BELLEVUE, NEB. – Nationally-ranked Bellevue University swept the Valley City State baseball team during a doubleheader Saturday in Nebraska.
 
The No. 15-ranked Bruins pounded out 19 hits and three home runs in game one as they won 18-2. In game two, the Bruins hit three more home runs en route to a 9-2 victory.
 
Valley City State drops to 8-17 overall and 0-4 to start conference play. The Bruins improve to 15-9 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
 
Up next: The Vikings are currently scheduled to host Viterbo University on Friday and Saturday. Those games are likely to be moved to a different location due to cold temperatures forecast in Valley City. A final announcement about the games will come early in the week.
 
Game 1: Bellevue 18, VCSU 2
The Bruins scored their 18 runs on 19 total hits in Saturday’s opener. VCSU managed five hits and two runs in the loss.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Bruins broke the game open quickly with seven runs in the second inning and four more runs in the bottom of the third.
 
The Vikings scored both of their runs in the fifth inning, getting an RBI double by Daegen Morcom and a sacrifice fly from Tory Nelson.
 
Morcom had a 2-for-3 day to lead the Vikings. Jamel Chabot, Justin Rogers and Cam Pero each had a hit as well.
 
Christopher Dietrich took the loss, pitching into the third inning for VCSU and allowing 10 runs. Jay Mendez, Brendan Berk and Keeton Clark all pitched in relief.
 
Game 2: Bellevue 9, VCSU 2
Bellevue hit a pair of 2-run home runs in the bottom of the first inning, taking an early 4-0 lead en route to the series sweep.
 
The Vikings pushed across single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but were held to four hits in the loss – including one each by Jamel Chabot, Cam Pero, Kellen Scruggs and Daegen Morcom.
 
Takao Cookson took the loss for VCSU, giving up four hits and four runs on the mound. Connor Nelson, Jacob Marx, Riley Resnick and Eli Chabot all pitched in relief.