Bruins take two from Southwestern Christian

MCAC Standings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University softball team continued its strong play, sweeping Southwestern Christian University, 10-4 and 5-1, Friday afternoon at Hall of Fame of Fame Fields.

Bellevue, which has now won seven-straight games, improved to 34-14 overall and 5-1 in the MCAC. Southwestern Christian fell to 15-26 on the season and 6-2 in league play, suffering it first conference losses of the year.

The Bruins continue conference action on Saturday (April 21) when they host a 10 a.m. doubleheader against Central Christian College at Hall of Fame Fields.

Game 1: Bellevue 10, Southwestern Christian 4
Amanda Neumann went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and four RBIs, to lead the Bruins to the 10-4 win in the opener.

Bellevue grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a one-run double by Neumann and an RBI single by Kelsie Bridgeford.

The Bruins added three runs on a pair of Eagle fielding errors in the bottom of the third to push the BU lead to 5-0.

Consecutive doubles by Crystal Houchins and Wynter Wind drove in three runs to draw the Eagles to within two at 5-3 in the top of the fourth. 

A three-run homer by Neumann and RBI singles by Kristin Burhenne and Shelby Kindelin expanded the Bruin advantage to 10-3 in the bottom of the sixth.

The Eagles added a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Hilary Kuestersteffen to make the final score 10-4.

Kindelin picked up the win, improving to 7-4 on the season, allowing four runs on five hits with six strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.

Southwestern Christian...000 300 1 - 4 9 2
Bellevue.............................203 005 x - 10 12 1
W: Neumann (7-4)
L: Gaines (7-12)
2B: BU, Neumann, Ellis; SC, Kuestersteff, Daniel, Houchins 2, Wind, Payne
3B: BU, Kindelin
HR: BU, Neumann

Game 2: Bellevue 5, Southwestern Christian 1
The Bruins scored four runs on back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning and used a strong pitching performance by freshman Taylor Mohler to record the 5-1 win in the nightcap.

Mohler improved to 15-5 on the season, allowing three hits and one unearned run, while striking out eight batters in seven innings. 

An RBI single by Kindelin gave BU a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the second inning.

A three-run homer by Brooke Ellis and a solo shot by Bridgeford pushed the Bruin lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

The Eagles scored on a throwing error by Mohler in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 5-1.

Southwestern Christian...000 010 0 - 1 3 2
Bellevue.............................010 400 x - 5 9 1
W: Mohler (15-5)
L: Kuestersteffen (7-9)
HR: BU, Ellis, Bridgeford