Bruins top Warriors, complete NSAA series sweep
By: Matt Oliver
BELLEVUE, Nebraska – Bellevue University took both ends of a doubleheader to complete a four-game North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) series sweep over the Waldorf University softball team on Sunday.
The Bruins (15-13, 7-1) won by score of 8-3 and 14-6 while securing their seventh straight victory.
Senior Jessica Abrahamson led the Warriors (7-17, 3-5) with two hits while senior Kaitlin Murphy provided a double and scored two runs in Game 1. Waldorf finished with seven hits, receiving a double from senior Andrea Hartmann. Senior Maggie Eden, junior Trista Bures and sophomore Hattie Hupke contributed singles.
Erin Sharpe powered Bellevue, going 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBIs. Emily Gigax collected a pair of doubles and drove in a run. Kaitlyn Goney and Sarah Zeleny added two hits apiece as the Bruins turned in 11 hits.
Kelli Fisher (11-8) scored the win. She struck out four batters and yielded three runs (one earned) while scattering seven hits in seven innings.
Sophomore Kaylie Brindley (1-6) was saddled with the loss. She notched three strikeouts and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in six innings.
Emily Miller put Bellevue in front with an RBI double in the bottom of the first inning.
The Warriors tied the game in the top of the fourth when Murphy scored on a wild pitch.
Four hits and an error led to a three-run fifth for the Bruins. Sharpe smacked a two-run double and Alex Tooley connected on an RBI sacrifice fly.
Murphy crossed home plate on a muffed throw in the sixth and junior Ashton May knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice to trim Bellevue’s lead to 4-3.
The Bruins pulled away in their half of the sixth, generating four runs on three hits. Gigax belted an RBI double and Sharpe went deep with a three-run blast.
The Warriors stranded six base runners in the opener while Bellevue left five on base.
Abrahamson went 3-for-3 in the series finale, driving in a run and tallying two doubles. Hupke pushed in a run, going 2-for-2 at the plate. Hartmann and Bures drilled two-run doubles while senior Maggie Hawley, Murphy and May finished with singles in Waldorf’s 10-hit performance.
Miller and Tooley led the charge for Bellevue, both going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs apiece. Sharpe drove in two runs with a pair of doubles. Courtney Schendt went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI single. Sayde Woten singled and finished with two RBIs. The Bruins cranked out 13 hits.
Sharpe (4-5) claimed the win. She fanned three batters, walked four and gave up four runs on eight hits in four innings. Katie Franzen then closed out the fifth inning, relinquishing two runs on two hits.
Hartmann (1-6) was tagged with the loss. She finished with one strikeout and a walk while surrendering seven runs (four earned) on five hits in one inning.
Waldorf sophomore Briley Sullivan issued one walk and allowed one run on three hits as she worked the second inning. Hawley gave up a walk and yielded four runs on two hits in two and one-third innings of relief. Brindley relinquished two runs on three hits in the final one-third inning.
Bellevue erupted for seven runs in the first following five hits and two errors. Sharpe doubled in the game’s first run. Tooley cracked an RBI single, Woten drove in a run while reaching on an error, Schendt produced an RBI single, Gigax pushed in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Miller ripped a two-run double.
Hupke drew a bases-loaded walk in the second, bringing home Abrahamson for the Warriors’ first run.
Tooley doubled in a run during Bellevue’s half of the second, pushing the Bruins back to a seven-run advantage.
Abrahamson delivered an RBI double in the third.
Hartmann cranked a two-run double in the fourth and Bures added a two-run double in the fifth, trimming Bellevue’s lead to 8-6.
The Bruins brought the game to a close in the bottom of the fifth, scoring six runs behind five hits. Miller started the big inning with a two-run double. Sharpe followed with an RBI double, Tooley hit a two-run single and Woten ended the game with an RBI single.
The Warriors return to action on Tuesday as they take on Clarke University (16-14) in a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Peosta.