Big 5th innings lift Bruins to sweep over Doane

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

Site: Crete, Neb. (Doane College)
Game One Score: Bellevue 5, Doane 2
Game Two Score: Bellevue 11, Doane 8
Records: BU: 8-6; DC: 6-7
Next BU event: Fri.-Sat., Mar. 26-27 at Morningside Tournament

CRETE, Neb. -- Big fifth innings broke open tight games as the the Bellevue University softball team picked up a pair of non-conference road victories Tuesday, sweeping Doane College 5-2 and 11-8.

The Bruins, who haven't played since Mar. 11, improved to 8-6 on the season. Doane fell to 6-7 overall.

GAME 1
Senior Kendra Gansz' two-run double highlighted a four-run fifth inning as the Bruins broke open a tie game en route to a 5-2 win in the opener. Senior Aly Bowers struck out six Tigers and scattered seven hits while improving to 3-5 on the season.

Bellevue took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on Kim Wees' RBI single that scored Erica McCoy who reached on a Doane throwing error, stole second, and advanced to third on Jessica Guyle's groundout to the pitcher.

Doane tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, plating a run following two walks and a single up the middle by Dei Cardoza.

Consecutive singles by McCoy and Guyle to lead off the fifth, followed by Gansz' double to center field resulted in the first two runs of the inning. Gansz scored on a Tiger error and Alissa Crumley added the final run on a sacrifice fly to center field which scored Brooke Ellis from third to make it 5-1 Bruins.

The Tigers managed a run in the bottom of the sixth to close the gap to 5-2 but that was as close as Doane could get as Bellevue snapped its two-game losing steak.

Game 1 Line Score
Bellevue......001 040 0 - 5 6 0
Doane..........000 101 0 - 2 7 3
WP - Bowers (3-5)
LP - Liddell (2-3)
2B: BU - Gansz; DC - Alswager, Hochstein

GAME 2
Trailing 8-6, the Bruins erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth and Bowers shut out the Tigers over the final three innings as Bellevue pulled out the 11-8 win in a game that featured 11 hits by each team and nine total pitchers.

Senior \#Kara Erwin\# led the Bruins as the plate, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs, including a double and a triple. Senior \#Nikki Sedlak\# went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

Senior \#Kimber Markley\# picked up the win while Bowers notched her second save of the year, allowing just two hits an no runs over the final three innings.

Sedlaks two-run single put the Bruins up 2-0 in the top of the second. Bellevue led 4-0 after Erwin's two-run double in the third.

Doane responded with five runs on five hits and two BU errors in the bottom of the third to take the 5-4 lead.

Bellevue quickly answered with two runs in the fourth following consecutive RBI singles by Gansz and Ellis to give the Bruins a 6-5 lead.

A double and two triples highlight a three-run fourth inning as Doane took an 8-6 lead after four complete innings.

The Bruins batted through the lineup in the five-run fifth as Erwin recorded a triple and a single in the inning to highlight the BU offensive attack.

Game 2 Line Score
Bellevue......022 250 0 - 11 11 2
Doane.........005 300 0 - 8 11 0
WP - Markley (2-0), Save - Bowers (2)
LP - Alswager (1-2)
2B: BU - Erwin; DC - Poole, Kobza
3B: BU - Erwin; Poole, Kroese

The Bruins will travel to Sioux City, Iowa this Fri.-Sat., Mar. 26-27, to participate in the Morningside College Softball Invitational.