Monday Updates…
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU) – JT Patterson hit a 3-run home run and a grand slam Monday afternoon, powering Bellevue University to a 26-5 victory over Valley City State in the North Star Baseball Tournament championship game.
Patterson’s 3-run bomb in the fourth inning put the Bruins ahead 7-4, and his grand slam in the fifth inning broke the game wide open – extending the lead to 14-5 as top-seeded Bellevue rolled to the conference title Monday at Valley City’s Charlie Brown Memorial Baseball Field. The Bruin offense had been quiet all tournament, averaged just six runs per game, but erupted for 23 hits in the championship game.
Bellevue (43-14) extends its winning streak to 24 games and earns the North Star’s automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round from May 13-16. The No. 21-ranked Bruins will learn their opponent and location in the opening round later this week.
Valley City State ends its season with a 21-24 overall record.
Valley City State struck first with a single run in the top of the second inning, recording three straight one-out singles. Hits by Kody Lane and Sal Avila put runners on first and third, and then Nathan Demarais blooped a soft single into center field to score Lane for a 1-0 lead. Bellevue starter Anthony Alvarado limited the damage with a strikeout for the second out, and then Avila was thrown out trying to steal third base.
The Bruins answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, both of which were unearned after a pair of Viking errors. Stuart Eurich delivered the big blow with a two-out RBI triple to right field, scoring Austin Alexander to tie the game at 1-1. Eurich then scored on an error to put the Bruins ahead 2-1.
The Vikings regained the lead in the third inning after two hits and a walk loaded the bases with two outs. Kody Lane then delivered a bases-clearing triple deep down the right-field line, putting the Vikings ahead 4-2.
The Bruins tied the game right back in the bottom half of the inning. Two straight two-out hits and a walk loaded the bases and then Austin Alexander singled up the middle, scoring Tommy Hansen and Cody Banks to tie the game. VCSU starter Jesse Johnson prevented further damage with a strikeout to end the inning.
Bellevue’s JT Patterson gave the Bruins the lead for good with his 23rd home run of the season, blasting a fourth-inning pitch over the right-field fence for three runs and a 7-4 lead.
Jorun Hamre‘s RBI single in the top of the fifth got one back for the Vikings, but Bellevue broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bruins erupted for 10 runs, including a grand slam by Patterson, as they opened up a 17-5 lead after five innings.
Anthony Alvarado picked up the win for Bellevue University, pitching eight innings and scattering 10 hits and five runs. Alvarado walked just one and struck out five.
VCSU starter Jesse Johnson took the loss, going four innings and allowing nine hits and six earned runs. He walked one and struck out three.
Patterson was 3-for-6 with three runs and seven RBIs to lead Bellevue’s offense. Watara Kazama went 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs, and Stuart Eurich was 2-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs. Austin Alexander had three hits and two RBIs, while Riley Baasch and Kory Longaker each had two hits and two RBIs. The Bruins totaled 23 hits in the victory.
Kody Lane led the Viking offense, going 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Jorun Hamre was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI, and Christian Peery finished 3-for-5 at the plate. VCSU had 10 total hits.
Jamestown – The Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament baseball championship game Tuesday, May 7, between the University of Jamestown and Concordia University (Neb.) has been moved, due to weather concerns in Seward, Nebraska the home of Concordia University.
The game will be played in Yankton, SD at 1 p.m.
The single, nine-inning baseball game will determine the conference tournament champion.
Jamestown (CSi) Over the weekend Jamestown Jimmies Baseball and Softball and Valley City State Baseball and Softball teams were in Tournament action.
(uj.edu) At Jack Brown Stadium,Tanner Roundy (SR/Henderson, NV)’s grand slam in the top of the eighth capped off a five-run rally as the University of Jamestown baseball team defeated Northwestern (Iowa) 9-6 Saturday afternoon at Jack Brown Stadium.
The Jimmies (34-16) won the Jamestown bracket of the GPAC Baseball Postseason Tournament and will advance to face Concordia (Neb.) Tuesday night in Seward, Neb., for the conference championship. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Meanwhile,in Sioux City, Iowa, despite losing 13-0 in five innings in the opener, the Jimmie softball team responded in game two with a 7-5 victory to force a winner-take-all third game. In the finale, Saturday, Morningside scored twice in the bottom of the fifth and hold on for a 3-1 win. The Mustangs (30-9) earn the GPAC’s second automatic qualifying bid to the NAIA National Championship, while the Jimmies most likely have their season end with a record of 30-21.
(VCSU) In Valley City, Waldorf’s Brett Stenlund hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning Saturday, giving the Warriors a three-run lead as they held off Valley City State at the North Star Baseball Championships. The Warriors scored three runs in the first inning and made it hold up – getting some breathing room with Stenlund’s late blast – as they defeated the Vikings 5-3 in a winner’s bracket game.
Valley City State (19-23) dropped into a loser-out game against Mayville State University on Sunday. Valley City State University scored 12 early runs Sunday as the Vikings eliminated Mayville State from the North Star Baseball Championships with a 13-2 Viking victory. Valley City State pounded out 10 hits and 12 runs through the first four innings, building a 12-0 lead in the loser-out game at Charlie Brown Memorial Baseball Field in Valley City. The game ended after seven innings due to the 10-run rule. Valley City State advanced to play Waldorf University in a loser-out game Sunday .
The Vikings win Game Two,10-7, and advance to the NSAA Tournament
Championship round Monday at 11-a.m. in Valley City. The Vikings must win 2 games.
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU) – Jacob Rosales pitched a complete game shutout and the Viking offense put up double-digit runs for the second straight game Sunday as Valley City State played its way into the NSAA Baseball Tournament Championship Game.
The Vikings scored two runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and five more in the seventh inning as they defeated Waldorf University 10-0 in a loser-out game Sunday evening. It was the second straight elimination game victory for the Vikings, who defeated Mayville State 13-2 earlier on Sunday.
No. 3 seed Valley City State (21-23) will take its red-hot bats to play top seed Bellevue University in the NSAA Championship Game on Monday at 11 a.m. It will mark the first time the Vikings have played in the conference tournament championship since the 2001 season.
Bellevue, which is undefeated, would need to be beaten twice in Monday’s championship. If needed, the second championship game will be played at 2 p.m. Monday. The tournament champion earns the North Star’s automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.
Waldorf University, the No. 2 seed, is eliminated from the tournament and ends its season with a 30-22 overall record.
After losing 5-3 to Waldorf on Saturday night, Valley City State responded with back-to-back elimination game victories on Sunday – outscoring the opponents 23-2 and ending both games after seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
Waldorf threatened to strike right away in the top of the first inning. VCSU starter Jacob Rosales labored early, hitting a batter and walking two to load the bases, but then struck out Matthew Garcia on three pitches to end the inning. From there, Rosales was locked in as he set down 12 of the next 13 batters he faced, including 10 in a row.
Waldorf starter Mac Pearson was just as good for the Warriors early, allowing only two hits through the first four innings.
In the fifth inning though, the Vikings finally broke through. Sal Avila deposited the first pitch of the inning over the wall in right-center, giving VCSU a 1-0 lead with his solo home run. Nathan Demarais and Austin Smith followed with singles, and Christian Peery was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Grant Wehseler followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Pearson then got a groundout and a pop out to limit the damage to two runs.
Waldorf threatened with two singles in the top of the sixth, but Rosales worked out of the one-out jam with a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.
The Vikings added three more runs in the sixth inning thanks to four hit batters by Waldorf reliever Andrew Benns. With two runners on, Nathan Demarais was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Austin Smith followed with an RBI groundout to make it 3-0. Christian Peery was hit by a pitch for the third time in the game and the sixth time in the tournament, loading the bases again with two outs. Benns then hit both Grant Wehseler and Brady Smith, scoring two more runs and putting the Vikings ahead 5-0.
Valley City State struck the final blow in the bottom of the seventh inning. Austin Smith delivered a bases-loaded triple to make it 8-0, and Aiden Brook later singled up the middle to score the 10th run and end the game after seven innings.
Rosales pitched all seven innings for the win, giving up just five hits in the shutout – all of them singles. He walked two and struck out six.
The Vikings collected 10 total hits, including three by Avila who went 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs, a double and a home run. Austin Smith was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Five other Vikings had one hit each and Grant Wehseler drove in two more runs – giving him a tournament-high 10 RBIs.
Peery was 1-for-2 at the plate and was hit three times. Peery is now batting .500 for the tournament (6-12) and has a .714 on-base percentage after drawing three walks and being hit six times so far in four games.
Pearson took the loss for Waldorf, despite a solid start. Pearson allowed five hits and two runs over five innings of work.
Waldorf’s five hits came from five different players.
(VCSU) Vikings Softball, continued their historic season Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 7-0 shutout victory over No. 2 seed Bellevue (Neb.) to complete the North Star Athletic Association Softball Tournament Championship Best-of-3 series sweep at VCSU Softball Complex.
The Vikings, which raised their overall record to 51-3, extended their winning streak to 18 games. VCSU earned the NSAA’s automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round on May 13-15. It will be VCSU’s first appearance in the national tournament since 2006.
