BU opens conference play with sweep over Trojans
The Bruin softball team opened NSAA play on Friday with a doubleheader sweep over Dakota State at the NSAA Crossover Tournament being played at the Presentation College Dome. Bellevue won by scores of 3-2 and 11-2.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NSAA Standings
ABERDEEN, S.D. -- The Bellevue University softball team opened North Star Athletic Association play on Friday with a doubleheader sweep over Dakota State University at the NSAA Crossover Tournament being played at the Presentation College Dome. Bellevue won by scores of 3-2 and 11-2.
With the sweep, the Bruins improved to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in the NSAA. DSU dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Bellevue will conclude play at the Crossover on Saturday with a 10:00 a.m. doubleheader against host Presentation College.
Game 1: Bellevue 3, Dakota State 2
Erin Sharpe went 2-for-3 with a home run and also got the win in the circle as the Bruins survived, 3-2, in the opener. Emily Gigax also finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles
Sharpe launched her third home run of the season, a solo shot to center field, giving BU an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Bruins plated two more runs in the bottom of the second following a fielding error by Trojan center fielder Tatum Ronke that allowed Gigax and Sayde Woten to score.
DSU cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the third on an RBI infield single by Melissa Krapf and on a one-run double down the left-field line by Nicole Stewart.
Sharpe improved to 2-0 on the season, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in four innings. Emily Rochford picked up her first save of the season, entering the game in the top of the fifth. She scattered two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three innings of work.
Game 2: Bellevue 11, Dakota State 2
Grace Glotfelty, Sharpe and Gigax all blasted home runs and Lexi LeCalsey picked up her third win of the season as Bellevue cruised to the 11-2 victory in the nightcap. Glotfelty went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a homer. Sharpe was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, a home run, and three walks. Gigax finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run.
Faced with a full count, Glotfelty led off the game with a solo shot over the center field fence, giving BU a quick 1-0 advantage. An RBI single to shallow center by Gigax scored Maddie Siedlik from third, extending the BU lead to 2-0 in the top of the third frame.
The Trojans cut the lead in half with a solo homer to left by Nicole Stewart in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Bruins responded in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Glotfelty, extending the lead to 6-1. Woten and Michaela Miller also drove in runs in the inning.
Bellevue exploded for five insurance runs in the top of the seventh, sparked by a two-run homer by Sharpe and a solo home run by Gigax to lead off the inning, pushing the lead to 11-1.
The Trojans got one run back in the bottom of the seventh when Peyton Brokiewic scored from third off a passed ball, making the final 11-2.
LeCalsey improved to 3-0 on the season, allowing seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts in seven innings pitched.