OZARK, Mo. — The Bellarmine University baseball team was eliminated from the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament after suffering an 8-1 loss to Saint Joseph's on Saturday at U.S. Baseball Park.

Bellarmine (34-19) opened the conference tournament with a 13-2 victory over Missouri S&T but lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to Drury before being ousted by the Pumas (34-19). The Knights will await their DII NCAA Tournament fate as the selection show takes place Sunday night starting at 10 (ET). Bellarmine entered the GLVC Tournament ranked fourth in the Midwest Region.

After amassing 18 and 16 hits over the tourney's first two games, Bellarmine managed only six against Saint Joseph's starter Zachary Aring (7-2), who earned a complete-game victory while striking out seven. Sophomore right fielder Zac Wiley and sophomore first baseman Jacob Pendred had two hits apiece for the Knights, while junior shortstop Drew Greenwood and junior second baseman Alex Ralph had one each.

Saint Joseph's scored twice in the first, third and sixth innings and plated one in the fourth and eighth frames. The Pumas collected 10 hits, with six going for extra bases including a pair of home runs.

Bellarmine scored once in the third, but the Knights missed a promising chance to add more after grounding into an ending-inning double play with the bases loaded. Bellarmine had at least one runner on base in all but one inning thereafter, but the Knights were unable to score again.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.

BOX SCORE (HTM)