Bruins down Ottawa (AZ), Gustavus Adolphus in Tucson
Bellevue 8, Ottawa (Ariz.) 3 Bellevue 5, Gustavus Adolphus 2
Ottawa (Ariz.) Box Score
Gustavus Adolphus Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Bellevue University softball team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday at the Tucson Invitational Games, downing Ottawa (Ariz.) University, 8-3 in the opener, and Gustavus Adolphus College, 5-2 in the nightcap.
The two victories improved the Bruins to 17-9 on the season.
Bellevue will conclude the tournament with an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Sunday against Valley City State University.
Bellevue 8, Ottawa (Ariz.) 3
The Bruins pounded out 12 hits and used the solid pitching combination of Emily Rochford and Erin Sharpe to earn the 8-3 victory over Ottawa (Ariz.) in the opening game of the day.
Grace Glotfelty led the BU offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Maricela Egan finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs. Sharpe was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
The Bruins started out the game with four-straight singles to take a 2-0 lead and expanded the margin to 4-0 later in the same inning with an RBI triple to right field by Emily Gigax and an RBI double to right by Egan. BU collected six hits in the opening frame.
An RBI single to center field by Emily Stebbins cut the BU lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third.
A two-run double to left field by Glotfelty and an RBI double to left field by Sharpe extended the Bruin advantage to 7-1 in the top of the fourth.
Egan's second RBI double of the game gave BU an 8-1 edge in the top of the fifth inning.
After designated player Vanessa Rodarte blasted a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-3, Rochford retired three of the next four batters to secure the five-run victory for the Bruins.
Rochford (1-3) earned her first victory of the season, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts in five innings of work.
Bellevue 5, Gustavus Adolphus 2
The Bruins used timely hitting from the top four batters in the lineup and Lexi LeCalsey picked up her ninth victory of the season as BU battled to a 5-2 win over Gustavus Adolphus in the nightcap.
The Gusties grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single to center field by Jessica Neuman that scored Emily Carlson from third.
Sharpe blasted her team-leading ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the center-field fence in the top of the fourth inning, to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
GAC tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Carlson drilled a solo homer to left field on a full count.
After an intentional walk to Sharpe in the top of the sixth, Kaitlyn Kinman's RBI double to center field gave BU a 3-2 advantage.
A run-scoring double by Glotfelty and an RBI single by Zeleny gave the Bruins a 5-2 cushion in the top of the seventh and LeCalsey allowed just one baserunner in the bottom of the seventh to earn the victory.
LeCalsey (9-5) scattered five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in seven innings in the circle.