BSU baseball continues season with four-game series at William Jewell
The Bemidji State University baseball team faces William Jewell College in a four-game series Feb. 28-March 1 in Liberty, Mo.
Who: Bemidji State (2-1, 0-0 NSIC) vs. William Jewell (1-2, 0-0 GLVC)
When: Friday, February 28 (1 p.m.); Saturday, Feb. 29 (12 / 2 p.m.); Sunday, March 1 (12 p.m.)
Where: Liberty, Mo. (Capitol Federal® Sports Complex)
Series History Under Bellew
Overall Record: WJC leads, 5-2
Away Record: WJC leads, 5-2
Bemidji State Overview
Bemidji State opened its 2020 season with series win over Rockhurst University. BSU took an opening-day sweep over RU, 4-3 and 8-0, before a comeback fell short in the series finale, 9-8.
After trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning during game one, BSU scored three runs with a walk-off RBI single by junior outfielder Austin Weisz.
In game two, both teams were held off the scoreboard until an RBI double by Weisz in the top of the fourth inning. BSU added two runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth to coast to the win.
The Hawks jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first two innings and took an 8-0 advantage before the Beavers came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bemidji State outscored Rockhurst between the fourth and seven innings, 8-2, but was scoreless over the final two frames during its first loss of the season.
The Beavers hit .320 from the plate with a .427 on-base percentage against the Hawks. Seven of BSU’s 31 total hits came as extra-base knocks as the team totaled a .412 slugging percentage. Bemidji State totaled 18 RBI, went 5-of-5 on stolen base attempts and committed just one error during the series.
Seniors Isaiah Grancorvitz and Noah Boser each led BSU hitting .500 from the plate. Grancorvitz recorded a team-high seven hits and three doubles while adding three runs scored and two RBI. Boser went 6-of-12 from the plate with five runs scored, two triples, two RBI, one walk, one stolen base and a .833 slugging percentage.
Junior Sam Kalberer led BSU with four RBI on three hits while junior Wyatt White followed with three RBI on three hits.
Junior pitcher Jackson Back opened BSU’s season with a complete-game win, adding five strikeouts with five hits and two earned runs allowed. Senior pitcher Jake Olson earned a win in game two after throwing a complete-game shutout.
BSU is led by 15th year head coach Tim Bellew, who is the second winningest coach in Beaver Baseball history with a 220-448-1 record overall. Bellew trails Bob Montebello (1959-87) by 78 wins for the program’s most victories by a head coach.
About William Jewell
The Cardinals are led by 19th year head coach Mike Stockton, who is the program’s all-time leader in victories with over 500 since joining WJC in 2001.
William Jewell enters the series 3-3 overall and most recently went 1-3 over a four-game series at Northeastern State University.
WJC fell in the first two games of the series against NSU, 5-4 and 11-1, before taking a 13-10 win in game three. The Cardinals closed the series with a 5-0 loss.
Through its first six games, WJC is hitting .279 from the plate while averaging 5.7 runs per game. The Cardinals have an on-base percentage of .371 and a slugging percentage of .424. On the base paths, WJC has six stolen bases on seven attempts.
The Cardinals pitching staff holds an ERA of 8.29 with an opposing batting average of .316 and a WHIP of 1.92. Twelve pitchers are averaging 6.3 strikeouts per game for WJC.
Sophomore infielder Nick Modrcin leads the team hitting .467 with an on-base percentage of .500. Senior infielder Christian Chalabi holds a slugging percentage of .684 with two doubles and one home run while adding three RBI and six walks.
Junior pitcher Alex Schneider leads the pitching staff with a 0.00 ERA over 7.0 innings pitched. He has totaled five strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .167 this season. Senior pitcher Thomas Hennelly leads the staff with nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.