LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Early miscues led to the Bellarmine University baseball team's 8-5 loss to Northwood in Friday's opener, but the Knights left nothing to chance in the tail end as they piled up 17 hits and rode a fine pitching performance from Michael Messier in an 11-1 mercy-rule rout at Knights Field.

In the second game, Messier tossed his first complete game of the season and improved to 3-1 for the Knights (7-8). The junior left-hander struck out nine and allowed one earned run on five hits with one walk in 8.0 innings pitched against the Timberwolves (10-7).

Messier had plenty of offensive support. Five different Knights collected multi-hit games, with senior center fielder Jes Staples, junior first baseman Nick Wright and freshman right fielder Zac Wiley each posting three hits. Sophomore left fielder Griffin Neuer and sophomore catcher Brady Pfaadt chipped in two apiece, and senior third baseman Cole Metcalfe launched his first home run of the season.

When senior designated hitter Zach Haynes notched an RBI single in the eighth, every spot in the lineup had produced a hit and seven drove in runs. A four-run fourth gave Bellarmine a 7-0 lead after the Knights scored one run apiece over the first three innings. They tacked on one more in the seventh and three in the eighth, the last of which triggered the mercy rule.

Staples led off the first with a single, stole second and scored on Wright's base hit through the left side. In the third, after the first two batters were retired, Wiley slammed a double to right center and scored on Pfaadt's base hit for a 3-0 lead.

Bellarmine blew the game open in the fourth, at one point accumulating five hits in a row. Sophomore second baseman Trevor Lines got the outburst started with a double down the right-field line. Neuer drove him home after pounding a double off the fence in right center. Metcalfe then walloped a two-run homer to left center, Wright and sophomore shortstop Drew Greenwood followed with consecutive singles and Wiley added a third to drive in Wright for a 7-0 advantage.

Wiley and Haynes both had RBI singles in the eighth, and Northwood's fifth error allowed the final run to score.

While Northwood didn't do itself any favors in the second game, the same could be said for Bellarmine in the opener. The Timberwolves led 4-0 after two innings, and every run against senior left-hander Austin Warner was unearned. Bellarmine tied it at 4 in the fourth, but Northwood took the lead for good with two runs in the sixth.

In the first contest, Staples, Wright and Greenwood had two hits each. One of Greenwood's was a two-run single. Neuer added an RBI single.

Bellarmine will host Northwood in one nine-inning game starting at noon (ET) on Saturday.

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GAME 1 BOX SCORE (HTM)
GAME 2 BOX SCORE (HTM)