Bruins sweep Peru State to open four-game set

PERU, Neb. -- Bruin pitching allowed just one run on 12 hits across two games as the Bellevue University baseball team secured a double-header sweep of Peru State College on Friday afternoon to kick off a four-game weekend series.

Bellevue used a three-run fifth inning rally to mount a 6-1 comeback victory in the opener and set the tone in the opening inning en route to a 12-0 win in game two.

Scott Hansen finished the day 5-for-8 with a double, triple, home run, seven RBI, and three runs scored.

With the twin-bill sweep, the Bruins improve to 12-10 while the losses dropped the Bobcats dropping to 9-16 overall.

Game One: BU 6, PSC 1

Parker McMan (3-1) struck out nine and did not issue a walk in a complete game victory in the opener, scattering eight hits and allowing just a first inning run.

Kevin Diaz (1-5) allowed six runs on seven hits as he want the distance in the loss. Two of the runs were charged as unearned and he struck out five against two walks.

Josh Schaller staked the host Bobcats to an early 1-0 with his one-out single in the bottom of the first to plate Antonio Benitez with the game's first run.

Diaz kept the Bruins in check, not allowing a base-runner until Scott Hansen led off the fourth with a double but he was stranded at third following a fly ball and consecutive ground outs as Diaz pitched his way out of trouble.

McMan worked around a leadoff single in the home half of the inning and Bellevue quickly turned the game around in the fifth.

Anthony Lind walked to lead off the frame before Ayden Makarus launched his first home run of the season for a 2-1 BU lead. Following a walk to Balas Buckmaster and a pair of ground balls, Hansen singled home Buckmaster to double the Bruin lead.

Peru State loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth but McMan struck out Gustavo Rivera before inducing a ground ball double play off the bat of Schaller to keep Bellevue in front.

Elijah Tanner extended the Bruin lead in the seventh when Buckmaster scored on a base hit and subsequent error. With two outs, Hansen tripled home Tanner before scoring himself on a miscue.

McMan worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.

Game Two: BU 12, PSC 0

Logan Grant got the Bruins off to a fast start in game two, belting his seventh home run of the season in the top of the first, a two-run shot.

That would be more than enough offense in support of Kenji Miller (4-0) who struck out 10 and walked just one in a four-hit shutout.

Elijah Tanner scored on a passed ball to extended the lead in the second.

Bellevue broke the game open in the fourth, scoring four times. Scott Hansen delivered a two-run single, Jake Lacey provided a sac fly, and Steven Elsner scored on a double steal attempt as BU's lead stretched to 7-0.

A three-run bomb from Hansen, his first of the season, gave the Bruins a 10-0 lead in the sixth. Ayden Makarus singled home two more runs as the advantage swelled to 12-0.

Casey Ogden (1-5) suffered the loss on the hill for Peru State. He was charged with allowing 10 runs – eight earned – on 12 hits and struck out five.

Up next:

Bellevue is scheduled to host Peru State tomorrow for a 1 p.m. double-header from John Stella Field at Brown Park.