OMAHA, Neb. -- The league-leading Bellevue University softball team ran its winning streak to 10 games and secured a four-game series sweep over Viterbo University with a pair of wins over the V-Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Roy Smith Field. The Bruins won by scores 11-1 (5 innings) and 6-1.
With the two wins, the Bruins improved to 18-8 on the season and 4-0 in the NSAA. Viterbo fell to 1-16 overall and 0-4 in league play.
Bellevue registered 25 hits in the sweep, including 13 extra-base hits.
Lauren Jurek drove in seven runs on the day and picked up the win in the nightcap.
Game 1: Bellevue 11, Viterbo 1 (5 innings)
The Bruins pounded out 15 hits and rode the solid pitching effort of Katie Cunningham en route to the 11-1 victory in the opener.
Five Bruins collected multiple hits in the victory, led by Jurek, who went 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, and four RBIs.
The Bruins got RBI doubles by Jurek, Maricela Egan, and Ashley Young to take an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as BU registered five hits in the opening frame.
Emily Rochford led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot over the left-field fence to increase the advantage to 4-0. The Bruins added three more runs later in the inning with an RBI single to center by Jurek and on RBI doubles to center by Egan and Allison O'Driscoll, pushing the margin to 7-0.
The V-Hawks got on the board in the top of the third, scoring on a suicide squeeze bunt by Brittney Slocum that plated Jacky Matthews, slicing the lead to 7-1.
The Bruins added four more runs in the bottom of the third, sparked by a two-run long ball to left field by Jurek, increasing the advantage to 11-1.
Katie Cunningham improved to 5-5 on the season, allowing just one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts in five innings of work.
Delaney Ryan (1-6) suffered the loss, giving up 11 runs on 13 hits with one walk and one strikeout in 2.2 innings in the circle.
Liana McMurtry went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Jurek drove in three runs to pace the Bruin offense to the 6-1 victory in the nightcap.
Jurek launched a 3-run homer to center field to give the Bruins a 3-0 first-inning advantage.
A sacrifice fly to left field by Reese Floro and an RBI single to center by Liana McMurtry gave the Bruins a 5-0 edge in the second stanza.
O'Driscoll drove in Egan with an RBI single up the middle to give BU a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth frame.
With runners on the corners, Liz Klitzman stole second allowing Amanda Bogdonovich to score from third, slicing the BU lead to 6-1 in the top of the sixth.
Jurek did not allow a hit in the top of the seventh to secure her fourth victory of the season.
Jurek (4-2) scattered five hits with one walk and four strikeouts to earn the win.
Up Next:
The Bruins will travel across town to Omaha on Wednesday, Mar. 30, for a single non-conference contest at College of St. Mary beginning at 4 p.m.
