May 2, 2026

DICKINSON, N.D. - No. 6 seed Bellevue (Neb.) opened the scoring early, added on in the middle innings and used a pair of seventh-inning home runs to beat No. 2 seed Providence (Mont.) 7-3 on Saturday at Bravera Field. The Bruins continued their surprising run to the Frontier Conference Softball championship game after winning four consecutive elimination games, despite opening the tournament with a defeat.

The Bruins (25-28 overall record) finished with 10 hits, including four doubles and two home runs, and held off a late push from Providence in partly cloudy, 68-degree conditions.

The decisive stretch started in the second inning, when Kaitlyn Fisher doubled to left field and drove in two runs for a 2-0 Bellevue lead. Fisher struck again in the fourth with an RBI single to right that scored Miranda Garcia and made it 3-0. Bellevue added another run in the fifth to move in front 4-1, giving its pitching staff room to work as UP tried to chip away.

Fisher turned in one of the top offensive performances of the game, going for three hits with three RBIs, a double and a stolen base. Bellevue also got a major lift in the top of the seventh, when Breanne McMurtry hit a solo home run and Macie Wyman followed later with a two-run pinch-hit homer. That burst stretched the Bruins' advantage to 7-2 and gave Bellevue separation after Providence had begun to show life offensively.

The Argos finished with eight hits and scored once in each of the final three innings. UP broke through in the fifth, added another run in the sixth and scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh when Kasidy Yeoman reached on a fielder's choice that brought home Ella Galloway.

Providence could not string together enough offense earlier in the game, though, and the three errors also proved costly against a Bellevue lineup that made the most of its extra-base chances.

In the circle, Mariah Unverzagt handled the bulk of the work for Bellevue. She went five innings, allowed six hits and two earned runs, and struck out eight. Carly Bertolini closed out the final two innings, allowing one earned run while striking out two. Bellevue pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, while Providence's staff recorded one strikeout over seven innings.

Providence ended their season at 29-24 overall record.

Bellevue faces No. 1 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) in the Frontier Conference championship game Sunday at 12 p.m. (MT).