Vikings drop doubleheader at Bellevue Saturday

(VCSU) BELLEVUE, NEB. – The Valley City State softball team dropped a pair of conference matchups at Bellevue University with final scores of 7-2 and 14-2 on Saturday afternoon. The second game was decided by run rule after five innings.

Despite the pair of losses, Viking seniors Joelle Aiello and Marissa Hawkins tied school records Saturday. Aiello hit her 52nd career double in game one, and Marissa Hawkins drove in both of VCSU's runs in game two to total 132 RBIs in her Viking career.

VCSU drops to 17-12 on the season and 4-2 in conference play while Bellevue improves to 20-9 overall and 6-0 in the North Star. The Vikings and Bruins play another doubleheader on Sunday slated to begin at 12 p.m.

Bellevue 7, VCSU 2

Bellevue posted all seven of its runs in the first four innings including a home run from Emily Rochford in the second inning. The Vikings tried to rally back in the fifth inning and scored a pair of runs on RBI singles from Ashlynne Copinga and Joelle Aiello, but VCSU fell short the rest of the way.

Joelle Lamontagne got the loss in the circle after six innings of work. She allowed seven runs on 13 hits, walked two and struck out two. Aiello and Sierra Crocker each tallied two hits in the loss while Crocker and Michelle Krahn each scored a run for the Vikings.

Bellevue's Katie Cunningham picked up the win in the circle after pitching all seven innings. She allowed two runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out six. Lauren Jurek went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs to lead the Bruin offense.

Bellevue 14, VCSU 2 (5 innings)

The Bruins exploded with nine runs on seven hits in the second inning Saturday to command an early advantage. Bellevue scored in each inning en route to the 14-2 victory over the Vikings decided by run rule.

Marissa Hawkins drove in both of VCSU's runs with an RBI single in the third inning and a sac fly in the fifth. Sierra Crocker and Jessica Husband each had two hits in the game, including a double from Husband. Brooke Gaudry got the loss in the circle after allowing 14 runs on 13 hits and walking seven in four innings of work.

Bellevue's Savannah Gunn got the win Saturday, pitching all five innings and allowing two runs on seven hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out three. Liana McMurtry led the Bruins at the plate going 3-for-3 and scoring two runs. Ashley Young went 2-for-3 with four RBIs.