BELLEVUE, NE (VCSUVikings.com)-  The Valley City State University Viking softball team went into a big double header against the Bellevue Bruins and came out victorious. The Vikings held the Bruins to only two runs combined and recorded 24 hits offensively. After the sweep of Bellevue, VCSU now is tied for first place with Jamestown in the NSAA with a 10-3 NSAA record and a 27-8 overall record.

 

Valley City State University 2, Bellevue University 1

Both teams in game one of this double header recorded 12 hits and VCSU was led by catcher Jayme Menard, who had three hits on the day. Joelle Aiello and Kelli Moore both had two hits on the day. Kelsey Hamade, Brittney Manthie, Kadie Anderson, Tatum Lundin, and Keana Harmon all had one hit. Moore, Lundin, and Harmon all had doubles in the game for the Vikings as well. Jayme Menard and Voni Culp drove in both of the runs for VCSU in the game.

Freshman Nichole Reed had another impressive start from the circle for VCSU, going 6 1/3 innings allowing just one earned run and striking out eight Bruins. Senior Haley Butterfield came in for the close in the seventh inning. Butterfield ended the game striking out two Bellevue batters in a row to seal the win for the Vikings.

Valley City State University 11, Bellevue University 1

The Vikings had 12 hits again in the second game of the double header but ended up scoring 10 more runs than the first game. In the fourth inning the Vikings exploded offensively for five runs, with the charge being started by Bruin errors defensively.

Multiple Vikings had hits in game two but were led by Brittney Manthie, who had three hits in the game. Kelli Moore and Clarissa De La Ossa both had two runs-batted-in for VCSU. Joelle Aiello, Kelsey Hamade, and Brittney Manthie also drove in runs for the Vikings.

Kathleen Gallais started from the circle and went 1 1/3 innings and allowed no runs. Haley Butterfield, pitching two consecutive games, got the win going 3 2/3 allowing one run and striking out three.

The next planned action for the Vikings softball team is next weekend against Dakota State University, weather pending. The games are scheduled to be played in Valley City Saturday and Sunday, both being double headers with start times at 1 p.m. each day. Dakota State is currently third in the standings with a 11-14 (9-7 NSAA) record. In the last eight meetings VCSU is 8-0 against the Trojans, dating back to the spring of 2015.