BU opens season with three wins at SCS NAIA Invitational

OPSU Box Score
SAGU Box Score
Friends Box Score

ALLEN, TX -- The Bellevue University softball team opened the 2022 season with three wins Friday at the Southern Collegiate Sports NAIA Invitational in Allen, Texas, outscoring their opponents 20-4 on the day.

The Bruins opened the day with a 7-2 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State. BU followed that up with a 5-2 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University, before wrapping up the day with an 8-0 shutout in six innings over Friends University.  

On the day, the Bruins belted 18 hits, including nine doubles, a triple, and four home runs.  

Bellevue will conclude action in the tournament on Saturday when they face fourth-ranked Oklahoma City University at 10 a.m. and No. 6-ranked Columbia College at 12:15 p.m. 

Bellevue 7, Oklahoma Panhandle State 2

The Bruins exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth to overcome a 2-1 deficit, en route to the 7-2 victory in the opener. Maricela Egan and Ashley Young both slammed home runs in the victory. 

OPSU took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, scoring on an error by BU shortstop Alexa Rose, to take a 1-0 advantage. 

The Bruins tied the contest in the top of the fourth on Young's solo homer to center field. 

An RBI single to right field by Kenzie Monroe helped the Aggies regain the lead at 2-1 in the bottom half of the fourth. 

The five-run fifth inning was sparked by Egan's three-run blast over the right-field fence. BU also scored on an RBI double to right field by Reese Floro and on a run-scoring single to right field by Allison O'Driscoll, extending the BU advantage to 6-2. 

The Bruins added an insurance run in the top of the sixth on Egan's RBI single to right field, increasing the margin to 7-2. 

Egan finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a home run. 

Cory Carrillo (1-0) earned the win, scattering three hits with two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, in seven-complete innings of work.  

Bellevue 5, Southwestern Assemblies of God 2

The Bruins broke a 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs while posting the 5-2 victory over the Lions. 

BU scored in the bottom of the first on a fielding error by SAGU left fielder Alana Ortega, to take an early 1-0 lead. 

The Lions took the lead at 2-1 in top of the third, scoring on an RBI single to left field by Illeana Salinas and on a fielder's choice RBI by Brooke Kinnibrugh.

The Bruins tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on Sami Reding's RBI single to center field that plated Lauren Jurek, who led off the inning with a double to deep center field. 

Back-to-back doubles by Young and Floro pushed the Bruins ahead 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth. 

Savannah Gunn, who entered the game in the top of the sixth, earned the win, allowing just two hits with one strikeout in the final two innings of the contest.  

Bellevue 8, Friends 0 (6 innings)

The Bruins got out of the gates quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer to right field by Katie Cunningham in her first collegiate at-bat.

An RBI triple to left field by Liana McMurtry increased the BU advantage to 5-0 in the bottom of the third inning.  

A two-run homer to right-center field by Reese Floro increased the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the sixth frame and back-to back doubles by Jurek and Allison O'Driscoll ended the game at 8-0.

Cunningham earned the win in the circle, scattering two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings of work.