Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OWENSBORO, Ky.—The Bellarmine University baseball team swept a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan today, winning the opener 6-1 before taking game two 9-1.

The Knights got strong efforts from both starting pitchers as Jason Sterrett went six and a third in game one, allowing just one run on four hits. In the second game, Kyle Grana threw five innings, surrendering just one run on three hits.  Grana, who came into the game ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, helped his average by ringing up 10 “K”s in his five innings.

Offensively, Graham Spencer was the Bellarmine leader with five runs batted in on the day while reaching base seven times in 10 plate appearances.   Right fielder Phil Leopold also had a solid day, knocking in four.

Bellarmine improves to 22-18 overall with a 17-11 GLVC record. The Panthers fall to 14-28, 8-22 GLVC.

The same two teams are scheduled to square off in another doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. (noon CDT).

GAME 1 RECAP BU 6, KWC 1 (BOX SCORE):

Scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, the game was delayed by nearly two hours due to rain.  However, once the game got under way, Bellarmine was quick to provide some action as Michael Morrissette led off the game with double, and Jes Staples followed with a single.  Both came around to score on Spencer's single as the Knights took a 2-0 lead.

Sterrett retired the Panthers in order in the home half of the first, and Bellarmine ran the score to 4-0 in the top of the second as Staples singled home Nick Hladek and Cody Scheler, who had gotten aboard via an error and a walk.

The score remained unchanged until the seventh when the Knights struck for two more runs on hits by Leopold and Spencer. 

The Panthers finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the seventh off Sterrett, who gave way to Evan McNair. The reliever retired the next two batters to get out of the seventh, then shut out Kentucky Wesleyan the rest of the way as the Knights recorded the 6-1 victory. 

GAME 2 RECAP BU 9, KWC 1 (BOX SCORE):

In the 7-inning nightcap, the Knights again pounced on the Panthers early and never let the home team seriously challenge. 

The first three Bellarmine batters reached on KWC errors to start the second game, and Leopold made the Panthers pay with a bases-clearing triple. A ground ball off the bat of Spencer drove in Leopold, and three consecutive singles by Cole Metcalfe, Hladek, and Scheler made it 5-0 as BU sent 11 batters to plate in the opening inning.

Then, Grana started mowing down the would be Panther hitters, striking out five of the first seven batters he faced.

The Knights put up another big inning in the fifth when Hladek led off the frame with a home run. Bellarmine tacked on three more runs with just two base hits to extend the lead to 9-0.

The Panthers avoided the shut out by scoring one in the bottom of the fifth when Andrew Morales led off with a double and Sean Embry scored him with a single.

The Knights brought in John Hakemoller to pitch to open the sixth and the freshman right hander gave up just one walk while working two scoreless innings as the Knights closed out game two.