LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine softball team pulled out a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Findlay then defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 7-4 to post a non-traditional doubleheader sweep today in a pair of nonconference games at Knights Field.  With the wins, Bellarmine improves to 5-3 on season.
 
BELLARMINE 3, FINDLAY 2 (HTM BOX SCORE)
In game one, the Knights squandered several early scoring opportunities and trailed the Oilers 2-0 heading into their last at-bat, but Bellarmine came up big with the game on the line to snatch the exciting win.
 
Freshman Paige Werner led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left, and scored when Rachel Fox followed with a single to center. Fox took second when the Findlay center fielder misfired on her throw back to the infield. Therefore, Fox was in scoring position when Melissa Hammer singled to right center to tie it at 2-2. 
 
Kelly Ely then delivered a pinch hit sacrifice bunt, to advance Hammer to second. After Findlay got a strikeout, Megan Bretz came to the plate with two outs.  She took a first pitch strike, then smashed a grounder between the third baseman and shortstop for a clean single. Hammer motored home, barely beating the throw from the left fielder to give the Knights the 3-2 win.
 
Marlee Tevis picked up her first win of the season in the circle, tossing a complete game four-hitter while walking just one.
 
Bretz and Hammer led the Bellarmine offensive attack with two hits apiece.
 
BELLARMINE 7, KWC 4 (HTM BOX SCORE)
 
The Knights' second game of the day didn't have near the excitement as Bellarmine batted around in the first inning against Kentucky Wesleyan, taking a 4-0 lead despite recording just two base hits.
 
Bellarmine extended its lead with another run in the second inning when Erica Knollman doubled home Bretz.
 
The Panthers struck back in the third inning when Lexie Mullen lifted a 3-run homer to left field. Bellarmine Coach Renee Hicks made an immediate pitching change that paid dividends as freshman Alexis Sumner came in and retired the first eight batters she faced.
 
In fact, by the time KWC got its first hit off Sumner, the Knights had tacked on two more runs to extend their cushion to 7-3.
 
When the Panthers did crank up the offense again, it was Mullen who provided the big hit with a leadoff double in the sixth. She later scored on a single by Jaclyn Parker, but that was all the offense KWC could muster.
 
Sumner, who improved to 3-2 on the season, set the Panthers down in order in the top of the seventh to nail down the victory for the Knights.
 
Offensively, Knollman and Katie Stamper led the way for Bellarmine. Knollman finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs while Stamper went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
 
Bellarmine returns to action on Saturday in the Music City Tournament hosted by Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville, Tennessee.  The Knights will face Saginaw Valley and Lindenwood on Saturday before taking on Ohio Dominican and Montevallo on Sunday.