Park upsets Bruins, 5-2

BELLEVUE, Neb. –  Timely hitting by second-seeded Park University allowed the Pirates to score a 5-2 victory over top-seeded Bellevue University Thursday night in the winner’s bracket of the 2009 Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at Sigler Field.

The Bruins, who out-hit Park 9-8 in the game, fell to 27-12 after the loss, ending BU's seven-game winning streak. Bellevue will play Peru State on Friday at 12 p.m. in an elimination game. Park improved to 25-10, advancing to the championship game at 2:30 p.m.

Park took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a pair of singles and a BU passed ball.

The Pirate’s Jen Cardell led off the second inning with a home run to left center field to extend the Park lead to 2-0 after two innings.

Jordan Ellis, the 2009 MCAC Player of the Year, hit a solo home run to center in the top of the fourth inning to slice the Pirate lead in half at 2-1.

Kady Revis’ blast over the left field fence knotted the game at 2-2 in the fifth.

Three-straight singles and a two-run double by designated player Jamie Garman helped Park regain the lead for good at 5-2 after five innings.

Bellevue threatened in the top of the sixth, but Park’s Justine Riner, the MCAC Freshman of the Year, got the Pirates out of a bases-loaded jam.