BULLDOGS SPLIT FINAL SERIES; DOUGLAS PLAYS SPOILER TO BELLEVUE
May 13, 2008

Bulldog sophomore Will Campbell, bound for the University of Kentucky, hit three doubles and a homerun in Bellevue's series against Douglas, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs' season ended with a 2-2 split.

In a tie for third place with Skagit Valley going into the final weekend of regular season play, Bellevue could manage only a split with Douglas College while Skagit vaulted past the Bulldogs with a sweep of Shoreline.  Skagit will move on to play second place Everett Community College next weekend to decide who gets the second seed to the NWAACC tournament, while Bellevue’s season now comes to an end.

Bellevue looked to have gotten off to a good starting taking down Douglas 9-1 in game one on May 10.  Bellevue went to work early scoring five runs off of Douglas’ starter Jordan Padrinao.  In the top of the first, freshman second baseman Keegan Acker led off with a single.  Freshman short stop Hunter Beaty reached first by getting hit by a pitch.  Sophomore left fielder Kyle Laukala then followed with a sacrifice bunt.  University of Kentucky bound Will Campbell then drilled a clutch two run double scoring both Acker and Beaty.  Sophomore Kyle Decater hit a single to move Campbell over to third.  After a RBI groundout by Ryan Shelton, freshman Riley Tompkins drove home Decater with an RBI double.  Bellevue got one more run from a run scoring single by freshman catcher Gio Learned before the side was retired.  

Bellevue then went on to score two more in the second, one in the fourth, and one in the seventh.  Learned led the way for the Bulldogs with three hits and two RBIs.  Campbell and Decater also added two hits a piece for the Bulldogs including Campbell’s fourth homerun of the season. 

Freshman pitcher Kaylor Hasbargen picked up his second win of the season throwing four shutout innings of relief.  He allowed just 2 hits while striking out five and walking two batters.  Sophomore starter Brad Reid threw three innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out four.

In game two, the bats came alive again, scoring seven runs in the top of the fifth to beat Douglas 10-2.  Campbell got the rally started in the fifth with his one out double. Tompkins then followed with a big two run homerun.  After singles by both Ryan Shelton and Lucas Shaw, Connor Rankin reached on a throwing error by third basemen John MacNeil, scoring Shelton.  Sophomore left fielder Nick Johnson followed with a two run double.  Bellevue then added two more in the inning from Beaty’s second homerun of the season.

Eight Bellevue batters finished with multiple hits, led by Shaw and Johnson’s three hits a piece.  Tompkins added five RBIs for the Bulldogs, while the team recorded 17 hits in game two.

Starting pitcher Stephen Foster picked up his fourth win of the season going five innings allowing two runs on three hits, five walks, and striking out eight.  Freshman Kyle Pearson threw four shut out innings of relief for Bellevue, giving up two hits and two walks, while striking out two batters.

In game three, Douglas scored six runs in the top of the seventh in a seven inning game, overwhelming BCC by a score of 11-5.  Douglas also scored three runs in the second and two in the sixth and never surrendered their lead after the second inning.

Bellevue’s Beaty, Tompkins, and Keegan Acker had two hits a piece.  Acker and Will Campbell each added a double for the Bulldogs.

It was a rough day on the mound for Bellevue’s pitchers.  Freshman starter Cody Goodfellow suffered his third loss of the season, going five and one third innings, allowing five runs on four hits and six walks while striking out two.  Reliever Chad Mautner threw the final inning and two-thirds, allowing six runs, three earned, on five hits and two walks.

In game four of the series, Douglas forced a split scoring 3 runs in the second, one in the fifth, and three more in sixth to win 7-4.  Sophomore starter Ryan Davis suffered his fourth loss of the season, going five and one third innings, allowing seven runs, five earned on hits and five walks, while striking out three.  Brent Miller relieved Davis throwing the final three and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs or hits, while striking out three and walking four batters.

Beaty led the Bulldogs with three hits, a double, and two RBI, while Shelton and Rankin added two hits apiece.  For the series, Beaty led the way for the Bulldogs with 8 hits, 4 RBI, a double and a home run.  Bellevue’s most consistent hitter, he ended the season with a team high .351 batting average. 

Bellevue ends the season with a 26-18 overall record and 14-10 mark in league play.  Ultimately, late struggles doomed BCC’s hopes of a repeat of last season’s NWAACC Championship run.  Considered contenders in the North all season, the Bulldogs were never lower than third in the league standings until the final day of the season.