WESTFIELD, Ind. — Another stirring comeback wasn't in the cards for the Bellarmine University baseball team on Friday in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Grand Park.

In a winners' bracket game that initially had the makings of a high-scoring affair, effective relief pitching defined the late innings as William Jewell held off the Knights 6-4 on day two of the tournament.

Bellarmine (25-25) will meet 18th-ranked Quincy in an elimination game at noon (ET) Saturday. The Knights defeated the Hawks 6-4 in the opening round after scoring four runs with two outs in the ninth inning.

Bellarmine couldn't duplicate that comeback against William Jewell (32-20), although the Knights had their chances. Down 6-4 with one out in the eighth, junior first baseman Nick Wright, sophomore shortstop Drew Greenwood and sophomore designated hitter Alex Ralph delivered consecutive singles, but the Cardinals managed to get the second out on a close play at the plate after Ralph's base hit.

Vijay Patel followed with a strikeout to quash the rally attempt. He then walked sophomore pinch hitter Brady Pfaadt to start the ninth but earned his third save with a strikeout and game-ending double play. Patel struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings of relief of Billy Kirkpatrick (6-4), who notched the win after allowing four runs  — two earned — in 6.2 innings pitched.

After tallying Thursday's win against Quincy with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, Evan McNair entered to start the seventh against the Cardinals and fired 3.0 shutout innings. The senior right-hander struck out four after coming on for senior left hander Austin Warner (4-4), who allowed five earned runs — six total — over 6.0 innings pitched.

A couple breaks that didn't go Bellarmine's way perhaps prevented the Knights from at least tying William Jewell. The Cardinals' final run came with two outs in the sixth and was the result of a routine fly ball that BU lost in the lights leading to an RBI double. It took a perfect throw too from right fielder Dane Erbst to cut down Bellarmine's baserunner at the plate in the eighth.

Wright doubled in the second and scored on Greenwood's single up the middle. Sophomore left fielder Griffin Neuer collected RBI singles in the third and the fifth, with senior third baseman Cole Metcalfe adding an RBI in the latter frame as well.

Senior center fielder Jes Staples went 3 for 4 with a run scored for Bellarmine. Neuer had two hits and two RBIs, and Wright and Greenwood both registered two hits.

William Jewell scored twice in the third and fourth and once in the fifth and sixth.

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