Bellevue College baseball continued their winning trend this weekend, taking two of three in a shortened series as Saturday’s second game was postponed due to darkness. The Bulldogs took the rain-delayed opener 6-5 on Saturday March 7 before splitting on Sunday by scores of 5-1 and 7-3.
In the opener, the Bulldogs gave up an early 1-0 lead before fighting back to take a 3-1 lead on RBI singles by Riley Gill and Nick Hovland. The Titans scored 2 in the bottom of the fifth to tie it back up at 3-3. Interestingly, at the moment the Titans tied the game, TCC Head Coach Ryan Mummert sent his players onto the field and stopped the game to apply the field tarp. The sudden move without proper consultation with umpire-in-chief Erik Nilson left him awestruck as the game was delayed for an hour, after being initially delayed an hour at the start of the game. Hovland again delivered in the ninth with an RBI single, stole second and then scored on an error to give BC a 6-4 lead. The Titans would get one in the bottom of the ninth off relief pitcher Marques Titialii but was not enough as Bellevue endured seven hours at Tacoma to salvage one win. Game two, with only 30 minutes of daylight remaining, was postponed and may be made up a single game later in the season. Hovland ended the game 3-for-5.
On Sunday, Hovland continued his hitting with another three hits and was joined by Garrett Gants who went 3-for-4 with 3 doubles. The top four in the lineup, TreSean Steele, Dac Archer, Hovland, and Gants accounted for 9 of the 10 Bulldog hits in the win. Nate Butcher tossed four shutout innings while Eric Anderson did not give up a hit, run, or walk while striking out four in the final two innings. In game two, control problems on the mound and defense plagued Bellevue as TCC scored 3 runs in back-to-back innings which was too much for Bellevue’s offense to overcome. In the first five innings, Bellevue committed four errors and walked seven batters to give Tacoma enough momentum for their lone win in the series. Hovland, once again, led Bellevue with 2 hits.
The Bulldogs are now 8-4 and have a quick turnaround with an early Friday departure to Eugene, OR for a four-game series against Lane. The games will be played at a neutral site, PK Park on the University of Oregon campus. Game times for the doubleheaders are 2:30 p.m. on Friday and 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Last Updated March 9, 2020
