Warriors Drop Nonconference Clash at (RV) Bellevue

OMAHA, Neb. — Midland made a short trip to Omaha on Wednesday night for a nonconference, nine-inning matchup against (RV) Bellevue University. The Warriors came up short in a hard-fought battle, falling to the Bruins, 8-4.

Joshua Hardamon got things started early, launching a one-out home run down the right-field line in the top of the first to give Midland a 1-0 lead.

After a quiet second inning, the Bruins exploded in the third. They strung together five hits and capitalized on a Midland error to plate seven runs, surging to a 7-1 advantage.

Bellevue added another run in the fifth, taking advantage of an error, a single, and back-to-back walks to extend its lead to 8-1.

Cooper Benecke and Eimir Perez sparked the offense with consecutive singles. Ben Kirkland entered as a pinch runner for Benecke, and Garrett Freeman drew a walk to load the bases. On a ground-ball double play, Kirkland crossed the plate to make it 8-2.

After two scoreless innings, the Warriors made one final push in the top of the ninth. Deven Gomez led off with a single, and Hardamon followed with his second home run of the night—again to right field—cutting the deficit to 8-4. However, the Bruins held strong, recording the final outs to secure the win and hand Midland a tough loss.

Statistical Standouts

• Joshua Hardamon: 2-for-5, 3 RBIs, 2 HRs, 2 R
• Cooper Benecke: 2-for-3
• Eimir Perez: 3-for-4

Midland (12-22, 8-8 GPAC) will return to conference play as it travels to Sioux Center, Iowa, to face Dordt (16-22, 5-11 GPAC) in a four-game Great Plains Athletic Conference series on Friday and Saturday. First pitch of the Friday doubleheader is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.