Bellevue wins 2-of-3 at Spring Games
Bellevue defeated Hannibal-LaGrange, 8-0, in the opener, followed by a 3-2 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene, and concluding with a 7-3 with over Bethel (Ind.).
Hannibal-LaGrange Box Score
Mount Vernon Nazarene Box Score
Bethel (Ind.) Box Score
CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Bellevue University softball team won 2-of-3 games on Monday in the Bruins' second day of competition at the Spring Games. Bellevue defeated Hannibal-LaGrange, 8-0, in the opener, followed by a 3-2 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene, and concluding with a 7-3 with over Bethel (Ind.).
The Bruins (9-4) will be off on Tuesday, before resuming action on Wednesday at the Spring Games with an 8 a.m. contest against Trinity International and a 10:30 a.m. game versus Judson (Ill.).
Bellevue 8, Hannibal-LaGrange 0 (6 innings)
Erin Sharpe threw her third career no-hitter and the Bruins got home runs from Grace Glotfelty and Kayla Young as BU opened the day with an 8-0 shutout in six innings over Hannibal-LaGrange.
After a scoreless first three innings, the Bruins scored eight runs in the fourth, fifth and six innings en route to the eight-run victory. Sharpe's RBI single to center field scored the games' first run and Emily Gigax' sacrifice fly to center field scored Sharpe from third to give BU a 2-0 advantage in the top of the fourth inning.
An RBI double by Kaitlyn Kinman and a three-run homer by Young increased the Bruin lead to 6-0 in the fifth frame.
Bellevue made it 8-0 in the top of the sixth on Glotfelty's two-run homer to left field.
Sharpe improved to 4-0 on the season with the no-hitter. She struck out six and walked one in six complete innings. Sharpe and Glotfelty both collected three hits in the victory.
Mount Vernon Nazarene 3, Bellevue 2
Despite outhitting MVNU 11-6, the Bruins were plagued by three fielding errors as the Cougars edged BU, 3-2, in the second contest of the day.
The Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth, scoring on a bases-loaded hit batsman and on an RBI single to left field by Anna Boue.
A sacrifice fly to left field by Gigax, her second of the day, sliced the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth. The Cougars responded in the top of the fifth, scoring on an RBI double to left field by pitcher Jennifer Kurelic to extend the MVNU advantage to 3-1.
The Bruins made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, scoring on an RBI infield single by Sarah Zeleny to draw BU to within a run. Kurelic, however, secured the win by inducing a fly out to right field by Sharpe to end the game, giving the Cougars the 3-2 victory.
Kurelic improved to 2-1 on the season, allowing 11 hits, with six strikeouts and no walks in seven innings in the circle. Lexi LeCalsey (4-3) suffered the loss, giving up one earned run on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in seven innings of work.
Bellevue 7, Bethel (Ind.) 3
The Bruins got out of the gate quickly as Sharpe launched a two-run homer to right-center field in the top of the first inning, giving BU an early 2-0 lead. The Pilots quickly responded in the bottom half of the first, scoring on an RBI single by Hunter Brummett to slice the deficit to 2-1.
Bethel tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly to right field by pitcher Rachel Najdek that scored Shelby Prows from third.
The Pilots gained the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the third when Brummett scored off a passed ball from BU catcher Kayla Lehigh.
Alex Tooley's line-drive RBI single to left field scored Maddie Siedlik from second, tying the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth frame and the Bruins extended the lead to 5-3 later in the inning on a two-run fielding error by Pilot second baseman Karis Brewer.
Emily Mendick scored from third on a wild pitch to push the margin to 6-3 in the top of the fifth.
Tooley's bases-loaded suicide squeeze scored Emily Gigax from third giving the Bruins a 7-3 cushion in the top of the seventh frame.
LeCalsey earned the win in relief, improving to 5-4 on the season. She allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out four batters in the final six innings of the contest.