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May 22, 2013

Autumn Isaacson is one of eight sophomores who led Bellevue to a 23-1 league record this year. photo by Rich Dworkis

BULLDOGS SOFTBALL BRINGS HOME A TROPHY!

The Bulldogs softball team had another great run in the 2013 NWAACC Softball Championship Tournament, bringing home the fourth place trophy for the third year in a row! The Dawgs are one of only two teams to earn a trophy each of the last three years with the other being Mt. Hood -  pretty good company to keep.

The double-elimination tournament was played at Delta Park in Portland, Oregon, and after opening with a 14-1 win against Centralia on Friday, May 17, the Dawgs lost their second game to North rival Douglas College 8-3, which dropped Bellevue into the loser’s bracket. As is often the case in Portland, the weather can be consistently inconsistent: there can be sunshine one minute, chilling wind the next, and steady drizzle the next. In addition to having to fight their way back through the loser’s bracket, the Bulldogs would have to battle the elements on Saturday, but fight they did! The Bulldogs first took on Olympic, beating the Rangers 7-0, then moved on to take out Pierce College 6-1. Next up was Clackamas, the team that knocked Bellevue out of the tournament in 2012. The game started late afternoon Saturday with low, heavy clouds and by the top of the third inning, with Bellevue leading 1-0, the sky opened up and the rains came. Officials halted the game for the day and scheduled it for completion on Sunday.

The Bulldogs returned to the field Sunday morning and won their third straight game in two days, beating Clackamas by a final score of 4-1. However, Douglas College had fallen into the loser’s bracket as well, following a 4-1 defeat to Wenatchee Valley, and the Bulldogs had to face the Royals for the sixth time this season. The Bulldogs team battled hard, showed great resilience and heart, but eventually lost the game to Douglas 9-1, earning fourth place for Bellevue. Said head coach Leah Francis, “While we finished just short of the title game, it was another amazing year for Bulldog softball.” Francis added, “I’d like to give a huge, huge thanks to all our fans for being so supportive of this group of players and coaches. Without them, there is no way we could have achieved this level of success! We are so very proud of all our players, coaches, families and fans for a wonderful and memorable 2013 season! We are looking forward to 2014.”

THE BIGGEST BUZZ OF ALL!

Bellevue College may have finished fourth in the NWAACC Championship and Douglas College second, but the Bulldogs earned a true FIRST PLACE finish in the way they wrapped up their tournament appearance. The backstory: in 2012, when Douglas had lost but Bellevue was still playing in the tournament, the Royals team stayed to cheer on the Bulldogs. This year, the Bulldogs returned the favor.

After losing to Douglas and being knocked out of the Championship competition, Bellevue head coach Leah Francis texted the Douglas Royals head coach Gord Collings, to let him know of the Bulldog team plans and asked to borrow Royals’ jerseys for a show of solidarity. The results are best told in the email words of coach Collings:

We may have finished second - but check this out! This has to be a first!

Carling’s dad, Marty Hare, recorded this after our 6-5 loss to Wenatchee Valley in the final of the NWAACC Championship game and has shared this on You-tube. The Bellevue team came to our final of the NWAACC Championship against Wenatchee Valley dressed in our black jerseys with ribbons, banners and bows and cheered loudly for us throughout the game. Their support provided inspiration and encouragement to our team. The whole Bellevue team, including alumni, came on the field after the game and consoled our team and before leaving, we had a group cheer – check it out. When we entered the NWAACC three years ago we have tried to emulate the Bellevue program - and for a reason!  What a class act!

I will always be a fan of BELLEVUE softball!   Many thanks to Leah Francis and her girls!

Gord

Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDRhGNYUkhs&feature=em-share_video_user

And for the story and photo (scroll to bottom of page) http://nwaacc.org/softball/index.php?id=8044&cat=0

PROUD TO BE A BULLDOG!

Suchada Anusuriya was the medalist in the NWAACC Championships and helped lead the Bulldogs to their second consecutive title. photo by Rich Dworkis

BC WOMEN’S GOLF TAKES NWAACC TEAM TITLE, ANUSURIYA WINS MEDALIST HONORS IN PLAYOFF

The Bellevue men’s and women’s golf teams had traveled to Walla Walla to play in the NWAACC Championship Tournament over the weekend of May 18-20, and faced some of the toughest competition of this season, but for the second consecutive year, the Bellevue women’s golf team captured the NWAACC Women’s Golf title, beating out second place Green River CC by ten strokes. Bellevue freshman Suchada Anusuriya won the tightly-contested Medalist spot beating out Green River’s Madeleine Ottosson in a playoff. The three sophomores on the Bellevue women’s team closed out their Bulldog careers with strong showings as well: Jamie Kirsila, Corey Rois, and Kayce Ogishima, finished 5th, 8th, and 13th, respectively. “These young women have come a long way during their time at BC,” said coach Kirk Johanson, “and I’m extremely proud of the foundation they have built for our women’s program for the past two seasons.”

The Bellevue men finished in fifth place as a team behind some surprisingly strong competition from Southwestern Oregon and Green River. Freshman Jack Strickland led the way for the Bulldogs, finishing in a tie for 7th at 149 for two days, followed by Colten Kleis T12, Ryan Maul T21, Brandon Shin T32, Greg Spencer T37, and Eric Frank T41. “With more than half the men’s team and three out of four of our women’s team completing their sophomore year, we will be in rebuilding mode next season,” said Johanson, “but I’m looking forward to 2014 and continuing to grow our programs as we will have some great recruits joining us.”

Cody Culp earned two saves in one day striking out the final batter in both games to seal a dramatic sweep over Edmonds to capture the North Region Tourney title. photo by Rich Dworkis

BELLEVUE WINS NORTH REGION TOURNEY WITH FOUR WINS IN A ROW; TAKES #1 SEED INTO NWAACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

After losing the opening game of the North Region tournament on Thursday, May 16, Bellevue College baseball went on to win four games in a row, including two wins over Edmonds on Sunday, May 19, to earn the region's #1 seed into the NWAACC Championships. The NWAACC Baseball Championship Tournament will take place in Longview, May 23-17. After being in a battle just two weeks ago for the fourth and final spot in the
region standings and tourney, the Bulldogs have gone from being a .500 club to winning the North Region tourney, establishing a 30-win season, and are 14-3 in the past month heading into the Championship Tournament.

Following Thursday’s opening round loss to Edmonds by a score of 6-2, Bellevue had to come back and win four loser-out games in a row to earn a berth to the NWAACC Championships. The 'Dogs bounced back the following day with wins over top-ranked Everett by a score of 8-5, and Skagit Valley 6-1. Left-handers Jake Reppert (vs. Everett) and Alex Hatch (vs. Skagit Valley) stepped up and threw complete game gems to keep the Bulldogs in it. Offensively, the Bulldog bats were consistent throughout the order in both wins. Jordan Richartz had five hits on the day.

On Sunday, May 19, Bellevue defeated Edmonds 6-5. Leading 6-3 in the ninth, Edmonds made things interesting with a two-run home run before Bellevue’s Cody Culp retired the final batter to earn the save. Dustin Doucette, who had not started a game in over a month, was brilliant on the mound, going 8 2/3 innings and yielding only three runs. Following the dramatic win, Bellevue came out and took control in game two, as Sheldon Stober belted the first pitch of the game off the wall in left field to set the tone for what would be Bellevue's fourth straight game with ten or more hits. Stober had four hits in the game. The Bulldogs, who led both games the entire way, added insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning on a single by Nick Pribble and a big two-RBI double by Richartz who came up big again in the tourney. The insurance runs were huge as Edmonds mounted a threat with three straight hits to load the bases. Culp, for the second time in the day, struck out the final batter to preserve the win.

Bellevue will square off against Yakima Valley, the East Region's #2 seed, Thursday, May 23, at 12:35 p.m. in the opening round of the NWAACC Championships. Follow the action at the NWAACC website http://nwaacc.org

Please visit the BC Athletics website http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics/ for additional
team information. For complete standings, coaches’ polls and up-to-the-minute results go to http://nwaacc.org

GO BULLDOGS!