Adrian Sampson struck out nine in a key road win at Everett helping the Bulldogs win the league series 3-1. photo by Rich Dworkis

In Battle of #1 vs. #2, Bellevue Wins Series Over Everett
April 23, 2012

According to the Alaska Airlines NWAACC Baseball polls released on Friday April 20, this past weekend series marked a battle of the #1 ranked Bellevue Bulldogs and #2 ranked Everett Trojans. Bellevue was able to take three games out of four validating their top ranking in the conference, a spot they have held since the pre-season.

On Saturday, April 21, the first
games of the series were played at Bellevue’s Courter Field. In game one, Everett opened the series with an impressive 8-3 win over the Bulldogs. With the Trojans leading 8-0 after five innings, the Bulldogs were finally able to plate a few runs, but it was too little, too late. Dustin Breshears had three hits, and Tyler Baumgartner added two. Matt Copper suffered the loss allowing eight runs, although only three were earned. In game two, Bellevue’s pitching finally took control. Bryan Burgher tossed eight innings of shutout baseball while Jonathan Humphrie closed the ninth completing the shutout. In the second inning with the bases loaded, Jerad Casper hit a bases-clearing single off the center field wall giving the Dogs a 3-0 lead. Colin Hering, Nate Litka, and Max Brown each had two hits in the game en route to a 5-0 victory.
 
On Sunday, April 22, Bellevue headed to Everett Memorial Stadium for the final two games of the series. In game three, Adrian Sampson took the hill in hopes of picking up his eight win of the season and was successful in his quest as the Bellevue offense provided five runs on five hits. Sampson allowed just one run on three hits and improved to 8-0 on the year in the 5-1 victory.

In the final game of the series, Bellevue hit their stride. Jeff Gonzales turned in a quality pitching performance combining with Scott Kuzminsky for 12 strikeouts. Kuzminsky fanned seven in three shutout innings of relief work for the save. The defense was error-free and the offense scored nine runs on 12 hits. Breshears guided the offense with two hits and three RBIs while Jordan Richartz, Anthony Flatt, and Willy Reel each chipped in two hits. Bellevue went on to win the contest 9-3.

Currently the Bulldogs sit at first place in the North Region with a record of 13-3 (27-6 overall) and two more series to play in the regular season. Bellevue hosts Edmonds the weekend of April 28 and 29, with the first doubleheader at Courter Field on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. start time. The Bulldogs will travel to play at Edmonds on Sunday, with another 1:00 p.m. start. All stats and scores can be found at www.pointstreak.com.