Box Score EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Ally Foster has accomplished so much so quickly with the Bellarmine University softball team, including her recent selection as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year. One thing the Knights' hurler had not yet done in her young career, however, was throw a no-hitter.

She came oh so close to changing that Friday at EastSide Centre in the opening round of the GLVC Softball Championship Tournament. The sophomore right-hander was one strike away from sealing a no-hitter against fifth-seeded William Jewell when Kelsey Morgan singled to break up Foster's bid. She settled for a one-hit shutout, which was just fine as fourth-seeded Bellarmine moved into the winner's bracket with a 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

Junior right fielder Hannah Daunhauer homered while junior center fielder Erin Sireno and junior catcher Scarlett Powers collected RBI singles for Bellarmine (35-14, 28-9 GLVC), which advances to play top-seeded Indianapolis at 4 p.m., CT today in the winner's bracket quarterfinals. Greyhounds pitcher Morgan Foley, who leads the nation in strikeouts, fanned an extraordinary 30 batters in a 1-0 victory in 13 innings against eighth-seeded Rockhurst.

On Thursday evening, Foster was honored as the conference's POY. A day later she went about proving that the GLVC coaches made the right choice. Through six innings against William Jewell (27-22, 19-14), Foster did not yield a single hit, just a pair of walks along with a throwing error that allowed a batter to reach. She started the game by mowing down the first five Cardinals with strikeouts, an early indicator of her dominance.

After a perfect sixth, Foster began the seventh by inducing ground outs from pitcher Rachel Hayden and right fielder Faith Song, leaving her with one more out to record her first career no-hitter at Bellarmine. She then got down to the final strike after working an 0-2 count against Morgan, who followed by spoiling the no-hit bid with a single to right center.

Foster's shutout bid still remained intact, though, and she delivered on that opportunity by striking out second baseman Brittany Madsen. It was the sixth shutout and 12th complete game of the season for Foster, who improved to 17-5 and saw her ERA dip to 0.87. She boosted her Bellarmine single-season record for strikeouts to 183 after fanning 11 Cardinals.

Bellarmine racked up nine hits and scored three runs against Hayden, who dropped to 14-8 after lasting 5.1 innings. Foster, Daunhauer and junior left fielder Kayla Padgett each had two hits for the Knights, who this season have set new school records for overall wins and conference victories. Sireno, Powers and junior third baseman Kelsey Hicks had one hit apiece.

Bellarmine, which finished second in the GLVC East in the regular season, got on the board in the third inning against William Jewell, which placed third in the West. With one out, the Knights loaded the bases on consecutive singles from Padgett, Hicks and Foster. Sireno followed with the team's fourth straight hit, an RBI single through the left side.

Daunhauer added to the lead when she led off the fourth inning with a solo shot to left center. After Daunhauer's third home run of the season, Bellarmine made it 3-0 in the fifth when Foster singled, advanced to second on Sireno's sacrifice bunt and scored on Powers' base hit through the left side.

Fans can follow the Bellarmine-Indianapolis game live here.

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