Bruins open new home, split with VCSU

BELLEVUE, Neb. — Bellevue University opened the Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex and launched its Frontier Conference schedule with a doubleheader split Friday, downing Valley City State University 4-1 in the opener before dropping a 6-5 decision in the nightcap. The doubleheader marked the first games ever played at the new venue and the Frontier Conference opener for both teams.

BU finished the day 10-12 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while VCSU evened its conference record at 1-1 and improved to 11-12 on the season.

Game 1: Bellevue University 4, Valley City State University 1

Unverzagt worked all seven innings and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the final frame as the Bruins opened conference play with a 4-1 victory over the Vikings.

How It Happened

BU wasted no time building a lead in the bottom of the first, sending six hitters to the plate against VCSU starter Maddy Hazelton. Marguerite Brown led the charge with a double to left field and scored on a Mariah Unverzagt RBI single. After Unverzagt swiped second, Miranda Garcia worked a walk to set the table, and Breanne McMurtry doubled to center field to plate Unverzagt and move Garcia to third. Leslie Egan's RBI groundout then scored Garcia to push the Bruins in front, 3-0.

VCSU threatened to erase the deficit in the second. Kennadi Stone singled and Kylee Banerd doubled to put runners at second and third, but after Katelyn MacNeill grounded out, Ashlyn Schumacher came in as a pinch runner for Banerd at second. Ahleeya Nicola struck out for the second out, and after Hazelton was hit by pitch to load the bases, Unverzagt induced a strikeout from pinch hitter Bailey Leroux to strand all three runners.

Bellevue extended the lead in the fifth. Kaitlyn Fisher singled to third base, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Garcia walked, McMurtry singled to left field to score Fisher and push the advantage to 4-0.

VCSU finally broke through in the seventh, when Avery Kuklinski and Pascale Kihn singled and Madden Bogenreif walked to load the bases. Stone's RBI single to left scored Kuklinski to make it 4-1, with Olivia Kalbus entering as a pinch runner for Stone. With Kihn at third, Bogenreif at second and Kalbus at first, Unverzagt struck out Banerd looking to strand all three runners and close out the complete game.

Unverzagt earned the win, improving to 4-3 with a seven-inning effort that featured eight hits allowed, one earned run, two walks and six strikeouts — punctuated by a dominant 14-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio. Hazelton absorbed the loss, falling to 5-8 after yielding four runs on six hits over six innings.

Inside the Numbers

• Bellevue: 4 runs on 6 hits, 0 errors, 6 LOB; VCSU: 1 run on 8 hits, 0 errors, 10 LOB
• VCSU went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position
• Unverzagt's 14-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio was the backbone of the shutout bid; she stranded 10 VCSU baserunners
• McMurtry went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs; Unverzagt went 2-for-3 with an RBI

Game 2: Valley City State University 6, Bellevue University 5

Three unearned runs in the fifth inning proved to be the difference as the Vikings rallied from a 3-3 tie to take the nightcap 6-5 and split the day with the Bruins.

How It Happened

BU drew first blood in the bottom of the first. Unverzagt singled up the middle, stole second, and eventually scored on McMurtry's RBI double to left field to stake the Bruins to a 1-0 lead.

VCSU answered in the second when MacNeill reached on a second-base error and scored on an Ashlyn Schumacher RBI single — an unearned run that knotted the game at 1-1.

The Bruins reclaimed the lead in the bottom half. Emma Crisman singled and advanced on a Laila Fiscus sacrifice bunt before scoring on a Brown RBI single to center, pushing BU back in front, 2-1.

The Vikings took their first lead with back-to-back extra-base hits in the third. Banerd doubled to center to score Bogenreif, and MacNeill followed with a triple to right-center to plate Banerd and put VCSU ahead, 3-2.

Bellevue drew even in the fourth. Fiscus walked, and Fisher singled before Brown singled to load the bases. Garcia then worked a bases-loaded walk to score Fiscus and tie the game at 3-3.

The decisive blow came in the top of the fifth, when three unearned runs sent VCSU ahead for good. Bogenreif led off with a walk before Carly Bertolini entered in relief of starter Ellie Zoucha. Jenna Decker then reached on the error, advancing Bogenreif to second. After Stone flied out with both runners tagging up, and Banerd grounded out to the pitcher, MacNeill delivered the turning-point blow — a two-run double to right-center that scored both Decker and Bogenreif, both unearned, to make it 5-3. The Vikings pushed the margin to 6-3 when Leroux walked with Nicola entering as a pinch runner, Kuklinski walked, and pinch hitter Anna Kowalyk drew a bases-loaded walk — scoring MacNeill, again unearned — before Schumacher came in as a pinch runner for Kowalyk, and Kihn was struck out looking to end the inning.

BU rallied for two runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to one. Brown and Unverzagt singled back-to-back, with Brown advancing to third on a wild pitch. McMurtry's RBI single to right scored Brown, and Savannah Short followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Unverzagt and make it 6-5. The Bruins had runners at second and third with two outs, but Crisman popped up to strand both.

Hazelton entered in relief of Cooper Klaahsen for the seventh and retired the Bruins in order — getting Fiscus on a flyout, Fisher on a groundout, and Brown on a flyout — to nail down the save and end BU's comeback bid.

Lindsey Dressman tossed two scoreless innings in relief for BU, holding VCSU to one hit in the sixth and seventh and giving the Bruins a chance to complete the comeback. Zoucha took the loss, falling to 2-5 after allowing four runs — two earned — on five hits over four innings. Klaahsen earned the victory, improving to 3-2 after three innings of work. Hazelton earned her first save of the season.

Inside the Numbers

• Bellevue: 5 runs on 9 hits, 2 errors, 12 LOB; VCSU: 6 runs on 7 hits, 0 errors, 9 LOB
• All three VCSU runs in the decisive fifth inning were unearned, all stemming from a second-base error
• Four of VCSU's six runs on the day were unearned
• BU went 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position; VCSU finished 3-for-10
• BU stranded 12 runners, including three in the first and three in the fourth innings

Top Performers

(Totals reflect combined numbers from both games unless otherwise noted)

Bellevue University

• Breanne McMurtry — 4-for-6, 2 2B, 4 RBIs
• Marguerite Brown — 4-for-7, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
• Mariah Unverzagt — 4-for-7, 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB; Win (4-3); 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (Game 1)

Valley City State University

• Katelyn MacNeill — 2-for-4, 3B, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 R (Game 2)
• Maddy Hazelton — L (5-8), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K (Game 1); S (1), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (Game 2)

Up Next

The two teams will complete the four-game conference series Saturday (March 21) with a noon doubleheader at the Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex.