue moved to 2-0 on the season while York fell to 3-5 overall after Sunday's twin-bill.  

The Bruins return to action when they travel to Kissimmee, Fla, Mar. 1-7, to compete in THE Spring Games. BU has 14-scheduled games in the tournament. 

Game 1: Bellevue 2, York 0

Carrillo pitched a four-hit shutout as the Bruins produced a 2-0 victory in the opener. 

Neither team threatened until a bases-loaded walk to Kelsey Arnold gave Bellevue a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.  

Rochford, who was pinch-hitting for left fielder Emily Mendick, launched a solo homer to left-center field on her first pitch to extend the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth frame. 

Carrillo allowed four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in seven complete innings of work. 

Briana Walter (0-2) suffered the loss, giving up three hits, with three walks and three strikeouts in six innings of work. 

Game 2: Bellevue 9, York 8

York scored five runs in the top of the seventh to overcome a 7-3 deficit, gaining an 8-7 advantage before the Bruins responded in the bottom half of the seventh scoring two runs, including a walk-off RBI double by Rochford to end the contest. 

Rochford went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles. Kinman was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a double.  

An RBI single down the left-field line by Kinman gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

The Panthers tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second following a throwing error by BU third baseman Ashley Young that allowed Abriana Ramirez to score from second.

Rochford blasted an RBI double to deep center field, scoring Kinman to give BU the lead again at 2-1 in the bottom of the third.  

York tied the game on an RBI single to shallow center by Brieanna Cortez in the top of the fourth frame, making it 2-2.  

The Bruins scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run double to center field by Kinman, giving BU a 6-2 advantage.

The Panthers got a run back in the top of the fifth inning on Katelin Reyes' run-scoring shot to right field that scored Maricela Romero from third. 

An RBI single to left field by Mya Montero made it 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

A two-run homer over the center field fence by Gabriela Loya and a solo shot to center by Kiana Villarreal trimmed the BU lead to 7-6 in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and third, the Panthers plated two more runs following a fielding error by Young, to take an 8-7 lead. 

Madison Machacek led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to right-center field and was sacrificed to third by Montero. O'Driscoll drove in Machacek with a single up the middle to tie the contest at 8-8 setting up Rochford's walk-off RBI double, giving the Bruins the dramatic 9-8 victory. 

Lauren Jurek (1-0) was credited with the win after replacing starter Brieanna Brock in the top of the seventh inning.  

Pearl Brumm was tagged with the loss, after giving up two runs in the bottom of the seventh.