BU drops 10-8 decision to No. 25 Evangel, blanks MACU in five
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Bellevue University split its opening day Friday at the NAIA Softball Invitational at FireLake Ball Fields, falling 10-8 to No. 25 Evangel University before bouncing back with a 10-0, five-inning win over Mid-America Christian University. The Bruins are 2-4 after the day.
Senior Emma Crisman went 4-for-5 with a double, her first career home run, four runs, and four RBIs in the two games. Bellevue rallied for eight runs over the final two innings against Evangel, then produced 10 runs on 13 hits in the nightcap.
Game 1: Evangel 10, Bellevue University 8
Evangel took an 8-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth before Bellevue scored four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate. Kaitlyn Fisher went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and four RBIs, while Marguerite Brown finished 2-for-5 with a two-RBI double. Bellevue drew 11 walks in the game.
Ellie Zoucha took the loss after working 5 2/3 innings. Carly Bertolini recorded the final out of the sixth, and Abby Dworak pitched the seventh.
How It Happened
Top 1st: Evangel scored on Natalie Morgan's RBI groundout (Evangel 1-0).
Top 3rd: Morgan singled home a run (Evangel 2-0), then Audrey Carlton doubled in two runs (Evangel 4-0).
Top 5th: Carlton homered (Evangel 5-0), and Hailey Shubert doubled in a run (Evangel 6-0).
Top 6th: Morgan drove in a run on a fielder's choice (Evangel 7-0), and Carlton added an RBI groundout (Evangel 8-0).
Bottom 6th: Crisman doubled and later scored on Fisher's three-run homer, with Crisman's RBI single in the inning accounting for Bellevue's first run (Evangel 8-4).
Top 7th: Danielle Cutbirth lifted a sacrifice fly (Evangel 9-4), and Kenna Mayfield singled in a run (Evangel 10-4).
Bottom 7th: Laila Fiscus drew a bases-loaded walk (Evangel 10-5), Fisher walked to force in a run (Evangel 10-6), and Brown doubled in two runs (Evangel 10-8).
Top Performers
Bellevue University
Kaitlyn Fisher: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, BB
Marguerite Brown: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Emma Crisman: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB
Mariah Unverzagt: 4 BB, 2 R
Evangel University
Audrey Carlton: 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI
Hailey Shubert: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
Natalie Morgan: 1-for-4, 3 RBI
Inside the Numbers
Evangel: 10 runs on 14 hits, 0 errors; Bellevue: 8 runs on 7 hits, 0 errors.
Bellevue drew 11 walks and left 10 on base.
The Bruins went 5-for-18 with runners in scoring position; Evangel finished 3-for-14.
Game 2: Bellevue University 10, Mid-America Christian 0 (5 innings)
Bellevue scored once in the first, added five in the third, and tacked on four more in the fifth to secure the five-inning shutout. Crisman went 2-for-2 with a double and a two-run home run — the first of her career — while Fisher finished 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Mariah Unverzagt tripled in a run during the five-run third and scored twice.
Lindsey Dressman earned the win, working 3.0 innings, and Bertolini tossed the final 2.0 innings in relief as the Bruins limited Mid-America Christian to four hits.
How It Happened
Top 1st: Unverzagt lined an RBI single to right (BU 1-0).
Top 3rd: Unverzagt tripled down the line to bring home a run (BU 2-0), Daniela Ramirez followed with an RBI double (BU 3-0), Savannah Short punched an RBI single up the middle (BU 4-0), and Crisman launched a two-run homer (BU 6-0).
Top 5th: Crisman laced an RBI double (BU 7-0), Fiscus ripped a two-run single (BU 9-0), and Fisher doubled to left-center to drive in a run (BU 10-0).
Top Performers
Bellevue University
Emma Crisman: 2-for-2, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Kaitlyn Fisher: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
Mariah Unverzagt: 2-for-3, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Daniela Ramirez: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Lindsey Dressman: W, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Carly Bertolini: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Mid-America Christian University
Kayten Herman: 2-for-2, BB
Inside the Numbers
Bellevue: 10 runs on 13 hits, 0 errors; Mid-America Christian: 0 runs on 4 hits, 0 errors.
Bellevue went 8-for-11 with runners in scoring position; Mid-America Christian went 0-for-6.
Up Next
Bellevue University continues play at the NAIA Softball Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 21, facing (RV) Friends and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at FireLake Ball Fields in Shawnee, Okla.