The smell of roasting hot dogs and cheers from the bleacher’s crowds filled the Northern side of the Bellevue College campus as the BC baseball and softball teams took the field on a lazy sun-drenched Saturday afternoon.
The lady Bulldogs kicked off the day with a softball double-header matchup against the Edmonds Tritons. In front of a large and vocal crowd, Bellevue got off to a strong start in the first game behind Danielle Orvella’s dominant starting pitching. Orvella, with her violent pitching motion, showed great command and velocity on pitches, striking out five of the first nine batters she faced.
Bellevue had no problem scoring runs, putting up a four spot in the first and three more in the second, capped off by a solo home run from Haylee Baker, to take a controlling 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs continued the hit parade in the third, with a bases-clearing double from Autumn Isaacson that ballooned the score to 10-0.
Before it was all said and done, Bellevue had amassed 13 runs, in what seemed to be a game that would never end for the Tritons.
Game two between the same two squads yielded no different results as Edmonds continued to struggle on offense. Bellevue again jumped out to a four run first inning lead and never looked back.
The Tritons began displaying negative body language in the second as batter after batter came to the plate for Bellevue in a 14 run inning that was highlighted by a mammoth three-run homer by Dani Jackman.
Cassidy DeWaele added a solo shot in the third inning and Meagan Ransier hit another three-run homer in the fourth. The game ended with a final score of 22-0 in Bellevue’s favor and a clean sweep of the Edmonds Tritons.
Just up the hill on Courter Field, the Bulldog men were playing Douglas in a double header of their own. Douglas, in their northwest green tops and road grey pants, got off to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The lead didn’t last for very long as Bellevue responded in the bottom of the first with two runs of their own, aided by an error from Douglas right fielder Bryan Arthur.
Bellevue’s starting pitcher Bryan Burgher pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run on four hits, while striking out seven. Burgher calmed down after his first inning hiccup to pitch a solid game, mixing in his off-speed pitches that gave the Douglas lineup fits.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the later innings, and came out with a 6-1 victory.
Game two of the double header, similar to the lady Bulldogs, was much of the same story. Bellevue pulled out to a 3-0 lead in the third behind the superb pitching of starter Jeff Gonzales. Gonzales tossed eight scoreless innings of six hit balls, striking out four while walking just one. Willy Reel came in and closed out the ninth. First baseman Colin Hering had a double and a two RBI triple, while centerfielder Max Brown added two RBI’s of his own as Bellevue went on to take the game to 7-0.
With the wins, Bellevue improved to 7-1 in league play and 21-4 overall. The Bulldogs sit just a half game back of Everett, who they look forward to facing in two weeks.