BELLEVUE, NEB. – The Valley City State baseball team dropped its conference openers Friday, challenging the No. 15 team in the country in both games but falling short in a doubleheader at Bellevue University.
 
The Vikings held a late 4-3 lead in game one before Bellevue rallied for a 7-4 win. In game two, the Vikings fell behind 9-0, but battled back to within 9-6 before falling by a final score of 10-6.
 
Valley City State is now 8-15 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Bellevue – ranked No. 15 in the latest NAIA poll – moves to 13-9 overall and 2-0 in the North Star.
 
Up next: The Vikings and Bruins conclude their four-game series Saturday with another doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
 
GAME 1: Bellevue 7, VCSU 4
Valley City State held a 4-3 lead after 5 ½ innings but Bellevue rallied with four runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-4 win in the series opener.
 
The Vikings scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and then two more in the sixth. Daegen Morcom's RBI single gave the Vikings a 4-3 lead midway through the sixth inning. The No. 15-ranked Bruins put together a rally in the bottom of the inning though, getting a pair of two-run singles to regain the lead.
 
Hunter Magnuson started on the mound for VCSU and kept the Bruins in check for the first five innings as he pitched into the sixth. Magnuson went 5 1/3 innings, scattering eight hits and allowing seven runs. He walked four and struck out two. Eli Chabot pitched the final 2/3 of an inning and did not allow a hit.  
 
Jamel Chabot and Morcom both doubled for VCSU, which totaled seven hits in the loss. Chabot was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Morcom went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Kaden Rozdeba and Kellen Scruggs each had a hit.
 
Game 2: Bellevue 10, VCSU 6
The Vikings fell behind 9-0 after six innings but rallied back to within 9-6 in the game two loss. Two-run doubles by Judson Seliskar and Kaden Rozdeba in the seventh and eighth innings trimmed the deficit to 9-4, and then Kellen Scruggs and Hunter Logan pushed across two more runs to make it 9-6 in the eighth inning. Bellevue added an insurance run and then shut the door in the ninth for a 10-6 win.
 
Kahlil Tilbury started on the mound and worked 5 2/3 innings for VCSU, giving up nine hits and six earned runs. He walked one and struck out four. Jarrett Faue had a solid relief performance, working 2 1/3 innings and giving up just two hits and one run.
 
The Vikings managed nine hits in the loss, led by a 2-for-4 game by Jaden Babiuk. Rozdeba was 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, and Seliskar doubled and drove in two.